Carolina Panthers: Three Atlanta Falcons to watch this week
By Alex Duran
Takkarist McKinley – DE
Last but not least is a defensive end who missed out on the “sackapalooza” versus Drew Brees last week. Adrian Claiborne rotated in with McKinley and was able to walk away with a sack and numerous pressures. McKinley was able to create pressure, but never landed a sack. This week could end up being a different story.
Grady Jarett, Adrian Claiborne and McKinley should be praised for their ability to collapse the pocket last week. The defensive backs were successfully able to hold down Brees’ passing options, but capitalizing on that time to create a sack is arguably more difficult – especially against the Saints who have only allowed 18 sacks all year (six against the Falcons).
Carolina has allowed 29 sacks during the season and this week they’ll have to hold back a hungry McKinley from getting to Allen, which may be particularly more difficult now that the Panthers top two options at left tackle have been dealing with injuries. Greg Little recently cleared the concussion protocol, but he might struggle as he hasn’t played in a game for a few weeks.