Panthers Close to a Perfect Season

That has to be the fault of the coaching staff. Why weren’t the Falcons ready to play better on Sunday?

Now, this is a serious question, can anyone beat the Carolina Panthers?

Unlike a week earlier when the Panthers escaped at New Orleans, they were cruising from the get-go in this game.

“I think there are some things we can mix in”, Rivera said of the 4-3 defense with Thompson. Cornerback Robert Alford stopped running when beaten by Ted Ginn Jr. on a 74-yard touchdown catch.

Quinn met with Alford, who will not face any team discipline. “Part of my own philosophy, and it was certainly the one that Seattle liked, is: Can we do our fundamentals, our technique, you know, really hard?”

There was plenty of blame to spread around.

“You can’t play scared”, Rivera said of the balance of resting players.

“Seahawks look scary again”, Fox Sports’ John Czarnecki said. To me, it means we need to find a way to get better, and we need to find a way to get the ball into the end zone. If we’re disappointing some people, I apologize for that.

– The Rams’ five-game losing streak is over as they improved to 5-8 behind Todd Gurley’s 140 yards rushing and two second-half touchdowns in a 21-7 triumph over the Lions. They played inspired football after allowing Drew Brees to throw for three TD passes last week in a narrow escape.

After the win over the Falcons, Oliver asked Newton about all the wins and how it appears that the team is having a party every week. Brady has put up big numbers too – over 4,100 yards passing with 33 passing touchdowns. Often overshadowed by his superstar teammate, Thomas Davis has been a mainstay on the Panthers defense for a decade, though he often doesn’t get the respect he deserves.

Whatever they decide, playing more 4-3 base defense is nearly a certainty.

“But we really, really have a nice thing going right now”.

Rust is certainly a worry for teams that rest players, with the possibility that with more than a week off, they could lose their edge. “In that case the message was about poise, both sides, the offense as well”.

The Cox and Hageman incident triggered the discussion.

“(Alford) thought he stepped out”, Quinn said. “They are like father and son, both emotional guys, and that’s what makes them both good”.

“Now, would I have preferred he talked to me? Yes”.

The Bucs (6-7) saw their wild card hopes take a hit as they were not able to take advantage of the NFL’s worst defence.

Their 5-0 start now seems like a distant memory. Jones finished the game catching 7 of his 10 targets for 88 yards.

This isn’t the first time the Panthers have held a photo op late in a blowout.

-Wide receiver Nick Williams had a career-long reception of 29 yards. The Bears had a chance to force overtime until Robbie Gould (gohld) missed a 50-yard field goal in the rain with 1:22 left. The Falcons gained just 54 yards on 16 carries. “This defensive line is something special and we’re like brothers, no matter what”.

Defensive tackle Kawann Short partied in the Falcons’ backfield for most of the game.

But Johnson’s comments on social media were illustrative of the idea that even during a 13-0 season, it’s tough to keep harmony in a locker room filled with type-A personalities.

Alford also dropped an interception in the game.

Driving the Panthers’ machine forward is Newton. After an incomplete pass it would have been third-and-6 instead of first down.

Panthers’ players had the day off Monday. He has only one sack and six tackles, his fewest totals since his rookie year in 2007. The line didn’t hold up against Carolina’s strong rushing attack.

-Running back Jonathan Stewart (foot) tied his season-low with 10 attempts. He tossed a 2-yard TD pass to Gary Barnidge late in the third quarter as the Browns won for the first time since October 11 and took some pressure off coach Mike Pettine.