The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s D. Orlando Ledbetter & CineSport’s Noah Coslov preview Falcons-Panthers for the NFC South title by talking about their week 11 game, matchups and Mike Smith’s job status.
Welcome all! With the NFL becoming more of a passing league, the “Cover 9@9” blog will become all of the rage. You can read it here every Wednesday at 9 a.m. throughout the season. We’ll try to get to everything about the Atlanta Falcons from the Hometown Huddle to how the Falcons plan to stop the Panthers' rushing attack. -– D. Orlando Ledbetter)
1. PLAYOFF PUSH: Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan has remained upbeat through this
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
improbable playoff push.
He was almost too perky at times.
Now, all that is left for the Falcons (6-9) is to defeat the Carolina Panthers (6-8-1) at 4:25 p.m. (time change) on Sunday at the Georgia Dome to earn the NFC South title and a home playoff game.
But the Panthers are surging. They’ve won three straight after going 0-6-1 in their previous seven outings. Those wins are over the Saints, Buccaneers and Browns.
Ryan’s expecting a battle.
“They have a really good front seven,” Ryan said. “That’s what jumps out at you on film when you watch them play.”
The battles with the Panthers have been highly spirited even since Ryan told them to “get the (expletive) off my field” after a dramatic 30-28 win in 2012.
Who could blame Ryan for being so stoked.
He drove the Falcons into field-goal range from their 1-yard line with a minute and no timeouts left.
The Panthers, the defending NFC South champs, won the next three meetings before the Falcons beat them 19-17 in Week 11. The Falcons weren’t in the clear until rookie defensive end Ra’Shede Hageman blocked a 63-yard field goal attempt at the buzzer.
“It’s going to be a 60-minute football game,” Ryan said. “We know how good of a football team that they are. We’ve got to play our best.”
The winner advances to the NFC playoffs and will host a playoff game.
The Falcons never thought they’d be in this position after opening the season with a 2-6 mark.
“This is what you play for,” Ryan said.
2. PLAYOFFS HAVE STARTED ALREADY: As far as the Falcons are concerned, the playoffs started with their trip to New Orleans.
The 30-14 victory set up this showdown with the Panthers.
“It’s a one-game season for us,” defensive end Jonathan Babineaux said. “That’s all we can ask for is to finish the season out strong.”
3. LAST MEETING WITH PANTHERS: The Falcons blew a 16-3 lead in the last meeting with the Panthers and trailed 17-16 before Matt Bryant made a 44-yard field goal with 2:08 remaining.
“The only thing I remember is that we played the game and there were a lot of ups and down in that game,” Babineaux said. “We were able to finish it off with a blocked field goal to win the game.”
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
4. PLAYOFF PROUD: If the Falcons pull off the victory, they plan to be proud of their 7-9 record.
“We want to be in the playoffs and we want to get a home playoff game,” wide receiver Roddy White said.
5. WILL THE PANTHERS BE READY FOR THE FALCONS' SCREENS AGAIN?: In the previous meeting, Carolina took away one of the Falcons' bread-and-butter plays: the bubble screen to wide receiver Julio Jones.
Falcons offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter made note of that on Tuesday.
"24, their new ace cover guy, he played good against us last time," Koetter said. "You guys let me have it about how well he sniffed out our screen game. We're going to have to figure something out on that."
24 is Josh Norman.
6. Panthers WR Kelvin Benjamin vs. Falcons CB Desmond Trufant: Benjamin has turned in a fine rookie season. He has 72 catches for 999 yards and nine touchdowns. He had nine catches for 109 yards and a touchdown in the previous
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
Credit: D. Orlando Ledbetter
meeting in Week 11. Trufant credited his film study that helped him pick up a big interception against the Saints. He has three interceptions and 15 pass breakups. When the Falcons are in man-to-man coverage, he will shadow Benjamin.
Panthers RB Jonathan Stewart vs. Falcons LB Paul Worrilow: Stewart is coming on down the stretch. He has averaged 117 yards rushing per game over the Panthers' three-game winning streak. He rushed for 115 yards in the rout of New Orleans, 75 yards against Tampa Bay and he had 122 yards rushing last week against Cleveland. Worrilow has led the charge as the Falcons' run defense has improved late in the season. They held Arizona to 35 yards rushing, Pittsburgh's Le'Veon Bell to 47 yards and New Orleans' Mark Ingram to 38 yards. Worrilow leads the Falcons with 136 tackles.
Panthers TE Greg Olsen vs. Falcons S Dwight Lowery: Olsen is going to his first Pro Bowl. He has 82 catches for 981 yards, which are both career-highs and rank second among all tight ends behind New England's Rob Gronkowski. He also has six touchdown receptions. In the previous meeting, he caught five passes for 61 yards. Lowery, who was the primary defender against New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham last week, will defend Olsen. Lowery has two interceptions and five passes defense. He's had a solid season after being signed as a low-budget free agent.
9. DEPTH CHART FOR NFC SOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP GAME: Here's the Falcons' official depth chart for Sunday's game against Carolina.
OFFENSE
WR 84 Roddy White, 83 Harry Douglas, 14 Eric Weems
LT 70 Jake Matthews, 68 Gabe Carimi
LG 63 Justin Blalock, 69 Harland Gunn
C 62 James Stone, 69 Harland Gunn
RG 75 Jon Asamoah, 69 Harland Gunn
RT 73 Ryan Schraeder, 68 Gabe Carimi, 64 Jonathan Scott
TE 80 Levine Toilolo, 86 Bear Pascoe
WR 11 Julio Jones, 17 Devin Hester, 19 Drew Davis
QB 2 Matt Ryan, 13 TJ Yates, 12 Sean Renfree
RB 39 Steven Jackson, 32 Jacquizz Rodgers, 24 Devonta Freeman
FB 42 Patrick DiMarco
DEFENSE
DE 71 Kroy Biermann, 50 Osi Umenyiora, 90 Stansly Maponga
DT 99 Tyson Jackson, 77 Ra’Shede Hageman, 98 Cliff Matthews
DT 96 Paul Soliai, 91 Corey Peters
DE 95 Jonathan Babineaux, 94 Jonathan Massaquoi, 93 Malliciah Goodman, 54 Tyler Starr
LB 55 Paul Worrilow, 52 Nate Stupar, 97 James Anderson
LB 59 Joplo Bartu, 53 Prince Shembo
CB 27 Robert McClain, 28 Javier Arenas, 37 Ricardo Allen
CB 26 Josh Wilson, 28 Javier Arenas
S 36 Kemal Ishmael, 30 Charles Godfrey, 29 Sean Baker
S 20 Dwight Lowery, 41 Dezmen Southward
CB 21 Desmond Trufant, 28 Javier Arenas
SPECIALISTS
K 3 Matt Bryant
KO 5 Matt Bosher
P 5 Matt Bosher
KR 17 Devin Hester, 14 Eric Weems
PR 17 Devin Hester, 14 Eric Weems
LS 47 Josh Harris
H 5 Matt Bosher
FALCONS FAN MAILBAG: We take your questions from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Friday.
GAME STORY: Falcons prevail in NFC South showdown with Saints, 30-14
NOTEBOOK: Julio Jones returns to energize the offense
QUOTEBOARD: What the Falcons had to say after beating the Saints
VIDEO: Linebacker Paul Worrilow on the victory over the Saints
About the Author
