The Panthers are now averaging 156.6 yards rushing per game and 4.8 yards per carry this season as DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart are carrying the offense.  Williams has carried the ball 168 times for 860 yards (5.1 ypc) with 7 TD carries and he has also caught 21 passes for 215 yards (10.2 avg).  Williams has the ability to score any time he touches the football.  Stewart is the muscle of the running game for the Panthers.  He ahs carried the ball 98 times for 466 yards (4.8 ypc) with 6 TD runs and he has also caught 13 passes for 103 yards (7.9 avg) this year.  Stewart would be the main ballcarrier on a lot of teams in the NFL but he works in a great timeshare with DeAngelo Williams in Carolina.

The Panthers have lost standout left tackle Jordan Gross for the year due to a broken right ankle.  He started all nine games for the Panthers this season and he was doing a good job of blocking the blind side for Jake Delhomme.  Starting left guard Travelle Wharton will shift to Gross’ spot and he should do a decent job as he has started all 9 games for the Panthers this year.  Mackenzy Bernadeau will replace Wharton as the new starting left guard and that’s not likely too good of a thing for the Panthers.  He has played in all 9 games (0 starts) for the Panthers this season and he didn’t play at all as a rookie last year.  Look for the interior running game of the Panthers to suffer a little bit with Wharton now playing on the outside.

The Carolina Panthers (4-5) and Jake Delhomme have been doing a much better job at taking care of the ball, and the turnover free play helped them beat the Atlanta Falcons (5-4) on Sunday.  Delhomme had two touchdowns and no interceptions in this one, while throwing for 195 yards on 15/24 attempts.  Delhomme has gone three games in a row now without throwing a pick, and this is after he threw 13 interceptions in the Panthers’ first six games this year.  The key for Delhomme seems to be a quicker and more simple passing game.  They used the no-huddle with a lot of success against the Falcons, and the running game worked great.  DeAngelo Williams had 92 yards on 19 carries and Jonathon Stewart had 82 yards and 2 touchdowns on 11 carries.

The Panthers defense looked like they were in for a long day in the first half.  Falcons’ talented running back Michael Turner was having a lot of success against the Panthers’ defense, but he sprained his ankle in the second quarter and was done for the day.  He had already done a lot of damage, racking up 111 yards on only 9 carries, but they did keep him out of the endzone.  They did a better job against his back-up Jason Snelling, but it wasn’t great.  Snelling scored a touchdown and ran for 61 yards on 18 carries.  What the Panther defense did really well at though, was shutting down Matt Ryan.  They pressured him into a lot of erratic throws, and Richard Marshall and Sherrod Martin both got an interception off him.  The Panthers held Ryan to one touchdown and 224 yards on 22/41 attempts, while intercepting him twice.  The Panthers have won two of their last three games against solid opponents, and a lot has to do with Delhomme taking care of the ball.  If they can keep this up they can end up with a respectable record.

The Carolina Panthers (3-5) are hosting the Atlanta Falcons (5-3) Sunday and are looking to bounce back after their collapse against the Saints last week.  Jake Delhomme needs to continue to limit his turnovers like he has in the last two games.  He has 13 interceptions this year, but has gone two straight weeks without one.  The main reason why though is not because Delhomme is playing that much better, but because the Panthers have been limiting Delhomme.  He throws a lot of very short passes and the offense has looked very limited.  DeAngelo Williams has been the engine that makes the Panthers’ offense go.  He has been running great for them lately, racking up 307 yards and two touchdowns on 44 carries in his last two games.

The Panthers defense will have quite a challenge stopping the Falcons’ running game.  Michael Turner has been even better than Williams has been in the last two games, getting  3 touchdowns and 317 yards on 38 carries.  Matt Ryan is a talented quarterback for the Falcons, but he is prone to throwing interceptions and has been struggling as of late.  If the Panthers can get some turnovers off of Ryan they will have a great shot at winning.  The Falcons are the better football team though, so I am picking them to win this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Atlanta Falcons 30, Carolina Panthers 21

The Panthers really need 23-year old WR Dwayne Jarrett to step up due to Mushin Muhammad’s knee injury.  Jarrett has played in 8 games this season for the Panthers and he has caught 9 passes for 78 yards (8.7 avg).  He has now played three years in Carolina appearing in 24 games in which he has caught 25 passes for 270 yards (10.8 avg).  If Jarrett doesn’t start playing better soon his time will be up in Carolina.

The Panthers have lost Thomas Davis for the year due to a torn right ACL.  Davis played in 7 games for the Panthers this season and he made 61 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, he defensed 5 passes, had 1.5 sacks and he had 2 interceptions.  Davis will be replaced in the starting lineup by veteran Landon Johnson who was a 4-year starter for the Bengals before signing with the Panthers.  He has played in 8 games this season and he has 7 tackles including 1 tackle for a loss.  Landon Johnson should do a solid job filling in for Davis who has made a stunning transformation into a linebacker as he was a safety when the Panthers drafted him.

The Carolina Panthers (3-5) put up a very strong effort against arguably the best team in football in the New Orleans Saints (8-0), but they could not prevent a Saints’ comeback and fell short.  The Panthers built a 14-0 lead after the first quarter behind the Panthers running attack led by DeAngelo Williams.  Williams got the Panthers off to a quick start, getting a 66-yard touchdown run early in the first quarter.  He followed that with another touchdown midway through the first quarter and things were looking very good for the Panthers.  Williams finished with the two touchdowns and 149 rushing yards on 21 carries.  He had a phenomenal game through 3 1/2 quarters, but he had a very costly fumble on the Panthers’ own 1-yard line that the Saints’ Anthony Hargrove recovered for a touchdown.  That play pretty much sealed it for the Saints, putting them up 10 with only two minutes to play.

The Panthers had a lot of problems holding on to the ball in this one, as they fumbled five times and lost three of them.  Jake Delhomme fumbled twice, losing one.  Delhomme did not throw any interceptions though, the first quarterback to do that this year against the Saints.  He failed to hit the endzone too though, and finished with 201 yards on 17/30 attempts.  This was definitely a game that the Panthers could have, and should have won.  The three turnovers killed them though and turnovers have been the story of the season this year for the Panthers.  The defense did a good job containing the Saints explosive running game, holding Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, and Mike Bell to 83 yards on 20 carries combined.  They did however, let Drew Brees get too many yards through the air.  He finished with 330 yards on 24/35 attempts, with one touchdown and one interception.  The Panthers secondary could not contain Robert Meachum, who caught five passes for 98 yards and a touchdown.  If the Panthers could only take care of the ball batter, their record would be much better.

The Carolina Panthers (3-4) are coming off a surprising win over the Cardinals last week, but they have a very difficult task this week going on the road against the New Orleans Saints (7-0).  The Saints have been nearly unstoppable at home this year and their offense can put points on the board fast.  The Panthers need to do a better job of stopping the run if they want a chance in this one.  Currently, they are giving up 127 rushing yards per game.  That is not a good sign for the Panthers, as the Saints have Pierre Thomas, Mike Bell, and Reggie Bush ready to attack them.  Then there is of course Drew Brees and the Saints passing attack, which is averaging 275 yards per game.

The Panthers offense better be ready to put some points up, since the Saints are averaging 39 points per game.  They will need more than 90 passing yards form Jake Delhomme, which is the number he put up last week.  DeAngelo Williams is coming off a huge 158 yard rushing game, and it would be great for the Panthers chances if Williams puts up another effort like that.  He just may have that chance, as the Saints give up 102 rushing yards per game.  Unfortunately for the Panthers, this will probably be a blowout.  They just don’t have the talent to keep up with the Saints high powered offense.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  New Orleans Saints 41, Carolina Panthers 20

The Panthers will be without starting fullback Brad Hoover for several games due to a high ankle sprain.  The 32-year old fullback has played in 5 games this season for the Panthers and he has 2 carries for 2 yards (1.0 ypc).  Don’t underestimate this injury as Hoover was a lead blocker for the Panthers in the running game which is averaging 148.9 yards per game and 4.7 yards per carry.  The Panthers will miss Hoover while he is out of action.

The Panthers were very smart yesterday focusing on the team strength on offense and running the football.  Jake Delhomme just had to manage the game yesterday completing 7 of 14 passes for 90 yards with 1 TD pass.  He also carried the ball 1 time for 7 yards.  Matt Moore made a brief appearance yesterday throwing 1 incomplete pass.  DeAngelo Williams was amazing in this game carrying the ball 23 times for 158 yards (6.9 ypc).  Jonathan Stewart also had a solid game as he carried the ball 17 times for 87 yards (5.1 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  Steve Smith had one of his best games of the season as he caught 3 passes for 56 yards (18.7 avg) with 1 TD grab and he also carried the ball 1 time for 17 yards.  The Panthers finished up with 355 total yards on offense in this game (270 rushing, 85 passing).

The defense was excellent for the Panthers in this game.  LBs Jon Beason (11 tackles) and Thomas Davis (7 tackles, 1 pass defensed and 1 interception led the way for the Panthers in this game.  DE Julius Peppers also had a huge game with 2 tackles, 1 sack, 1 pass defensed, 2 QB hits and 1 interception that he returned 13 yards for a TD!  CBs Sherrod Martin (2 interceptions) and Richard Marshall (1 interception) also were very disruptive for the Panthers on D in this game.  The Cardinals finished up with 320 total yards in this game (94 rushing, 226 passing).  This huge win improved the Panthers to 3-4 on the season.