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What will the Falcons defense look like against the Carolina Panthers? Set aside Steve Sarkisian. Set aside Matt Ryan. The Falcons’ offense may very well scuffle against a tough Carolina front seven Color Rush Takkarist McKinley Jersey , but their task this week is still easier than it was against the Eagles, and there were so many hilariously bad things about their performance in Week 1 that I’m anticipating a level of improvement. It’s also clear based on their production against Carolina a year ago that this probably won’t be a high-scoring game for the offense, which puts extra pressure on a banged up defense to do the job. The Falcons scored just 39 points in two games against the Panthers last year. The big question facing the Falcons has to do with the defense, in other words. Specifically, we want to know how the Falcons defense is going to fare. This year’s version is lacking Dontari Poe and, as of recently, both Keanu Neal and Deion Jones. To figure out how the Falcons might fare at keeping those pesky Panthers in check, let’s look at how they did in 2017 when they were at full strength.December 31, 2017 This was a brutal game for Carolina, who managed just 10 points. Cam Newton completed 14/34 passes for 180 yards, a single touchdown and three interceptions, which went to Neal, Ricardo Allen and Robert Alford. The team’s only success came on the ground, where Cam Newton ran for 59 yards on 11 carries. The Falcons absolutely locked down Cameron Artis-Payne and Christian McCaffrey, who combined for 30 yards on 11 carries.Offensively, the Falcons scored only five field goals and a touchdown, but 22 points might still be enough to beat this Panthers offense. Remember Authentic Takkarist McKinley Jersey , they just managed 16 points against the Cowboys.November 5, 2017The Falcons lost this one, as the offense managed just 17 points. They at least scored two touchdowns this time out, though.The defense only allowed 20 points and held Cam Newton to 13/24 for 137 yards, continuing a trend of holding the Carolina QB to brutally low passing totals. The big difference in this one was that Atlanta couldn’t stop the Panthers on the ground at all, with Newton and McCaffrey combining for 142 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. It was actually a blessing when Jonathan Stewart got the ball.Even more consequential, given how close this 20-17 game ended up being, was the complete lack of turnovers. The Falcons got a ton at the end of the 2017 season, but zero here.What should we expect this time? What makes Carolina a tough matchup is their ability to run the football. Newton always manages to be one of the team’s major weapons, but we saw McCaffrey play pretty well in the first matchup last year despite Keanu Neal and Deion Jones being on the field and leading the team in tackles. Switch over to Duke Riley and Damontae Kazee and things seemingly get dicier.And the run defense is still the primary concern. Even without Neal, the Falcons have one of the better secondaries in the NFC, and the Panthers are breaking in rookie D.J. Moore and won’t have Greg Olsen to work with. Newton has only really had success in one game against the Falcons through the air, and unless he’s able to exploit connections to McCaffrey, I’d expect that to continue here. We saw two very different performances a year ago with more or less the same cast of players, which makes projecting this particularly difficult. We simply don’t know how Riley is going to fare in the middle, and the limited look we got at Kazee last week suggests that he’s a fine defender but that an Allen/Kazee duo is a significant downgrade in run defense from Allen/Neal. The most important thing Atlanta can do is to prevent any huge gains that could break the game open for Carolina, and turn all that talk about creating more turnovers into reality to give their offense more chances to work. In what’s likely to be a close game Takkarist McKinley Jersey Boys , even one massive Christian McCaffrey run could swing this thing.In terms of what we should actually expect, I’d say a better performance from Carolina’s offense than we saw in either of the last two times these two teams met. I could see Newton actually throwing for 200 yards and I think 100+ rushing yards for the team are a virtual lock in this one. The Falcons have a prime opportunity to make all those yards empty ones if they can run over this injured Carolina offensive line and take advantage of the lack of quality, proven pass catchers on the Panthers roster, but let’s just say I hope the offense is up to the task of scoring 20-plus in this one. Recent happenings in the state (Early November)Ft. Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas DL Braylen Ingraham committed to Alabama over Miami. The Tide could be primed to make a major run in the state. 19 of the state’s 42 four- and five-star recruits are uncommitted.It’s flip season, and that is especially true in Florida. Rumors have Alabama trying to flip Ohio State safety commit Jordan Battle, and FSU commit Akeem Dent. Florida is trying to flip FSU commit Quashon Fuller. The following players are no longer rated as four-stars: WR T.J. Jones, DB Breion Fuller, DB Briton Allen, DB Tyler Scott. OriginalFlorida is the most talented state in the nation. The recruiting battles in the Sunshine State are fierce, because who wins and loses them often helps decide conference and national titles. In the last 35 seasons, 11 of college football’s national titles have been won by schools in Florida. Eight more have come via schools in the two states bordering Florida. I live in Florida and have covered the state for over a decade. In this space, I’ll chronicle who is doing the best, what I’m hearing, and some trends to monitor. The Florida Blue ChipsNameSchoolPositionStarsCommittedNameSchoolPositionStarsCommittedIMG Academy players from out-of-state are excluded (see explanation below)Why out-of-state IMG recruits are excludedFor the purposes of determining which schools are recruiting the state the best, I am excluding players from IMG Academy who are not from Florida. A move to IMG Academy is different than other moves. Because it is a boarding school, kids are coming to the school for the purpose of football, not because their family just moved to town. There is nothing tying them to the state. We know that a large majority of players who transfer to IMG from out-of-state return to their home region. By excluding these players Cheap Takkarist McKinley Jersey , who make up about five of the state’s top-50 in a given year, a clearer picture of the schools recruiting true Florida kids, both in culture and roots, can be attained. For 2018, these players are DE Nolan Smith (Georgia commit from Atlanta), RB Noah Cain (uncommitted from Denton, TX), WR Josh Delgado (Oregon commit from Bellflower, CA), and WR Shamar Nash (Arkansas commit from Memphis). Related: Florida linebacker commit Diwun Black has moved from Mississippi to Kissimmeee (Fla.) Osceola. He’ll be focusing on his grades and not playing football, according to multiple reports. He was committed to UF before moving. Florida State and Miami lead the wayThe Miami Hurricanes and Florida State Seminoles are way out in front with a combined 15 of the state’s top 40 players as ranked by the 247Sports Composite. FSU has eight, while the Hurricanes have seven. FSU’s class is led by five-star DB Akeem Dent and four-star guard Dontae Lucas. Miami’s class is headlined by four-star receiver Jeremiah Payton and four-star linebacker Anthony Solomon. I am also a huge fan of Miami linebacker Avery Huff, who is an athletic freak and just scratching the surface of his potential. Florida has some ground to make up, and it canThe Gators have just one committed in the state who are rated four- or five-stars (though two if you count Diwun Black, as explained in the note above). The Gators are in good position with a number of good players, though, and will be fine. Still Custom Takkarist McKinley Jersey , I am confident that Florida’s in-state recruiting will improve. FSU and Miami will not each sign 4X the number of blue-chips in the state as the Gators. Clemson and Ohio State are the top out-of-state recruiters in Florida, but watch out for Alabama.Clemson has five-star receiver Frank Ladson and four-star running back Chez Melussi. Ladson is an elite deep threat. Ohio State has a commitment from four-star safety Jordan Battle, who is one of my favorite players in the nation.It shouldn’t be surprising that these two programs are doing so well with Florida recruits. Clemson has done well in the Sunshine State for a decade plus. Dabo Swinney is still well known for securing the commitment of C.J. Spiller in the 2006 class. Urban Meyer and Director of Player Personnel Mark Pantoni still have great connections in the state from their 2005-10 tenure with the Florida Gators.Alabama, though, could finish as the top OoS recruiter.Where the elite uncommitted kids might go?Note: Not all four- and five-star players will be discussed here. Some have been intentionally left off because the offers they frequently mention are not actual options for them, per people with knowledge of the programs mentioned. The Hurricanes are battling for Evan Neal, Khris Bogle, Tyrique Stevenson, Mark-Antony Richards, Keon Zipperer, Kenny McIntosh, Lloyd Summerall, and maybe NayQuan Wright. Neal is from Okeechobee and his mom would like him to stay close to home. Richards and McIntosh’s brothers starred for the 2017 Hurricanes. Keeping Bogle and Stevenson in South Florida would be big wins for Miami, though both are big fans of out-of-state schools as well.Florida State is pursuing Will Putnam, Tyler Davis, and Raymond Woodie III. The Seminoles are also involved with Evan Neal. Woodie III is the son of FSU linebackers coach Raymond Woodie Jr. Neal would likely come in and start Day 1 for Florida State since the Seminoles’ tackle position is such a mess, but most think FSU is running third behind Alabama and Miami. The Gators are in position with Kaiir Elam Takkarist McKinley Jersey Discount , Trey Sanders, Lloyd Summerall, Deyavie Hammond, Nayquan Wright, and Keon Zipperer. Elam’s father played for coach Dan Mullen for a time at Notre Dame. The Gators took Sanders’ brother Ulmstead as a walk-on linebacker. Summerall is being recruited for the 3-4 defense, which helps the Gators stand out against Miami and FSU, who run the 4-3. And Florida is trying to flip FSU commitment Quashon Fuller, who has been very open about checking out all of his options, though he did not show up to UF’s “Friday Night Lights” camp. I think the Gators can sweep the trio of Summerall, Hammons, and Zipperer, from Lakeland High, which is a traditional UF stronghold. Georgia Bulldogs fans should focus on Tyrique Stevenson.The Alabama Crimson Tide has a strong shot to regain commitments from two former commitments in Trey Sanders and Evan Neal. Both visited Tuscaloosa in June. They could also flip Ohio State’s Jordan Battle. Clemson remains involved with Will Putnam and Tyler Davis. A sweep would be a blow to rival FSU.Expect some changes to the rankingsI know for a fact that some of these players rated four-stars are not seen as such by major college programs, and that some recruits lower down in the rankings are more highly thought of. It wouldn’t surprise me to see a 20 percent of the four- and five-star list change over the next few months. Rankings via the 247Sports Composite.