What it will take to beat the Saints**

[hepcat]

Okay...time to look past Week 1. What's it going to take to beat a Saints** team looking to bounce back from a surprising loss to the upstart Redskins? Here's my key points.

#1) TURNOVERS. Washington did not turn the ball over once in Week 1 (although they had a punt blocked returned for a TD...I consider that a turnover). Brees threw 2 picks and Colston fumbled at Washington's 3 yard line, taking points off the board. If Cam can protect the football, the chances of winning are very good.

#2) Defense, Defense, Defense. The secondary is going to be getting a lot of work in this game. Brees is going to be out in full force and the Saints** receivers are as dangerous as ever. Jimmy Graham is a monster and will be tough to stop. Will Charles Godfrey be assigned to cover him 1 on 1 again? The new Edwards-Edwards duo is going to make it tough to run up the middle, but with Darren Sproles in the backfield, it'll be easy to play dink-n-dunk to get big chunks if the Panthers over pursue. Limiting the big plays is key.

#3) RUNNING GAME. Week 1 saw something Panther fans aren't used to - a complete abandonment of the running game. You won't win games with 13 rushes for a total of 10 yards. Right out the gate, the Panthers need to work on getting the running game back on track. Hopefully Jonathan Stewart returns and aids in that effort.

If the Panthers can win the turnover battle, avoid giving up big plays, and control the clock with the running game, a victory is possible. Conventional logic says the Saints** are the better team and should win this game, but that same logic led a lot of people to say the Panthers would blow out the Buccaneers in Week 1, and we know how that turned out. A win would go a long way for the confidence of the team and the fan base...can't wait for Sunday!

[PantherPhann89]

On the Offense side of the ball: Attack from start to finish by mixing it up.

On the Defense side of the ball: Great CB play form #1 and #2, Great TE coverage and Excellent pass rush.

[Darth Biscuit]

We will have to score more points than they do.

[CRA]

Score. a lot.

[KDawg004]

I think the Bucs D is definitely better than the Saints*. So its shouldn't be hard to muster up 20+. We're going to have to run the ball and control the clock to keep Brees off the field.

[PhillyB]

offense, defense, special teams and the coaching staff will have to come out with some fuging desire and intensity or there's no way we win this game.

[nctarheel0619]

Washington got pressure on the mole all day. Look at his completion percentage. That offensive line isn't the same filling in with Ben Grubbs. Nicks is a damn beast, arguably the best guard in the NFL. The way our defensive line played against Tampa makes me very happy we should be able to pressure those douches.

[Kuech the Sneak]

Were gonna have to play a near perfect game...I don't think the dink and dunk plays will work that well because of improved linebacker play. Well see how much our defense has improved against a much better offense

[rayzor]

keep our offense on the field and their offense off.

screw with whoever's calling the Saints* plays head and keep switching things up when our D is on the field. keep them guessing. force them to adjust over and over and over to what we're doing.

[rayzor]

offense, defense, special teams and the coaching staff will have to come out with some fuging desire and intensity or there's no way we win this game.

i think after this past week and the fact that it's the first home game i don't think there's any way they don't come out firing on all cylinders.

[Navy_football]

Defensively:

Pressure Brees up the middle with stunts and LB blitzes. He's not as accurate when his view is blocked with big bodies, even if you don't get to him. If he can step up, he'll kill ya.

Keep a man on Sproles at all times - only leave him after you're sure the ball isn't going his way.

Double Graham with a LB underneath and a S overtop.

Offensively:

Don't give their blitzers a chance to get going, and make em pay/hesitant with RB/WR screens.

Quick 3 step drops with a lot of underneath routes (slants). I think RGIII averaged a little over 2 seconds per pass attempt from the time of the snap. Also, heavy on the crossing routes. Their secondary is soft and gets lost with picks and crosses. And the refs are not calling picks. That 88 yarder to Garcon looked to be a blatant pick to me.

[PantherTrain]

We have to double Graham, Im confident the Edwards twins will do good upfront.

[4Corners]

The Bucs Week 1 game will be remembered for one of two things:

1. The Panthers stepped up after being beat in a winnable game and really rallied to take control and be the team we all knew they could be.

2. The Bucs loss left a bad taste in the team's mouth and they were really never able to bounce back after losing week 1. With the 8th pick in the 2013 draft, the Panthers select....

[4Corners]

I'll say it: Panthers 0-2 after this week. Sorry. I was wrong on the bucs game so I hope I'm wrong on this one, too.

This game is a c*nt's hair away from being labeled a "must win" - and if the Panthers lose Sunday, maybe these 6-10/7-9 predictions we were laughing at could end up being correct.