Carolina Panthers: Every Game Is a Must-Win

For some reason, it just seemed the Carolina Panthers started playing in last Sunday's, all-important conference rivalry game against the Atlanta Falcons about 30 minutes after the Falcons took the opening kickoff and marched down the field for a Jason Elam field goal.
 
Couple that late start and the late surge of intensity from the Carolina Panthers and consider a lack of early third down conversions, throw in a handful of false starts from the Panther's "franchise tagged" right tackle and from their first-round draft pick rookie left tackle, add in a handful of three step drops and multiple batted balls, then toss in some very inconsistent defensive line play, two sleepy cornerbacks and a backup third-year cornerback who seemed to forget all pass-defending techniques and who decided it was time to gp out make Matt Ryan look like a bit like Kenny Stabler, circa 1976, then add some very sloppy special teams play and an array of non-play stopping, ineffective, half-hearted "arm tackles", plus a few very questionable play calls and those deficiencies added together have all but placed the Carolina Panthers in the midst of a possible 2008 season tailspin to nowhere.

Get the idea, the Panthers were taken to the woodshed in all facets of the game, and if this is not corrected very soon, the bubble could burst. 

This game was not one of Carolina's signature games, where their lackluster offense  happened to have a hot Panther defense to bolster its efforts and help post a win, nor was the Panthers' high-octane offense able to score enough points to cover for a sporadic defensive effort.

No, this was overall bad play from all every unit. 

Face it, the Panthers had just dominated this same Falcons' team just two months ago at home and they somehow wound up in Atlanta getting manhandled by a rookie quarterback and pounded by a running back, Michael Turner, who seemed to be saying, "you should have chosen me to carry the rock!" because the Panthers had passed over him in the free agent market this off-season in favor of their capable rookie first-rounder, Jonathan Stewart.

Speaking of Atlanta, I am not much for giving "props" to the Atlanta Falcons...In my opinion, they are a team who seems to play "dirty." There has always been an array of chop blocks when Atlanta comes to town. Trust me, In 1990 I stood yards away from MC Hammer and Travis and watched them 'high five" each other with each flagrant hit as the Falcons chop blocked their way past the great Joe Montana and his San Francisco 49er's...So, it is not like they just decided to be the "dirty birds" last week. It is more like the team culture.  However, John Fox-like, Atlanta coach, Mike Smith should get the coveted "coach of the year award." That is, unless those in the know think the Titans' staff's efforts in keeping Albert Haynesworth happy and drafting a speedy running back in Chris Johnson equates to a coach of the year award, I do not really believe it does. Atlanta was a team that seemed on the verge of a total collapse last season. To come back and be competitive this quickly after a total house cleaning along with the Vick and Patreno sagas and finally after the snub given to Atlanta, by the Miami bound, "Tuna,"  has made this season almost unreal for any fan in Atlanta.

By the way, Stewart had 15 yards rushing in his second game vs. the Falcons. To be perfectly fair, last Sunday was more of a DeAngelo Williams rushing day for the Carolina backfield, and Stewart did seem to be slow to get up after a few hard tackles. The point is, will the "real" Carolina Panthers, eight-win team, show up this Sunday?

The next must-win game is Sunday in Green Bay.  The forecast calls for snow and that means the Panthers' run game needs to get in gear early. This should to be an interesting game.

Whatever the final score of this conference game, this game is "do-or-die" for Green Bay and it is basically the same for the Panthers.

The Panthers have to know just what this game means. Was the loss to Atlanta enough to serve as a wake up call for Carolina?  We will know the answer very soon.

The keys to the game will be protecting the ball, slowing Aaron Rodgers' production and keeping Ryan Grant away from the goal line.  Finally, with the weather being what it is supposed to be, John Kasay's accurate leg may come in very handy.

This week's prediction

Panthers   20

Green Bay 13