Carolina Goes For Season Split Vs. Atlanta

NFL News - November 10th, 2009 - Written by John

The last time the Atlanta Falcons met the Carolina Panthers, Jake Delhomme was simply looking to avoid the news. Five turnovers plagued his team the week before, causing a rumpus in the locker rooms and subtle confrontations from Steve Smith through the media.

Now, he's looking to make the news. A winner of three of his last five, the Delhomme looking to continue his team's second-half surge. He has played head-and-shoulders better than the first quarter of the season, with a 85.5 rating over the last two weeks. He hasn't only thrown an interception in that span, allowing Carolina Panthers to stay on the field and give DeAngelo Williams the ball more often. It has produced. Williams is fifth in the league in rushing with back-to-back 100-yard games, and all the sudden, the Panthers are on a war path.

There's no better illustration to Carolina's change of course than the NFL Betting lines given by oddsmakers. In it's Week Two matchup, Atlanta got a 6 1/2-point advantage at home. This week, the Falcons are only preferred by 1 1/2 points in the early lines, with a -110 payout both ways, according to BetUS Sportsbook.

Given the resurgence of Carolina, it's not a big surprise. No, it hasn't been a full-180, but the team is not easily beatable as it appeared to be early on. The biggest surprise came two weeks ago when Williams ran for 158 yards in a 34-21 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Williams again ran wild for 149 yards and two scores against the New Orleans Saints, although resulting in a ten-point loss. The Saints lead the league in interceptions, but Delhomme was able to stay error free.

Smith, who took a tongue-in-cheek shot at Delhomme earlier in the year for not getting him the ball, has also seen an improvement in the stat box. He had six catches for 99 yards in Week Seven against Buffalo, then scored his first touchdown of the year against Arizona. He also had a 17-yard rush and caught a 45-yard toss for the third-straight game. For the year, Smith leads the team with 478 yards and is on pace for nearly 1,000.

Atlanta, however, has seen mixed results after starting the year 4-1.

They are 1-3 on the road, but to be fair, all three losses came to top-10 teams in the league. Michael Turner is beginning to find his footing in the running game. With back-ups Jason Snelling and Jerious Norwood out with injuries, Turner took the majority of the carries in the last two games and produced his highest-two outputs of the year. Last week, he carried the Falcons over the Washington Redskins with 166 yards and two scores. That's been good news for a sputtering passing game. Matt Ryan has thrown nine interceptions in his last five games, dropping a passer rating that started in the high 90s down to 82.2.

The over/under for the game is 44 1/2, and the Falcons have played 11 of their last 12 November games under (the lone exception being last week). They are 12-2 hitting the under in their last 14 trips to Carolina.

The Panthers, meanwhile, are 6-1 hitting the under in their last seven home games in November.

To discuss this and other NFL related stories be sure to check out our new forum at:
https://www.usaplayers.com/forums/nfl-news/