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!