Despite enduring a disappointing start to the regular season, the Carolina Panthers (1-4) travelled to The Georgia Dome with hopes of upsetting the inconsistent Atlanta Falcons (2-3). The Falcons, current NFC South champions, have recorded close fought victories over both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Seattle Seahawks, and they remained confident of adding the Panthers to the list.

The game started much as expected, with the Falcons utilizing hard-hitting running back Michael Turner to break through the poor rush defense of the Panthers, and tight end Tony Gonzalez offering up the short yardage pass plays for quarterback Matt Ryan.

Contrastingly, the Panthers looked to exploit to the thus far disappointing pass defense of the Falcons, with rookie sensation Cam Newton looking to wide receiver Steve Smith frequently, a relationship which has already provided Smith with more receiving yards in his first five games of the season than he managed in the entire 2010-11 season.

Given the ease at which both of these teams have given up 3^rd down conversions so far this season, it was surprising that the scoreline was just 3-0 to the Panthers following a 47-yard field goal as the 1^st quarter entered its last minute. This was not to last however, and Charles Godfrey was charged with pass interference following a push on receiver Roddy White in the end-zone, an action which resulted in Turner barreling his way over from close range for the TD.

The 2^nd quarter began with the Panthers in possession, and looking eager to learn a lesson from the Falcons, running the ball through DeAngelo Williams, and targeting tight end Jeremy Shockey for short-medium range gains.

The drive proved successful, setting up the Panthers with a 1^st and goal situation, which powerful running back Jonathan Stewart forced his way over from, giving Carolina back the lead.

But the Panthers’ ill discipline was to hurt them yet again, with Chris Gamble calling for pass interference on White in the end-zone, earning the Falcons 1^st and goal, and Ovie Mughelli was on the end of a 1-yard pass to put the Falcons back on top.

With both defenses underperforming, and Newton continuing his recent form, it looked as if the Panthers would extend their lead a minute from the half, as they were camped within the Falcons’ 20-yard line, but William Moore managed to tip the rookie’s pass, and send it into the hands of Brent Grimes, whose interception kept the Falcons ahead as both teams walked off at the interval.

The Falcons newly found defensive proficiency was not to last into the second half however, with Newton leading the Panthers towards the Falcons end-zone with a series of rushes and passes, all culminating in Newton himself running for a 14-yard TD, leaving the score at 17-14 to the visitors.

It seemed as if Head Coach Ron Rivera had a thing or two to say to his team after the 3^rd quarter, and the Panthers defense came out with the Falcons poised at 2^nd and goal. Putting in their performance of the game so far, they held out the Faclons, limiting the home team to just three points, leveling the scores, and setting up an exciting final quarter.

With the Panthers defense continuing to look more solid, a 3^rd and 12 situation in the middle of the field looked as if it would probably end up being punted away, but a pass to Harry Douglas brought Atlanta all the way up to the 13. The Falcons then returned to Turner, who had been exceptional all game long, and the running back rushed for 11 yards, allowing Ryan to go over with the sneak at 1^st and goal.

It looked as if the Panthers were on their way to regaining the lead, after an impressive run from Williams saw the running back break into the Falcons secondary for a big gain, only to see Corey Peters grab an interception on the next play, and return possession to the Falcons for Mike Smith’s men to run out the clock.

With over four minutes left on the clock however, and the marauding Turner being given the ball on almost every play, it was inevitable that Northern Illinois grad would grab another TD and secure the game for Atlanta.

Whilst neither team will be happy with their defensive performance, a couple of interceptions for the Falcons, and two moments of poor discipline in the Panthers secondary ultimately swung this game for Atlanta. And Panthers quarterback Newton will leave the Georgia Dome frustrated by his team’s defense, who have yet again lost the visitors a game which they will feel they could have won, the final score 31-17 to the Falcons.

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We all saw this coming. It wasn’t supposed to happen in week 5, 6 or even week 7 but here we are: the Tebow era has officially arrived. This entire situation was handled poorly by the Broncos from the off season. Fans are fickle so it makes sense that they would clamor for the backup quarterback after an 0-4 start. The problem is Tim Tebow was third on the depth chart.

This was not purely a coaching decision or even a front office decision. This sudden move was brought on by the Denver fans. Now we all will see what Tebow can do and what the coaches saw in practice that landed him third on the depth chart. It must be a first in the NFL to have a quarterback coming from third on the depth chart to starting without any injuries to the true backup. Only with Tebow is anything like this possible.

Best Team In NFL

Power rankings change from week to week in the NFL, so it is unlikely to find the same team leading that conversation from week 1 to week 6, but that is the case with the Green Bay Packers. It would not be surprising for this team to go 14-2 this season or even better, but of course injuries will play a large role in that.

They are by far the best team, but the way they are winning will have to change or expand if they are to win the whole thing again.  They are 22^nd in the league in rushing and 30^th in passing defense, meaning there is still room for improvement. Then again, maybe they don’t need anything but Aaron Rodgers -arguably the best quarterback in the NFL.

Michael Vick and the Eagles

Michael Vick and the Eagles are 1-4 right now after losing again this past weekend: a game where everything that could have gone wrong did in fact go wrong. There is a lot of blame to go around for this dismal start to the season, but at some point everyone assumes they will correct things.

There is too much talent for them not to. When watching the Eagles play, it is difficult to see where all the money went and what they got back in return.

They are second to last in rush defense and the huge holes they allow makes it impossible for their smaller and less experienced linebackers to make plays. Some of the blame has to go to the defensive coordinator, but more blame has to go to the head coach who hired a guy who has never coached on the pro level before.

Let’s not forget to blame Michael Vick for his inability to stop turning the ball over. Maybe they will turn things around, but they start next week against Washington, an improved division opponent who is 3-1 thus far.

Jets, Overrated?

The New York Jets have and will always be on the front pages and in every football conversation no matter what goes on in the game on Sundays.  Rex Ryan is a talker to say the least and his team usually responds, except for the last couple of games: games played against rivals New England and Baltimore.

They had horrible performances both resulting in loses. The Jets now stand at 2-3 early in the season and a must win game awaits them in Miami, a team without a quarterback and playing a major role in potentially winning the Andrew Luck Sweepstakes. The defense has been a letdown so far for the Jets but the offense has been worse, and after Miami the schedule only gets harder.

Andrew Luck Sweepstakes

It’s not every day you find a quarterback like Payton Manning who hasn’t played a down in the NFL. Yes, it’s true every year the talent evaluators become infatuated with a particular college player and proclaim him King, but this Andrew Luck thing is interesting and somewhat different.

Is Luck the next Manning or the next Favre or even Tom Brady? We won’t know for sure until he has gone through the pains of being a quarterback in the league. The pro football world has been all about Andrew Luck for a while and he would have been the top pick last year if he had chosen to leave and go pro.

But we must wait another year while the legend grows and he matures into what will hopefully be a great NFL Quarterback. Teams and professional athletes are not usually in the business of losing on purpose in hopes of landing a savior, but it sure would be nice for a team like the Miami dolphins or any other team looking for a quarterback.
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