The Atlanta Falcons are feeling pretty good about the start to their season, but defensive shortcomings are a concern.That could be just the tonic for a strangely sluggish offense for the Carolina Panthers.The teams meet Sunday afternoon at the Georgia Dome, with the Falcons anticipating an agitated opponent.Plenty of us to shine a light on to improve on, Falcons coach Dan Quinn said despite back-to-back victories. Were building toward that. We have a lot of work to do.The Falcons rank first in the NFL in offense by scoring 34.7 points and gaining 448 yards per game. It has been a good blend of rushing and passing, with quarterback Matt Ryan completing more than 70 percent of his passes to go along with seven touchdowns with only one interception.Every time we go against them, theyre physical, Ryan said of the matchup with the Panthers. Were going to have to play our best football.Carolina is coming off a 22-10 home loss to the Minnesota Vikings. They enter the game in Atlanta having not scored for more than 50 minutes.It just cant happen, Panthers coach Ron Rivera said of the inconsistencies. We have to hone in and be more thorough.Carolina receiver Kelvin Benjamin went without a reception and had only one ball throw his way against the Vikings after a two-touchdown outing the previous game, and quarterback Cam Newton vowed to have Benjamin more involved.Theres one thing Ive learned, if Cam says hes going to do something hes sure going to try to do it, Rivera said after learning of his quarterbacks midweek comments.Games in his hometown of Atlanta naturally take on more significance to him, Newton said, and his teams early struggles are bringing on added frustration.They dont care about Carolina, he said of the Falcons. Were 1-2. We just cant get into the rhythm of winning. It is frustrating. ... We have to take that personal challenge that we have to be better.The Panthers were so out of sync on the offensive line that Newton was sacked eight times by the Vikings.Its tough seeing him go down anytime, Panthers offensive guard Trai Turner said. You never want to see your quarterback go down.Newton wasnt going to blame his offensive line and brushed off the problem while turning the focus ahead.Just pressure recognition and get the ball out of my hand, Newton said. Ready to take on the challenge from Atlanta.But if the Falcons have shown shortcomings the past couple of weeks it has come in their pass defense. Plus, Atlantas defense has notched only three sacks all season and that might account for why the Falcons have given up a fair share of big plays through the air.The explosive passes, that has to come down, Quinn said. A couple of cases they were mental (mistakes).The Panthers, though, have various ways to move the ball on the ground and thats why they rank third in the NFL with an average of 146 rushing yards.This is a tough outfit, Quinn said of the Panthers. It really (starts) off their run game. They have a number of packages they feature, and their quarterback is involved.The Falcons had so many contributors in defeating New Orleans 45-32 on Monday night that Quinn is calling for a carryover of that type of team work.As a coach, thats what pumps you up, Quinn said. You play as a whole group, a whole unit. Youre pulling for one another. When you play team ball like that, thats what fires me up.Adding to the efficiency, Atlanta wasnt called for an offensive penalty.The Panthers brought back defensive tackle Kyle Love, who had started two games last year, this week to add to the interior pressure. While that gives Carolina another pass rusher, its also something for the Falcons to consider.Theyre a very aggressive front, so every chance we get were going to have to attack, Quinn said.It will be the third matchup against a NFC South foe this season for the Falcons, who lost their only previous home game to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Quinn said the early schedule of divisional opponents heightened the importance of these games.Another chance for us (now) at home with our crowd here, he said.It suddenly looks like a crucial game for the Panthers, whove lost three of their last five regular-season games dating to last season. Carolina had its perfect season halted last December in Atlanta after winning its first 14 games on the way to winning the NFC championship.Im trying to get to 2-2, Newton said. Last year is over with.The Falcons also arent putting much emphasis on what happened almost nine months ago.Each week and each season to me is new, Quinn said. The important part of us is that we recognize this as a division game.For Carolina, the Falcons are its most-played opponent, with Atlanta leading the series 25-17. This seasons rematch wont come until Christmas Eve. Wholesale Nike Air Max . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. Cheap Nike Air Max . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. https://www.fakeairmaxwholesale.com/ . He says so-called TRT is only one problem and he wants to go even further than the ban. "Its about time," St-Pierre told reporters at a promotional event in Montreal on Friday. "I think its a good thing. Fake Nike Air Max Free Shipping . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. Nike Air Max Discount . Dukurs winning time was 1 minute, 45.76 seconds, a quarter-second better than Russias Alexander Tretiakov. Lativas Tomass Dukurs was third, 1.41 seconds off the pace. Jon Montgomery of Eckville, Alta. Andrew McFadden will be replaced as Warriors coach by Stephen Kearney as early as this week, reports say.News Corp reported on Monday that McFadden will be sacked and Kearney brought in as the new Warriors mentor as soon as Tuesday.McFadden has failed to take the Warriors to the finals in his three seasons as coach, since taking over from the sacked Matthew Elliott early in 2014.Kearney will step aside from his role as New Zealands international coach if he does take on the Warriors role.Keaarney is also currently an assistant under Wayne Bennett at Brisbane.ddddddddddddhe former New Zealand international forward, who played with Western Suburbs, the Warriors and Melbourne, endured an unsuccessful stint as head coach with Parramatta in 2011 and 2012.He won just 10 of his 42 matches, before stepping down from the role near the end of the 2012 season. ' ' '