PANTHERS 24, FALCONS 9: Veteran out of hand

Charlotte —- If the Falcons’ young cornerbacks are looking for images to file away, to remember the rough days, to fire them up as they go forward in the NFL, this might be a good one:

Carolina wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad finding wide open space up the right side, splitting safety Erik Coleman and cornerback Brent Grimes, catching a perfect pass from quarterback Jake Delhomme and dragging Grimes into the end zone for a 36-yard touchdown.

Grimes was latched on, but he was just along for the ride.

That’s about how the afternoon went for Grimes, Chris Houston and the Falcons secondary. That was the final reception of an eight-catch, 147-yard performance for Muhammad, the fifth-best day of his 13-year career.

“We definitely went through some growing pains with the corners,” Falcons safety Lawyer Milloy said. “An old vet got loose and showed he could still play; that was pretty much it. They had a lot of open field. Not only were they beating them on catches, but run after catch was big today, too.”

The “they,” of course, included Panthers star Steve Smith, who in recent years has been begging for some kind of decoy from the other receiver spot. With the return of Muhammad after three years in Chicago, Smith got to play the role of secondary receiver on Sunday.

In doing so, he came up with 96 yards and six catches, including a 56-yard touchdown reception. He was 4 yards from giving the Panthers two 100-yard receivers for the day.

“Both of them are playmakers,” said Houston, who matched up with Smith much of the game. “Muhsin was a possession wide receiver, and they were trying to get Steve Smith the big plays. Those type receivers, you just got to keep playing. That’s all you can do. …

“These type of games happen to the best of us all. We’ve just got to watch film, correct things and come back and play hard.”

For his touchdown, Smith found a gap in the Falcons’ cover two zone in the second quarter and beat Coleman on a crossing route. Smith broke a tackle from Milloy on his way into the end zone.

“He caught the ball in full stride,” Coleman said. “He’s a speedy guy. I tried to catch up to him; he had a better angle than me. I got a piece of him, tried to slow him down, but he kept rolling. He’s short, he’s compact, he’s strong. You have to put some pads on him to stop him.”

Early, it seemed the Falcons’ best defense against the pass was batting the ball at the line of scrimmage. Delhomme completed 4-of-6 passes on the Panthers’ first possession for 53 yards. The two incomplete passes were batted at the line by Grady Jackson and Michael Boley.

On Carolina’s next possession, Delhomme hit Muhammad on a quick slant for 15 yards, then tight end Dante Rosario on a bootleg. They kept the Falcons’ defensive front guessing, and it showed.

The Falcons didn’t get Delhomme dirty, much less sack him.

“They switched it up on us,” said defensive end John Abraham, who was leading the NFL with six sacks coming into the game but came away empty. “They gave us a lot of quick stuff, and then they started setting back and throwing it deep. They had a good game plan. They had me not rushing like I was supposed to and doing some stuff I don’t usually do. They did a good job.”

Ultimately, Grimes knows the secondary took the biggest hit.

“We didn’t have the best day,” Grimes said. “We’re going to go back watch the film, learn from it, try to get better and put this game behind us.”