INSIDE SLANT
NFL Team Report - Atlanta Falcons
Falcons want to finish strong A week ago, Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn was focused on making sure his team paid attention to details. A week before they had made silly penalties and played poorly in a blowout loss to Green Bay and Quinn wanted to nip the issue in the bud. The message was received and the team responded with a solid win over the Arizona Cardinals. Penalties were down, takeaways were up and the Falcons rolled. Now, with two road games remaining in the season, will that trend continue this week against the Carolina Panthers? "When your preparation is right and your focus matches it, we're able to play like we like to," Quinn said. "I like to see that carry over from week to week." Last week's win broke a four-game losing streak and improved Atlanta's record to 5-9. The Falcons have no shot at making the playoffs, but a win against the Panthers would mean they could finish second in the NFC South. A loss would leave Atlanta in position to finish no better than third in the division. The club played better on defense last week and the return of middle linebacker Deion Jones has been a factor. Jones had a pick-six last week and has helped solidify the unit since his return. "We don't designate a captain, but he's definitely someone who is in the middle of it on the field," Quinn said. "For him being back in the lineup, that's a strong indicator of his awareness of the football." The Falcons won't be facing nemesis Cam Newton on Sunday. The Panthers decided this week to shut down Newton, who has struggled with a shoulder injury, and will start Taylor Heinicke, who has thrown only five passes in his two-year career. That probably means more opportunities for Carolina to utilize running back Christian McCaffrey. He has rushed for 979 yards and seven touchdowns and caught 94 passes for 768 yards and six touchdowns. "We have been impressed and he has our respect probably the most in space and his ability to change direction, probably the most is his ability to make guys miss," Quinn said. "That's what's jumped out to me the most. He's a difficult matchup to cover for sure." SERIES HISTORY: 48th regular-season meeting. Falcons lead series, 29-18. Falcons have won five of the last six meetings. Atlanta defeated the Panthers 31-24 in Week 2.
The Sports Xchange
Recent Stories
Testing Buffalo Bill Page
Joe Horrigan knows the Buffalo Bills
Steelers positional analysis: Kenny Pickett stands alone in QB room
2/17/2024If the Steelers were concerned about the uncertain future at quarterback when Ben Roethlisberger retired, the outlook at the position might not be any more ...
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan doesn’t deserve criticism since Super Bowl
Globe StaffUpdated February 17, 2024, 9:38 a.m.Kyle Shanahan has been on the defensive all week following the 49ers’ 25-22 overtime loss to the Chiefs in the Super ...
New Raiders GM expected to be aggressive in search for top QB
February 17, 2024 - 4:19 PMIf Tom Telesco’s past offers clues about his future, expect the Raiders’ new general manager to be aggressive in bringing in a top-level ...
Latest Player Notes
How a Wisconsin legend got his German protégé into Badgers pro day
Mar 15, 2024
Marlon Werthmann put his life on hold for the opportunity in front of him Friday at the McClain Center.Werthmann ...
Why former Wisconsin football running back Braelon Allen didn't run the 40 at pro day
Mar 15, 2024
Braelon Allen’s sweat covered his shirt and dripped off his beard as he approached a group of reporters Friday.The ...
How can UW recruit its best class ever? It starts with these five prospects
By Andy Yamashita
Seattle Times staff reporter
Jedd Fisch has lofty recruiting goals at Washington. He didn’t waste any ...
Texas football kicks off spring practice Tuesday. We answer 24 questions for the 2024 team
Things certainly look fresh for the 2024 college football season, especially on the Texas campus.There’s a new conference ...
College Football Playoff: Conferences solve their differences (for now) and agree on general framework for 2026 and beyond
The FBS conferences and Notre Dame agreed on Friday to continue the College Football Playoff beyond the 2025 season, signing ...
Ball security, leadership key as Aztecs look to identify starting quarterback
San Diego State seemingly auditions a new starting quarterback on an annual basis.In the past 12 years, the Aztecs have opened ...
Results and more: A look at what happened at Penn State football’s Pro Day inside Holuba Hall
Most of those at Penn State’s Pro Day Friday were relatively quiet throughout the afternoon’s workouts, but there was one ...
Defense dominates first two weeks of Oregon State spring practice as Beavers ready for 2-week breather
CORVALLIS – Oregon State hit the break of spring practices Saturday, not exactly the midpoint but a good place to assess ...
Dillon Gabriel to have similar input, autonomy as Bo Nix had in Oregon’s offense
Published Mar. 16, 2024, 6:26 p.m.By James CrepeaEUGENE — Dillon Gabriel will have much of the same autonomy as Bo Nix did ...
Two transfers, one underclassman who impressed in Missouri football's spring game
With that, spring camp’s a wrap.Missouri football held its Black & Gold spring game Saturday in front of a healthy crowd ...