The Falcons are preparing to face versatile Carolina All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey.
The Falcons (1-6) are set to face the Panthers (3-4) at 8:20 p.m. Thursday at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
McCaffery suffered a high ankle sprain and has not played since the second game of the season.
“He can be up, so I’ll be ready for him,” Falcons middle linebacker Deion Jones said Tuesday.
McCaffrey, who’s in his fourth season in the NFL, has rushed 41 times for 156 yards and four touchdowns He’s also caught seven passes for 67 yards.
“He got out there and practiced today,” Carolina coach Matt Rhule said. “We’re hopeful that he’ll be able to play soon. They’ll look at him and see how he feels tomorrow and see if it’s this week that we can get him out there.”
McCaffrey was named All-Pro last season for the first time. He rushed 287 times for 1,387 yards and 15 touchdowns and caught 116 passes for 1,005 yards and four touchdowns.
“We’ve got to figure out where he is and what they like to do with him,” Jones said. “I like the way he runs routes. I like the way they use him.”
McCaffrey did not play in the Panthers' 23-16 victory over the Falcons on Oct. 11. Mike Davis, an Atlanta native who played at Stephenson High School, filled in nicely in that game.
Davis had 16 rushes for 89 yards. He also caught nine passes for 60 yards and a touchdown. But McCaffrey presents some different issues.
“He is another weapon on that offense,” Falcons free safety Ricardo Allen said. “For the last couple of years, he has been the go-to guy on the offense.”
The Falcons have watched the games from earlier in the season when McCaffrey played.
“You see that they were using him in all kind of different positions with him being able to be a guy that’s good enough to flex outside and be a slot receiver (inside),” Allen said. “He may be even sometimes be by himself backside one-on-one by himself because that’s the kind of guy they believe that he is.”
The Panthers will treat McCaffrey as a chess piece.
“You really have to be ready for him because you really don’t know what they are going to try to do with him,” Allen said. "You always have to think in your mind, ‘OK, where else in the offense could they line McCaffery at?’ "
Because Davis has played so well, the Falcons believe the Panthers may try to play Davis and McCaffrey together.
“Even if they were to still have Mike Davis on the field, where could McCaffrey aligned?,” Allen said. “If they were to take Mike Davis off the field, he probably would be the first running back. Just try to figure out in what kind of weird places can he play because he’s one of those players who can do that.”
Allen said he’s been impressed by McCaffrey’s consistency.
“He took a two running back set and turned it into a one-man show,” Allen said. “At one point in time it was Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams. They both were doing it. Then when McCaffrey got in there, he was playing 98% of the snaps, which is unheard of.”
McCaffrey’s productivity has been impressive. The 403 touches, 2,392 yards and 19 touchdowns led the league last season.
“He’s a guy that even if he’s getting out there and he’s getting eight to 10 catches and targets in the pass game, he’s going to rack up 30 to 40 yards,” Allen said. "That’s not including the run plays that he’s getting. He can get out there and easily touch the ball 25 to 30 times.
“He’s going to make something happen on those plays. He’s a guy that always finds a way to be really slippery and get yards. He’s just a very well-rounded player and the majority of times is just because he’s so consistent.”
With or without McCaffrey, the Falcons want to cut down their big plays.
In the previous meeting, the Falcons were up 7-6 until Panthers wide receiver D.J. Moore broke loose of a 57-yard catch-and-run with 2:30 left in the second quarter to make the score 13-6.
The Panthers stopped the Falcons and scored in the final 1:34 left in the first half when quarterback Teddy Bridgewater tossed a 6-yard touchdown pass to Davis.
Boom, the Panthers were up 20-7 at the half.
The Falcons couldn’t scramble back into the game. After cutting the lead to 20-13, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan tossed an interception in the end zone from the 5-yard line, killing a chance to tie the score.
“We were doing a pretty good job on them,” Allen said. “I think if you go back through the whole game and you take away a couple of the explosive plays. I think if we take away the explosives, we’ll do a really good job against them. Even if we just stop the catch and run.”
Bridgewater has executed the Panthers' short passing game very well.
“They are going to catch their (passes) and make their plays,” Allen said. “When they catch the ball you just have to tackle them and get them down because the quarterback does a really good job of getting the ball out of his hands early and tries to get it into his playmakers hands.
"Just studying film and knowing that you have to be ready to come and tackle because they do get a lot of yards after the catch. We have to be ready for that.”
Falcons' next four games
Falcons at Panthers at 8:20 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29
Broncos at Falcons at 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8
Bye Week
Falcons at Saints at 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 22
Las Vegas Raiders at Falcons at 1 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 29
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