CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- When teams play Michael Vick, they are often scared to come after him, fearful that one misstep will turn into a 70-yard highlight run for a touchdown.
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| The Panthers don't give Michael Vick room to operate. (Getty Images) |
The Carolina Panthers know all about that, having been made Vick's whipping boys in five consecutive losses to him.
That all changed Sunday. Instead of playing a react defense, the Panthers came after Vick, unveiling an aggressive game plan that made Vick look frustrated in Carolina's 24-6 victory over Atlanta at Bank of America Stadium.
"It feels good we can come in this locker room and talk about a victory instead of talking about another loss to Mike Vick," Panthers safety Mike Minter said. "This is one time. We have to see him again. So you can bet he'll put that cape back on again."
Carolina found its Vick Superman Kryptonite in one of the best defensive plans any coach has used against the Atlanta quarterback.
In addition to attacking with a variety of blitzes, they used several players as spies on Vick to keep him in the pocket. In the past, those Vick runs have killed the Panthers, which they were intent on not allowing Sunday.
"We did a variety of things," Panthers coach John Fox said. "Nothing that hasn't been tried before."
More blitzing?
"Some of those weren't blitzes," Fox said. "Some of them were spies. We were about 10 percent higher than we normally were."
Fox might be trying to hide his new secret to stopping Vick because the reality is they came about 25 percent more than normal. Whatever it was, it worked.
Vick was limited to 36 yards on three carries, which is a 12-yard average, but the low numbers of carries is what the Panthers were proud of after the game. Vick completed 17 of 35 passes for 171 yards and two interceptions. His passer rating was an abysmal 39.1.
"At least now, next time we play them we can talk about other things like football," Panthers defensive end Mike Rucker said.
