DS Talk » field Avenue.Cubs infielder Ben Zobrist and out

NEW ORLEANS -- This is what it has come to for the defending NFC champion Carolina Panthers.Either they beat the Saints in the Superdome on Sunday, or they fall into last place in the NFC South by themselves with 10 games to go.You dont expect to start this way, Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly said. Its a situation we are in now and its all about how youre going to respond from it.On its face, the matchup of the Saints (1-3) and Panthers (1-4) has the look of a game between two struggling teams who very well might be going nowhere this season.On the other hand, it could make for a desperate, high-stakes affair, given both teams are trying to salvage their season and believe it is still early enough to do so.Were not looking at them as a 1-4 team. Were looking at them as the returning NFC champions. We know that and just like when I was on a Super Bowl team, the next year, you get the best of every team, said Saints fullback John Kuhn, who played in the Super Bowl with Green Bay.This is two really good football teams going at each other. Throw the records out. Anybody watching this game is not going to be unsatisfied.Weve only played a quarter of the season, Kuhn added. Youve seen it in years past, especially with this division -- anything can happen. Weve got a lot of football left in front of us. So do they. It starts this week. We both understand whats going on.And its not as if either team has been on the wrong end of many lopsided scores. Both teams have each lost games by three points and one point. Those games came down to the final possession and a play here or there could have tipped the balance.The Panthers also played without star quarterback Cam Newton last Monday night against Tampa Bay and only lost on a last-second field goal.Newton, who had been held out because of a concussion, will play this week as the Panthers try to keep pace with the ever-prolific offense designed by Saints coach Sean Payton and executed by QB Drew Brees.We know the team were playing is a championship-level team that has lost some tough, close games, Payton said. Were going to have to be at our best.Here are some other story lines to watch as the Panthers invade the Superdome:NEWTONS NUMBERS: The Saints might be just what a struggling Newton needs. Newton, whose quarterback rating of 80.2 ranks 32nd in the league, often has played well against New Orleans, whose defense has been rated among the NFLs worst in three of the past four seasons and is again ranked 31st so far this season. Newton threw for 331 yards and five touchdowns last season at the Superdome and has 10 touchdowns and one interception in the past three games against New Orleans.HOPEFUL HISTORY: The Saints can look at their own franchise history for examples of why they still might emerge as playoff contenders -- if they can win this week. Under the current NFL playoff system, the Saints have twice made the playoffs after starting a season 1/3 -- once in 1990 and once in 2000.Were trying to be an ascending team -- a team that is trying to get better each and every week, Brees said. I feel like we have gotten better. We have learned and grown.WHERES THE RUSH?: Panthers starting defensive ends Kony Ealy and Charles Johnson have yet to register a sack this season through five games. Ealy said a major reason for that is opposing quarterbacks are getting the ball out quicker, giving the teams front four less time to get to the quarterback.Obviously quarterbacks are doing it for a reason, offensive coordinators are game-planning that way for a reason, Ealy said. They know what our front can do. It would be crazy for them to just be lax back there and know we are going to pressure with four or sometimes five guys. We see it as a sign of respect.GETTING DEFENSIVE: Although the Saints rank second-to-last in the NFL defensively, there have been signs of hope for the struggling unit. New Orleans ranks 13th in the NFL in red zone defense and tied for seventh in the league in limiting TDs on opposing offenses goal-to-go scenarios. Also, New Orleans much-maligned defense came up with a pair of fumble recoveries and an interception in the fourth quarter of their comeback win in their game at San Diego on Oct. 2. Now theyre rested after a bye last week.STEWARTS RETURN: The Panthers are hoping to get Jonathan Stewart back on the field after the teams starting running back missed the past three games with a hamstring injury. When healthy, Stewart is difficult to bring down and can be among the best running backs in the league. If Stewart cant go, the Panthers will turn to Cameron Artis-Payne, who ran for two TDs in a loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Fake Jordan . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. Cheap Jordan From China . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. https://www.wholesalejordanshoeschina.com/ . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. Air Jordan 19 For Sale . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. Air Jordan Outlet . Their 38th instalment is arguably their biggest fight card to date, including three-title fights and a main event which was selected by the fans. The promotion boasts 14-straight years of business and is operated by MFC president Mark Pavelich, who is often overlooked in this country for the foundation hes established for MMA in Canada. Four years into the Theo Epstein era, the Cubs find themselves in a place theyve never been before -- favorites heading into the playoffs.In four years, the Cubs have gone from a 101-loss regular season to a 103-win regular season, a drastic change that has kept the center-field scoreboard operators busy raising the W flag after each victory. Wrigley Field has been buzzing inside and out this season as the Cubs have given their faithful plenty to cheer about.The only thing as plentiful as the runs the Cubs racked up this year were the laughs that could be heard around the cage at batting practice, on the field and in the dugout. This team knows how to win, and it knows how to have fun.Rick Fuhs, a groundskeeper and scoreboard operator for the Cubs, trims the ivy on the outfield wall. Fuhs has been with the Cubs for 38 years and started as a teenager sweeping the outfield bleachers. Assisting Fuhs is groundskeeper intern Alex Pancek.Aroldis Chapman stops to sign autographs and take pictures after arriving at the stadium before the Cubs take on the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 31.Fans visit a souvenir stand on Waveland Avenue beyond the left-field bleachers.Shortstop Addison Russell gets in some fielding practice before a game against the Miami Marlins on Aug. 1.Anthony Rizzo puts his arm around strength and conditioning coordinator Tim Buss following a team photo shoot.Fans take in a game from their rooftop as the Cubs take on the Mets.Jason Heyward (on ground), Dexter Fowler, Addison Russell (kneeling) and Kris Bryant share a laugh during batting practice before a game in Los Angeles against the Dodgers.Scoreboard operator Fred Washington raises the W flag after the Cubs beat the Brewers in August. The tradition of flying the W flag after wins was created before Wrigley Field hosted night games as a way to notify travelers on the train whether the Cubs won that day.Scoreboard operator Rick Fuhs keeps an eye on the action from the press box as he tallies the balls and strikes on the iconic center-field scoreboard. The scoreboard was installed in the 1930s.Kris Bryant signs autographs for fans before a game against the Brewers in July..ddddddddddddA stadium worker opens the gates to the home plate entrance of Wrigley Field at the intersection of Addison and Clark.Cubs players exit the dugout with a jersey hanging in tribute to Marlins pitcher Jose Fernandez, who died Sept. 25 in a boating accident.Ballhawks outside Wrigley Field stand at the corner of Waveland and Kenmore for the National Anthem.Rookie catcher Willson Contreras and relief pitcher Pedro Strop embrace with a hug before the Cubs take on the Brewers at Miller Park.Fans cool themselves in misters to seek refuge from the sweltering heat in the outfield bleachers.Addison Russell runs toward second base during a game against the Marlins on Aug. 1.Kris Bryant celebrates after scoring a run against the Texas Rangers.Outfielder Matt Szczur snags a fly ball just a step away from the ivy-covered left-field wall.A scoreboard operator eyes the action as he turns the numbers tallying the runs and hits in a game against the San Francisco Giants on Sept. 3.A view inside Wrigley Field from one of the rooftop bleachers on Sheffield Avenue.Cubs infielder Ben Zobrist and outfielder Jason Heyward go through a pregame ritual before the Cubs take on the White Sox at U.S. Cellular Field.Aroldis Chapman talks with his teammates in the bullpen.Firefighters stationed in Wrigleyvilles Engine 78 station across from the left-field entrance of Wrigley Field watch the evenings action on television.Young Cubs fan Beckham Zobrist takes in the game with his mother Erin Zobrist as the Cubs take on the Cardinals in August. Beckham lost his eye to retinoblastoma -- a rare form of cancer -- and after being teased by other children, pleaded for a new eye from his parents. While the true eye he was hoping for could not happen, his parents instead got him the next best thing ... a prosthetic eye with the logo of his favorite team, the Cubs.Anthony Rizzo scores the winning run in a walk-off over the Giants on Sept. 4.Kris Bryant and David Ross leave the stadium following a night game as fans plead for autographs. ' ' '