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ONEPANTHERSFAN
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We're in the playoffs no matter what but that first round bye would really help. Our bye week was a long time ago and I think a little extra rest would help.
Most likely we will be without Steve Smith, personally if he REALLY wants to play, I don't think anything could stop him but looking ahead, we'll need him at 100% for the playoffs so don't risk him. Colin Cole and Jonathan Stewart are also not practicing but they are not the worst losses we could suffer. Atlanta has several players of their injury report but the only one of note is Gonzalez who is limited in practice. There is no way I see him missing what will probably be his last NFL game.
Atlanta should come out hungry. This is a division game and they hate losing to Carolina. Last year we took away some of their momentum late in the season. So they might want a little payback and a chance to play spoiler. We also gave away a game in Atlanta. They probably would like to send Gonzalez out on a little higher note than what they have done this season. So I expect the Falcons to come out swinging with everything they got. I see our best bet as being to get up by 2 scores early. If we do that we can take the crowd out of the game. The Panthers have done a good job of going on the road and taking care of business against lesser teams this season. We'll need to do it again.
The one thing that has worried me since we got on the winning streak and became playoff contenders is one of our early season losses coming back to bite us late. Losing to Atlanta means we could fall all the way to the 6th spot (our loss+SEA loss+SF Win+NO Win). A win means we win our division and with a little help (SEA loss+SF win) means we get the #1 spot in the NFC. All we can do is win and see what develops.
Most likely we will be without Steve Smith, personally if he REALLY wants to play, I don't think anything could stop him but looking ahead, we'll need him at 100% for the playoffs so don't risk him. Colin Cole and Jonathan Stewart are also not practicing but they are not the worst losses we could suffer. Atlanta has several players of their injury report but the only one of note is Gonzalez who is limited in practice. There is no way I see him missing what will probably be his last NFL game.
Atlanta should come out hungry. This is a division game and they hate losing to Carolina. Last year we took away some of their momentum late in the season. So they might want a little payback and a chance to play spoiler. We also gave away a game in Atlanta. They probably would like to send Gonzalez out on a little higher note than what they have done this season. So I expect the Falcons to come out swinging with everything they got. I see our best bet as being to get up by 2 scores early. If we do that we can take the crowd out of the game. The Panthers have done a good job of going on the road and taking care of business against lesser teams this season. We'll need to do it again.
The one thing that has worried me since we got on the winning streak and became playoff contenders is one of our early season losses coming back to bite us late. Losing to Atlanta means we could fall all the way to the 6th spot (our loss+SEA loss+SF Win+NO Win). A win means we win our division and with a little help (SEA loss+SF win) means we get the #1 spot in the NFC. All we can do is win and see what develops.