The Panthers will likely be without Jake Delhomme for a while with a right elbow injury.  That is a shame as Delhomme has really been outstanding this season for the Panthers.  Delhomme has completed 55 of 86 passes (64%) for 626 yards with 8 TD passes and 1 interception (111.9 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 6 times for 26 yards (4.3 ypc).  The Panthers are lucky that they signed David Carr in the off-season as he will now get to start for a little while until Delhomme gets healthy.  Carr completed 3 of 4 passes (75%) for 56 yards with 0 TDs and 0 INTs (116.7 QB Rating) in relief of Delhomme against the Falcons last Sunday.  Look for the Panthers to keep firing on most of their cylinders on offense with Carr at QB.

The Carolina Panthers unleashed a power running attack and they needed it to hold off the pesky Atlanta Falcons.  Jake Delhomme completed 10 of 18 passes for 109 yards with 2 TD passes and 0 interceptions before he had to leave the game with an elbow injury.  David Carr relieved Delhomme and he did a fine job completing 3 of 4 passes for 56 yards with 0 TDs and 0 INTs.  RB DeShaun Foster was outstanding yesterday as he carried the ball 20 times for 122 yards (6.1 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 1 pass for 13 yards and it was also a TD.  DeAngelo Williams also put in some good work with 11 carries for 47 yards (4.3 ypc).  TE Jeff King continued to shine as he caught 4 passes for 56 yards (14.0 avg) with a TD grab.  The Panthers finished up rushing for 175 yards on 36 carries (4.9 ypc) and they also completed 13 of 22 passes for 138 yards.

The Panthers defense was led by MLB Dan Morgan with 9 tackles.  The Falcons did get a ton of yards in this football game.  The Falcons rushed for 91 yards on 19 carries (4.8 ypc) and they completed 31 of 44 passes for 351 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270923001

This game has the look of a mis-match but it is the Falcons first home game of the season so they should be fired up.  Not so sure that will make a difference because the Panthers seem to have a lot more talent than the Falcons do.  The Panthers will likely go with what works which will likely mean running the ball and throwing deep to Steve Smith.  The Falcons are allowing 126.0 yards rushing per game so the Panthers will attack their front 7 with DeShaun Foster (116 yards rushing) and DeAngelo Williams (93 yards rushing).  The Falcons must blitz on defense often so that Delhomme doesn’t have time to find Steve Smith who has already caught 15 passes for 271 yards and 4 TDs this season.  DeAngelo Hall has had some success in dealing with Smith in the past and if the Falcons can slow him down they might have a chance at an upset.

One has to think that DE Julius Peppers (0 sacks) is going to break out soon and the Falcons line has allowed QB Joey Harrington to be sacked 13 times already this season so this could be Peppers’ week.  QBs have a 89.8 Rating against the Panthers this season so if Harrington has time to throw the ball he might have some success.  This could be the week that veteran Joe Horn has a big game, but that’s just a hunch here as he hasn’t done much this season yet.  Also, TE Alge Crumpler could have a big game against the safeties of the Panthers.  Look for RB Jerious Norwood to have more carries than Warrick Dunn as the torch will begin to be passed to the man with the younger legs.

PREDICTION:  The Falcons will be fired up for a half but it will wear off and the Panthers will take over in the 2nd half to put the Falcons away by a TD.

Wow, bring in a threat to his job and Jake Delhomme turns into one of the best QBs in the NFL.  Signing David Carr to spur Delhomme was a brilliant move by the Panthers front office.  Delhomme has completed 45 of 68 passes (66.2%) for 508 yards with 6 TD passes and 1 interception (111.6 QB Rating) so far this season.  If a second receiver steps up on the other side of the field from Steve Smith….Delhomme’s numbers will likely go through the roof!

The Panthers have placed safety Nate Salley on the Injured Reserve List with a knee problem.  Salley didn’t play at all this season and he only made 4 tackles as a rookie last season.  He is starting to look like a gigantic bust for the Panthers who were expecting him to develop into a starter.

The Panthers are still trying to figure out what hit them on Sunday.  Things looked great as the Panthers raced out to an early 14-0 lead before the Texans unloaded on them scoring 34 straight points!  Jake Delhomme was pretty sharp as he completed 27 of 41 passes for 307 yards with 3 TD passes and 1 interception.  The Panthers couldn’t get anything going on the ground however and that hurt them on Sunday.  DeAngelo Williams carried the ball 8 times for 31 yards (3.9 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 20 yards (4.0 avg).  DeShaun Foster wasn’t any better as he carried the ball 9 times for 22 yards (2.4 ypc) and he also caught 4 passes for 20 yards (5.0 avg).  WR Steve Smith was basically the whole offense as he caught 8 passes for 153 yards (19.1 avg) with 3 TD grabs.  WR Drew Carter (4 rec, 50 yards) and TE Justin King (4 rec, 39 yards) each pitched in a little bit on Sunday.  The Panthers finished up rushing for 66 yards on 18 carries (3.7 ypc) and they completed 27 of 41 passes for 278 yards.

The Panthers defense did not play well as the Texans hogged the ball for 34:48 of the game.  The Texans rushed for 119 yards on 36 carries (3.3 ypc) and they completed 20 of 28 passes for 227 yards.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270916029

Both of these teams are coming off of impressive opening day victories.  The Panthers punished the Rams 27-13 in St. Louis while the Texans defeated the Chiefs 20-3 at home.  Look for the Panthers to have a similar offensive game plan against the Texans as they will likely throw the ball early to get the lead and then try to grind out a win on the ground.  The Texans need DE Mario Williams to have another outstanding game or Jake Delhomme will likely have the time needed to pick apart the Texans’ secondary which is hurting due to widespread injuries.  The Panthers will likely need one of their young receivers to step up and take some pressure off of Steve Smith.  Smith was outstanding in the opener as he caught 7 passes for 118 yards (16.9 avg) and a TD.  The Texans safeties must give CB Dunta Robinson help with Smith or it could be a long day for the Texans defense.  LB DeMeco Ryans must be on his toes against the Panthers who rushed for 186 yards on 38 carries (4.9 ypc) against the Rams last Sunday.  The Panthers will likely continue to split the carries between DeShaun Foster (94 yards) and DeAngelo Williams (62 yards) in the running game.

The Texans would probably like to run the football to open up the passing game.  The Texans ran the football on 58.5% of their offensive plays last week and they rushed for 109 yards against the Chiefs.  The Panthers defense will be a much tougher test for the Texans as they only allowed 76 yards on 21 carries (3.6 ypc) last week against the Rams.  Ahman Green (73 yards) and Ron Dayne (33 yards) will likely split up the running load for the Texans.  The reason the Texans have to run the football is because the Panthers can bring a mean pass rush to the table and the Texans line is still a tad below average.  DE Julius Peppers is a beast and the Texans will have little chance of keeping him away from Matt Schaub.  Schaub was efficient in the opener hitting 16 of 22 passes (72.7%) for 225 yards with 1 TD pass and 1 interception against the Chiefs.  He will likely need to throw more short passes this week so look for TE Owen Daniels to be much more involved in the game plan this week.  That doesn’t mean they won’t try to throw deep as Andre Johnson (7 rec, 142 yards, TD) and Jacoby Jones (2 rec, 33 yards) both have speed to burn.

PREDICTION:  Things will not be near as easy for the Texans in this football game.  The Chiefs don’t have the offense or the defense that the Panthers have and this game is not at Reliant Stadium.  Look for the Panthers to get the lead early with the passing game and then grind it out with DeShaun Foster and DeAngelo Williams on the ground. 

The Panthers took the Rams behind the woodshed for the second season in a row.  QB Jake Delhomme was outstanding as he completed 18 of 27 passes for 201 yards with 3 TD passes.  RBs DeShaun Foster ran the ball well as he carried the football 17 times for 94 yards (5.5 ypc) but he lost a fumble.  DeAngelo Williams also was busy with 15 carries for 62 yards (4.1 ypc) and he also lost a fumble.  WR Steve Smith was outstanding as usual with 7 catches for 118 yards and a TD.  TE Jeff King (5 rec, 35 yards) and WR Drew Carter (3 rec, 19 yards, 2 TDs).  The Panthers ran the football 38 times for 186 yards (4.9 ypc) and they also completed 18 of 27 passes for 201 yards.  The Panthers were also ball hogs as they possessed the ball for 34:07 of the game.

Strong safety Chris Harris and MLB Dan Morgan led the Panthers as each of them had 7 tackles.  The Panthers held the Rams to 76 yards rushing on 21 carries (3.6 ypc).  The Rams also only threw for 162 yards on 22 of 42 passing.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=270909014

I think the bet here is the under.  I just don’t see how the Panthers will be better than 8-8 this season.  They need one of their running backs to step up and be the man if they are going to win more than 9 football games this season.  They do get 4 games against the Bucs and Falcons so that could help them out big-time if you bet the over.  Still, I see the 2007 version of the Panthers to be very similar to the 2006 version which puts me on the under with the Panthers.