FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) _ Matt Ryan won't say how far he can
throw the football. What matters to Ryan is that Roddy White scored a 70-yard touchdown on their long-distance connection in the first quarter of the Atlanta Falcons' win last week against Kansas City. The ball sailed 57 yards in the air. The Falcons' rookie quarterback only hopes circumstances at Carolina this weekend call for him to launch another tight spiral over the secondary.

Ryan is proving to be a pretty quick study at accurately reading
coverages and throwing to the right spots on the field. But the
Falcons will face a harder test in Carolina than they did against
the Chiefs, who have lost 12 straight.

The Panthers' defense, led by right end Julius Peppers,
linebackers Thomas Davis and Jon Beason and cornerbacks Chris
Gamble and Ken Lucas, is more similar to the Tampa Bay unit that
held Ryan to a 29.6 passer rating and Atlanta running back Michael
Turner to just 42 yards on 13 carries.

Ryan knows that any chances he's allowed to stretch the field
with a deep ball will come only if Turner, who was named NFC
Offensive Player of the Week for the second time this season,
punishes the Panthers.

It's critical for the Falcons to give Turner the ball often.
Last week, following three straight 3-and-out punts, the offense
benefited tremendously when Turner broke off some big gains.
Ryan likely won't have one of his faster deep threats,
second-year wideout Laurent Robinson, who was wearing a knee brace and couldn't practice on Wednesday.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)