Tag: Carolina Panthers

Falcons are 5.5-point underdogs vs. Panthers in Week 11

The folks over at Bet MGM have the Panthers as 5.5-point favorites over the Falcons Week 11, with the over/under set at 49.5.

The Falcons earned their second win of the season last week against the heavily-favored Saints in New Orleans. After making some minor coaching changes during the bye week, Atlanta’s defense dominated up front, sacking Drew Brees six times.

The team will look to keep the momentum going when it takes on another divisional foe in the 5-4 Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

The folks over at Bet MGM have the Panthers as 5.5-point favorites over the Falcons in Week 11, with the over/under set at 49.5.

It isn’t surprising that Carolina is favored. Running back Christian McCaffrey has been a one-man show this season, making a legitimate case for the 2019 MVP award.

With starting QB Cam Newton out for the season, Panthers backup Kyle Allen has played well above expectations. Allen has cooled off a bit in recent weeks, though.

Carolina has slowed down since winning four straight games, and has lost two of its last three.

This could be the perfect chance for the Falcons to win their second straight NFC South matchup and keep their extremely thin playoff chances alive for another week.

[Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.]

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Behind Enemy Lines: How did the Falcons get here?

To learn more about what’s going on, we spoke with Matt Urben, managing editor of Falcons Wire.

The Panthers have not had much success against the Falcons in recent years, losing six of the last seven matchups. However, Atlanta has fallen on hard times this season and is already out of the playoff race.

To learn more about what’s going on, we spoke with Matt Urben, managing editor of Falcons Wire.

Panthers Wire: The Falcons come into this week at 2-7. What went wrong to get them in this spot?

Falcons Wire: The Falcons were supposed to be an offensive juggernaut and outscore people. Not only has the offense underachieved, the defense has played significantly worse than anyone anticipated. Injuries have hurt, but the team hadn’t played a complete game until last week’s win over the Saints.

PW: Atlanta held New Orleans to just nine points last week. Can you explain what changes they made on defense with the coaching staff?

FW: Head coach Dan Quinn relinquished defensive play-calling duties to linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich and former wide receivers coach Raheem Morris. Ulbrich now calls plays on first and second downs, while Morris calls the plays on third downs and in two-minute situations. It wasn’t much of a schematic shift, but there clearly was better communication and the players were where they were supposed to be. This resulted in the Falcons harassing Saints QB Drew Brees for most of the day. The team nearly doubled its season sack total in Week 10.

PW: How much are the Falcons going to miss Austin Hooper and Devonta Freeman? Who needs to step up?

FW: Hooper leads all tight ends in receptions, so he is certainly a big loss. Meanwhile, Freeman has yet to get going this season as the team has been at or near the bottom and rushing yards per game all season. Still, with Calvin Ridley, Julio Jones and Matt Ryan the Falcons should be OK.

PW: What grade would you give Matt Ryan for his season so far?

FW: I would give Ryan a solid B. He hasn’t been great, especially for the first few games when the Falcons got into early deficits. He has been near the top of the league in passing yards per game and touchdown passes, though, showing he really hasn’t been the problem. Ryan needs to cut down on the turnovers, but he is not the reason his team is 2-7.

PW: The Panthers are 5.5-point favorites. What do the Falcons need to do to get an upset?

FW: The only way the Falcons have a chance is if their defense comes out as engaged as it was last week and doesn’t let off the gas. The team will have some trouble slowing down Christian McCaffrey, but if Atlanta can contain Kyle Allen, it has a shot to pull off the upset. The Falcons can’t risk falling behind and becoming too one-dimensional, as they have been all season.

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Watch: Curtis Samuel’s fantasy football prospects vs. Falcons

Watch ESPN discuss Samuel’s fantasy prospects for this week.

In addition to being a critical division matchup, Sunday’s game between the Panthers and the Falcons has a lot of interesting fantasy football angles to consider. One of them is the outlook for Curtis Samuel, who is getting hot lately and has caught three touchdowns in his last four games. Watch ESPN discuss Samuel’s fantasy prospects for this week.

Samuel has been a legitimate fantasy sleeper several times this season. Whether or not he’s worth a start will likely depend on how well Kyle Allen can throw at him on deep passes. This year, Samuel has caught just half (34 of 68) of his targets, but in his defense many of those balls have been off-target by Allen.

While we like Samuel against Atlanta’s depleted secondary, Carolina’s other young gun at wide receiver is probably a better play.

Over the last two games, D.J. Moore has caught fire. He’s been targeted by Allen 21 times, catching 16 of them and producing 221 yards. Meanwhile, Samuel has had just 14 total targets. The downside with Moore is he doesn’t get much work in the red zone and is unlikely to score touchdowns – he has just three in his career. Samuel has 12.

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WATCH: Cam Newton is reportedly open to joining Chicago Bears next season

Cam Newton plans to have surgery on his foot and that the career-long Panther would be open to joining the Chicago Bears next season.

A little more than a week after the Panthers placed Cam Newton on injured reserve, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that the quarterback plans to have surgery on his foot and that the career-long Panther would be open to joining the Chicago Bears next season.

Newton has one year left on his contract with the Panthers after back-to-back offseason shoulder injuries, and now two consecutive seasons shortened by injury. The Panthers will owe Newton $19.1 million in 2020, with a salary-cap hit of $21.1 million, but that $19.1 million is not guaranteed.

The 30-year-old got hurt during the preseason, then again in Week 2 when a foot injury ended his season. Initially, the injury was not seen as being as severe as it became. Deemed a Lisfranc injury, the left foot injury could be made better by surgery to repair the torn ligament in Newton’s foot.

Surgery and an 8-10 week recovery period would make Newton “very tradable,” (according to Rapoport) to a team like the Bears. The plan is something that Rapoport says “from my understanding, Cam Newton would in fact welcome.”

Bears head coach Matt Nagy is in need of improvement at the quarterback position. Mitchell Trubisky, who the franchise drafted second overall in 2017, has regressed this season.

Panthers Cam Newton is open to joining Chicago Bears next season (Bearswire)

Cam Newton plans to have surgery on his foot and that the career-long Panther would be open to joining the Chicago Bears next season.

Cam Newton plans to have surgery on his foot and that the career-long Panther would be open to joining the Chicago Bears next season.

Panthers Cam Newton is open to joining Chicago Bears next season (Pantherswire)

Cam Newton plans to have surgery on his foot and that the career-long Panther would be open to joining the Chicago Bears next season.

Cam Newton plans to have surgery on his foot and that the career-long Panther would be open to joining the Chicago Bears next season.

Panthers Cam Newton is open to joining Chicago Bears next season

Cam Newton plans to have surgery on his foot and that the career-long Panther would be open to joining the Chicago Bears next season.

Cam Newton plans to have surgery on his foot and that the career-long Panther would be open to joining the Chicago Bears next season.

Falcons Week 11 injury report: 5 players miss Wednesday’s practice

Tight end Austin Hooper and running back Devonta Freeman both left Sunday’s game early and were missing from Atlanta’s Wednesday practice.

The Falcons ended their six-game losing streak in Week 10, but lost two offensive starters in the process.

Tight end Austin Hooper and running back Devonta Freeman both left Sunday’s game early and were missing from Atlanta’s Wednesday practice.

Quarterback Matt Ryan was held out as well, along with two others. Check out the team’s complete Wednesday injury report below.

Player Injury Wed. Thur. Fri.
QB Matt Ryan Ankle DNP
RB Devonta Freeman Foot DNP
TE Austin Hooper Knee DNP
G Wes Schweitzer Head DNP
S Kemal Ishmael Head DNP
TE Luke Stocker Knee LP
DE John Cominsky Ankle LP
S Sharrod Neasman Hamstring LP
CB Desmond Trufant Toe LP
P Ryan Allen Ankle LP
DB Damontae Kazee Shoulder FP

Check back after Thursday’s practice for more Falcons injury updates.

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Watch: Eric Reid on Colin Kaepernick’s workout: ‘It feels like a PR stunt’

Reid says this feels like a PR stunt rather than a legitimate opportunity.

Panthers safety Eric Reid is skeptical about the private workout that the NFL has invited all 32 teams to on Saturday for free agent quarterback Colin Kaepernick. Reid says this feels like a PR stunt rather than a legitimate opportunity. Watch.

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Panthers Week 11 injury report: Greg Little returns to practice

Here’s the team’s Week 11 injury report.

The Panthers finally got second-round pick Greg Little back on the practice field on Wednesday. He has spent most of the 2019 season in the concussion protocol. However, rookie OT Dennis Daley did not practice and two cornerbacks also sat out.

Here’s the team’s Week 11 injury report.

Player Injury Wed Thu Fri Status
CB James Bradberry Groin Limited Full Full –
CB Donte Jackson Hip DNP DNP Limited Questionable
CB Ross Cockrell Quad DNP DNP DNP Out
DT Kyle Love Shoulder DNP Full Full –
DT Gerald McCoy Knee DNP Full Full –
OT Dennis Daley Groin DNP DNP DNP Doubtful
RB Christian McCaffrey Foot DNP Full Full –
OT Greg Little Concussion Limited Full Full –
OLB Brian Burns Wrist Full Full Full –
LB Shaq Thompson Ankle – – DNP –
OLB Mario Addison Rest – – DNP –
OLB Bruce Irvin Rest – – DNP –

What jumps out here is the three cornerbacks listed at the top. Even if they all play, it’s likely they’re not going to be 100%. That could explain why the team brought back Corn Elder off the Giants’ practice squad yesterday.

Look for more updates later in the week.

Update:

Bradberry sounds like he’s going to play, but Cockrell and Jackson missing the first two days of practice is not a good sign. The Panthers are most likely going to be short-handed at cornerback going into a game against Julio Jones. Not ideal.

Update:

Cockrell has been ruled out and Jackson is questionable. Daley is doubtful, but Little will be returning to the lineup.

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