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Week 2 Game Recap: Carolina Panthers 20, Atlanta Falcons 28
Carolina Panthers
| QB Jake Delhomme, Pass: 25 - 41 - 308 - 1 TD / 1 INT |
Delhomme came off the ropes swinging and played more than well enough to save his long-term job with the Panthers. We are very impressed with his mental toughness considering the back-to-back implosions he had in his previous two games. Delhomme was throwing the ball into small windows and threading the needle between multiple defenders with impunity. He did not become afraid of making mistakes even though he was under the gun after his putrid performance to open the season. He had great touch on his downfield passes to Steve Smith, and Delhomme bombarded Smith with targets, as he has for most of his career with Carolina. His accuracy was pinpoint at first, but he did have some erratic moments as the game went on. A flea flicker was attempted, but the pressure was too much for Delhomme to even get a pass off. The quality of the Panthers running game set up success in play-action repeatedly for Delhomme. Delhomme's interception came when he forced a throw to Steve Smith on 4th and 10, so we can't really hold it against him too strongly. He has definitely righted the ship.
| RB DeAngelo Williams, Rush: 16 - 79 - 1, Rec: 3 - 32 - 0 (6 targets) |
Williams found a way to make it a good day for his fantasy owners, even though the Panthers were behind for most of the game. He's still in a 60-40ish split with Jonathan Stewart, but he converted another goal-line carry by breaking it outside when nothing was there (and using a stiff arm), and Williams ran with the same power and overwhelming burst that he has displayed since the middle of last season. Williams was one broken tackle away from a big run at least a few times, and he made an ankle-breaking cut in the open field on a late reception to get a key first down, keeping the Panthers hopes alive. The end of the first half brought a few runs against the nickel package and gave Williams about 30 cheap yards, and he did fumble in his own end, setting up the score that gave the Falcons control of the second half.
| RB Jonathan Stewart, Rush: 9 - 65 - 0, Rec: 3 - 14 - 0 (3 targets) |
You would never know Stewart missed almost all of the preseason by the way he is running right now. Power, shiftiness, initial burst, second gear - it's all there for Stewart. He's not tentative in his cuts or when it comes time for a collision, and he's breaking tackles at the second level to get extra yards. Stewart did have a first and goal carry, but he stumbled, and he also had a nice run up the gut in the red zone near the end of the game, but he fumbled and was replaced by DeAngelo Williams (although he did recover it). He looks as explosive and talented as he did last year.
| WR Steve Smith, Rec: 8 - 131 - 0 (15 targets) |
Smith was targeted early and often, and this pattern stayed throughout the game. He was making catches on long touch passes down the sideline, getting both feet down against stiff odds, making tacklers miss on short catches, and otherwise playing like the all-around warrior we expect him to be. Smith did commit an offensive pass interference penalty in the second half to negate one of his catches, and he had a few injury scares, including one on a hail mary at the end of the first half, but Smith mostly showed why he is still one of the best in the game against the Falcons.
| WR Muhsin Muhammad, Rec: 4 - 47 - 0 (7 targets) |
Muhammad was an afterthought in the gameplan. He got a little banged up, and two of his four catches came on the desperation drive that ended with a Chris Houston interception. His main function on this team seems to be as a run blocker at this time.
| WR Dwayne Jarrett, Rec: 1 - 9 - 0 (1 targets) |
Jarrett only contributed a catch on the desperation drive, and an almost-catch on the game-ending hail mary deflection, but he is close to irrelevant for this team.
| TE Dante Rosario, Rec: 3 - 31 - 1 (4 targets) |
Rosario made some real tough catches in the middle of the field, and extended the ball to get a late TD, earning more trust from Jake Delhomme going forward. Delhomme was not afraid to throw to Rosario, even when he was well-covered, so he could be emerging as the closest thing this team has to a #3 receiver.
| TE Jeff King, Rec: 2 - 38 - 0 (3 targets) |
King made a real nice long catch between three defenders, and converted another short target early, but he also dropped a pass that was overturned on review, and remains part of a committee at TE.
Atlanta Falcons
| QB Matt Ryan, Pass: 21 - 27 - 220 - 3 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 2 - 3 - 0 |
It was another day at the office for Matt Ryan, who rarely faced pressure, and pretty much got to do what he pleased in the pocket against the Panthers. Ryan didn't throw any of his deep ball lollipops, but he didn't need to against Carolina. He was executing well on timing passes, surveying the field calmly, and mostly making very good decisions. Ryan's one interception came when he stared down Marty Booker in the middle of the field, allowing Richard Marshall to jump the pass, but he also dropped the ball in perfectly between a linebacker and safety on Tony Gonzalez's TD, and he made a real nice read on the checkdown to Jason Snelling that resulted in another one of his three TDs. With defenses gearing up to stop Michael Turner and great pass-blocking from his line, Ryan is getting very comfortable in this passing offense.
| RB Michael Turner, Rush: 28 - 105 - 1, Rec: 1 - 5 - 0 (1 targets) |
Turner did yeoman's work, grinding out one and two-yard runs to keep the defense honest, then busting off longer runs when they weren't. He followed his blocks very well, and always fell forward, getting a ton of yards after contact. Turner did fumble inside the 10, but he atoned with a TD run later that he created by cutting outside when the middle was gummed up. He converted one first down late to help milk the clock, but couldn't get the second, to give the Panthers one more chance at a hail mary. You wouldn't know it by his yards per carry, but Turner performed well and got everything that was there and more vs. Carolina.
| RB Jason Snelling, Rush: 6 - 37 - 0, Rec: 1 - 10 - 1 (1 targets) |
Snelling was pressed into action when Norwood went down, and he performed well. He scored on a short pass when he overpowered a linebacker that didn't wrap up, and he also broke a long run against the nickel defense by defeating a would-be tackler. Snelling looks like a reasonable imitation of Michael Turner in the power department, and with Norwood's injury problems, he might be the smarter handcuff at this point in time.
| RB Jerious Norwood, Rush: 1 - 6 - 0 |
Norwood left early with a head injury, but there's no indication that this injury will be a problem going forward.
| WR Roddy White, Rec: 6 - 53 - 1 (10 targets) |
White wasn't targeted deep in this game, but he still had a good day with lots of five to ten yard routes, and an excellent slant that shielded the DB from the ball on his touchdown catch. White had one drop, and one pass overturned by penalty, but he still had fine numbers and helped keep this offense humming all day as a receiver and a run blocker.
| WR Michael Jenkins, Rec: 3 - 33 - 0 (4 targets) |
Like Muhsin Muhammad, Jenkins wasn't targeted much, so he provided most of his value in this game as a run blocker. He did catch one downfield target in the two-minute drill, but Jenkins targets are clearly suffering because of the introduction of Tony Gonzalez to this offense.
| WR Marty Booker, Rec: 2 - 42 - 0 (3 targets) |
Booker emerged as a 3A to Brian Finneran's #3 receiver, with two downfield catches to convert third downs, something that will surely endear him to Matt Ryan. He was also the target on Ryan's interception.
| TE Tony Gonzalez, Rec: 7 - 71 - 1 (7 targets) |
What else is there to say about this ageless wonder? He extended like a player in his early twenties to make his TD catch, and he also made catches while lined up wide and lined up in the slot. He went low to catch an important red zone target, and he also drew a pass interference penalty in the end zone to set up Michael Turner's touchdown. Different year, different team, same story for this stud.