Week 1 Game Recap: Atlanta Falcons 20, Carolina Panthers 6

What you need to know

Atlanta Falcons

Many wondered if Warrick Dunn could take the punishment to endure 25 or more carries a game and be effective with the departure of T.J. Duckett. In his first test, Dunn exceeded expectation with 29 carries for 132 yards and showed no signs of wearing down late in the game. Dunn was extremely effective on cutback runs including a 25 yard run, his longest of the day. He led the Falcons in rushing as the team accumulated 252 yards on the ground.

Michael Vick showed his athleticism, arm strength and speed as he passed for two touchdowns and ran for 48 yards. Although his statistics are not spectacular the key to his performance was not making mistakes passing the ball as he had done in the past. Vick completed ten of 22 pass attempts for 140 yards with no interceptions. Unlike last season when he focused on remaining in the pocket, Vick played his style of game, scrambling to his left and right, running quarterback draws which contributed to the Falcons’ rushing success.

The acquisition of defensive lineman, John Abraham was expected to boost the Falcons’ defense and Abraham’s debut was no disappointment. He created chaos on the line of scrimmage for the Carolina offensive line and pressured quarterback Jake Delhomme throughout the game. Abraham had five tackles, two sacks and two forced fumbles but beyond the statistics he seemed to be in the backfield disrupting Delhomme on nearly ever down.

Defensive lineman Patrick Kearney left the game in the first quarter after injuring his right arm. Kearney did not return. Abraham limped off the field late in the game with an apparent injury to his groin.

Carolina Panthers

Carolina struggled on both sides of the ball with the defense unable to stop the running game and the offense unable to establish a running game. The Panthers’ defense was expected to be one of the best in the NFL but where shredded by the Falcons for 252 yards on the ground and 385 total net yards. Linebacker, Dan Morgan left the game in the second quarter with a mild concussion and did not return. Morgan’s exit only compounded Carolina’s inability to stop the run.

With Steve Smith inactive for the game due to a hamstring injury, Jake Delhomme was left with wide receiver Drew Carter, who has just five receptions in his career, to replace Smith. In addition, newcomer Keyshawn Johnson started Carter as the other wide receiver. Delhomme failed to find any rhythm with either receiver and completed just 21 of 39 for 186 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Delhomme showed his anger and frustration several times during the game yelling and screaming as he came off the field.

The Panthers may have suffered a severe blow to their offensive line when tackle Travelle Wharton left the game before halftime with a knee injury. Carolina shifted two players on the offensive line but pass protection and run blocking seemed to deteriorate.

Kicker John Kasay provided the only points for the crippled Carolina offensive with two fields including a 54 yard attempt which had plenty of distance.

What you ought to know

QB Michael Vick, Pass: 10 - 22 - 140 - 2 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 7 - 48 - 0

Vick played his type of game and avoided staying in the pocket and becoming a target for the Carolina pass rush. He had defenders shadowing him throughout concerned about his running ability which created the running lanes for Dunn and Norwood. Vick was spectacular with his bootleg and fake handoffs, most notably on the 34 yard touchdown pass to Michael Jenkins. He faked to Dunn, bootlegged left to draw in the defenders and dump the pass off to Jenkins who galloped to the end zone. Vick completed just ten of 22 pass attempts for 140 but added two touchdowns and no interceptions. Although he had several overthrown passes, Vick did not seem to make an errant pass attempts downfield into double and triple coverage which he typically has done in the past. Vick’s speed and unbelievable moves provided an additional 48 yards to the Falcons’ rushing total.

RB Warrick Dunn, Rush: 29 - 132 - 0, Rec: 1 - 10 - 0 (1 targets)

Dunn showed he could be the workhorse for the Falcons despite sharing time with T.J. Duckett for several seasons. Dunn pounded and darted his way for 132 yards on 29 carries to lead the dominant Atlanta ground attack. He started the game slow finding little room to run against the Panthers’ defensive front but in the second quarter when he had several big gains finding running lanes to the inside after starting outside. Dunn showed little signs of fatigue in the game and appears to be ready to carry the load for Atlanta and their explosive rushing attack.

RB Jerious Norwood, Rush: 10 - 66 - 0 (1 targets)

Rookie Jerious Norwood gave Dunn a rest for portions of the second and fourth quarter and was very effective. Norwood was explosive to the line of scrimmage and showed some power breaking a few tackles before Carolina defenders could bring him down. He contributed to the dominant ground game with 66 yards on just ten carries in limited playing time.

RB Justin Griffith, Rush: 1 - 6 - 0, Rec: 1 - 16 - 0 (1 targets)

Griffith did not do much offensively with his stats but provided numerous key blocks at the point of attack which freed Dunn and Norwood for several big runs. On his only carry of the day, he fumbled after a three yard gain but fortunately the potential turnover was recovered by Atlanta.

WR Michael Jenkins, Rec: 3 - 77 - 1 (6 targets)

Jenkins had a nice performance with two catches greater than 30 yards including a 34 yard touchdown. He scored on a dump pass from Vick, broke a tackle and burst down the sideline for the touchdown. Jenkins had another end zone target but was overthrown. He finished the contest with 77 yards on just three catches and a touchdown.

WR Roddy White, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (5 targets)

White caught just one pass for five yards and appeared to be a third option for Vick behind Crumpler and Jenkins. He did have an end zone target but could not hold on to the ball.

WR Ashley Lelie, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (2 targets)

Lelie’s debut with Atlanta was far from memorable with just one catch for five yards. He saw limited playing time with Jenkins and White seeing most of the plays at wide receiver.

TE Alge Crumpler, Rec: 3 - 27 - 1 (6 targets)

Crumpler scored on a one yard touchdown grab in the third quarter on a bullet thrown by Michael Vick. He finished with just three receptions for 27 yards but had two overthrown targets with no defender within reach. Crumpler appears to remain Michael Vick’s favorite target.

TE Dwayne Blakley (1 targets)

Blakley saw his only target in the first quarter which was overthrown by Michael Vick.

PK Michael Koenen 2 - 4 FG, 2 - 2 XP, 8 points

Koenan got off to rough start missing on his first field goal attempt from 50 yards away as the ball sailed just wide right of the upright. Koenan was successful on two field goals from 25 and 32 yards away. He had a 50 yard attempt partially block which fell well short of its mark. He was perfect on both extra point attempts.

ATL Rush Defense

The Atlanta rush defense shutdown DeShaun Foster giving him no room to run inside or outside the tackles. They held Foster to just 54 yards on 15 carries and no touchdowns. Defensive lineman, John Abraham shifted positions on the line of scrimmage often creating trouble Carolina’s offensive line blocking schemes.

ATL Pass Defense

The Falcons’ pass defense shutdown the Carolina receivers and limited them to just 186 yards and no touchdowns. Atlanta’s pass rush was led by off season acquisition John Abraham who registered his first two sacks of the season and forced to fumbles. Defensive linemen Rod Coleman and Darrell Shropshire each recorded a sack. Cornerback, Jason Webster intercepted Delhomme thwarting an early fourth quarter drive.

QB Jake Delhomme, Pass: 21 - 39 - 186 - 0 TD / 1 INT

Delhomme’s stats suffered with the absence of star wide receiver, Steve Smith and poor pass protection from his offensive line. He completed 21 of 39 attempts for 186 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. Delhomme had another interception nullified due to an Atlanta penalty. The Atlanta pass rush put plenty of pressure on Delhomme from the outset which forced him to quick drops and dump passes for short yardage gains. Delhomme showed his frustration with his receivers and lackluster offense several times as he walked to the sideline yelling and waving his arms. Delhomme added to Carolina’s struggles with two fumbles, losing one of them to Atlanta.

RB DeShaun Foster, Rush: 15 - 54 - 0, Rec: 4 - 20 - 0 (5 targets)

Foster ran for 54 yards on 15 attempts for a Panthers’ offense that struggled to establish the running game. He found little success rushing up the middle and even less trying to get outside against the quick Atlanta defenders. Foster’s longest run of the contest was a ten yard gain late in the first quarter. He contributed to the receiving game with four receptions for 20 yards. Foster did have a fumble but recovered it himself. He had no rushing attempts in the fourth quarter as Carolina resorted to the passing game.

RB Brad Hoover, Rec: 1 - 0 - 0 (2 targets)

Hoover did not have any rushing attempts but did see two targets. He spent his afternoon blocking for DeShaun Foster. Hoover had one reception for no gain. His other target was intercepted by Atlanta but nullified due to a Falcons’ penalty.

RB DeAngelo Williams, Rec: 1 - 8 - 0 (1 targets)

Rookie DeAngelo Williams was used to return kickoffs but did come in on Carolina’s last possession of the game at running back. He did catch his only target for an eight yard gain.

WR Drew Carter, Rush: 1 - 11 - 0, Rec: 5 - 62 - 0 (11 targets)

Carter had some huge shoes to fill starting for an injured Steve Smith and did step up to lead Carolina with five receptions for 62 yards. He provided Delhomme with his only deep threat but pass protection limited most of the deep pass attempts. Carter did have a 25 yard gain on a deep pass down the sideline just before halftime and an end zone target that was just out of reach out of bounds. He also rushed for 11 yards on an end around play.

WR Keyshawn Johnson, Rec: 4 - 40 - 0 (9 targets)

Johnson did not get many looks in the first half and caught just four passes for 40 yards for the game. Johnson’s leaping grab for 18 yards, his longest of the game, helped set up a field goal for Carolina. He did receive an end zone target on that same drive but was overthrown by Delhomme.

WR Keary Colbert, Rec: 3 - 32 - 0 (5 targets)

Colbert saw limited action in the game and had three catches for 32 yards. Most of his targets were short passes on or near the sideline with no deep targets. He failed to keep Carolina’s hopes alive late in the fourth quarter when he stepped out of bounds a yard short of a first down on fourth and 12.

WR Steve Smith

Smith was inactive for the game with a right hamstring injury.

TE Kris Mangum, Rec: 3 - 24 - 0 (5 targets)

Mangum caught three of five targets for 24 yards in the game but often was forced to remain in and provided pass protection for Delhomme.

TE Michael Gaines (3 targets)

Gaines had three targets in the game, all in the fourth quarter but had no receptions. He was the intended target on a deep pass over the middle from Delhomme that was intercepted by Atlanta.

PK John Kasay 2 - 2 FG, 0 - 0 XP, 6 points

Kasay provided the only points for Carolina in the game with two field goals. He split the uprights from 54 yards away to put Carolina in the lead early in the first quarter. Later, he would connect from 46 yards away.

CAR Rush Defense

The Carolina rush defense was clearly dominated by the Atlanta offensive line and ineffective on stopping the run inside or outside. Atlanta’s running backs and Michael Vick combined for 252 rushing yards and tallied 14 first downs on the ground. Safety, Shaun Williams led the Panthers’ with ten tackles attempting to help contain the Falcons’ rushing attack. Carolina allowed no rushing touchdowns in the game.

CAR Pass Defense

Carolina was able to put very little pressure on Michael Vick and when they did, Vick managed to scramble and create positive yardage for Atlanta. The Panthers recorded just one sack in the game by defensive lineman, Damione Lewis which took Carolina out of field goal position early in the game. Carolina allowed 140 passing yards and two touchdowns through the air.