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FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. - Kemal Ishmael has filled William Moores strong safety job fairly well this season for the Atlanta Falcons.Robert McClain has essentially done the same for injured cornerback Robert Alford the last five games.Now if the secondary can make it through this week without losing another starter, the Falcons like their chances to beat Carolina and win the weak NFC South.Its going to be fast and physical, but youve got to keep it under control and not do anything crazy, Ishmael said. Youve got to keep a cool head and just make the plays that are presented to you.The game Sunday against Carolina will mark Ishmaels ninth start this year for Moore, whose season ended with a shoulder injury last week in a victory at New Orleans.Ishmael believes the Falcons (6-9) will keep their expectations modest against the Panthers (6-8-1).The defence is coming a season-best performance — four takeaways and five sacks — but Atlanta still ranks last against the pass, next-to-last in sacks and eighth-worst in points allowed.Atlanta began last week as a heavy underdog against Drew Brees, having gone 3-14 against the Saints quarterback and 1-7 at New Orleans.Against Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, the Falcons are 4-3, but his strong arm, big frame and fast legs have created problems.Newton has averaged 244 yards passing, throwing for 11 touchdowns and 10 interceptions in the rivalry. Those are decent numbers for Atlanta, but Newton has hurt them badly on the ground, averaging 7.6 yards on 54 runs.Great quarterback, dual threat, Ishmael said. He hasnt missed a beat. The guy is running up the field, throwing the ball well and making plays, man. Hes going to be a big focus for us.The Falcons run defence has done well two weeks in a row, holding Pittsburghs LeVeon Bell, the NFLs second-leading rusher, to 2.4 yards per attempt on 20 carries.Saints running back Mark Ingram had only 38 yards on 13 carries, but Brees isnt an open-field running threat like Newton.Carolinas backfield is loaded, too. Jonathan Stewart leads the NFL over the last four weeks with 437 yards rushing and has averaged over 5 yards per carry in 11 career games against Atlanta. DeAngelo Williams, who practiced Thursday with a cast on his broken right hand, has averaged 4.4 yards in 15 games against the Falcons.If we dont stop them, its going to be tough to win the game, McClain said. Weve got to go out there, stop the run and minimize Cam on his explosives, try to make plays on the ball and get turnovers.McClain and starting cornerback Desmond Trufant each picked off passes last week. Ishmael teamed with reserve safety Dezmen Southward to force a goal-line fumble from tight end Jimmy Graham.The Falcons will need to do something similar against Carolina.Weve been through every situation, ups and downs, had the leads and losing (streaks), Ishmael said. Weve been through everything. For it to come down to this last game is a blessing. Were still in it. We treated the last game like a playoff game so were going to do that with this one, too.Notes: Pro Bowl WR Julio Jones (hip) was held out of practice for the second straight day. ... RB Steven Jackson (quadriceps) and reserve CB Josh Wilson (hamstring) also didnt participate. ... WR Roddy White (ankle), WR Harry Douglas (foot) and RG Jon Asamoah (back) were limited in practice.___AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Nike Air Vapormax Navy+Multi-Color .ca presents its latest weekly power rankings for the 2013-14 Barclays Premier League season. Wholesale Vapormax Mens . - The Clippers have signed guard Dahntay Jones to a second 10-day contract. http://www.clearancevapormax.com/cheap-v...arance.html.com) - Former foes from the Mountain West Conference battle in the 23rd annual Las Vegas Bowl, as the 23rd-ranked Utah Utes clash with the Colorado State Rams at Sam Boyd Stadium on Saturday. Wholesale Vapormax 2 Flyknit . Ferrer, the two-time defending champion in Buenos Aires, is aiming to win his 21st ATP tournament. Ferrer will next face fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro, the fourth seed, who defeated Jeremy Chardy of France 7-6 (7), 6-3 in another quarterfinal match. Wholesale Vapormax 97 . -- The Chicago Bears have agreed to a one-year contract with cornerback Kelvin Hayden.HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros had solid pitching but couldnt get their offence going in the first two games against Atlanta. On Thursday, they finally put together a complete game and won 6-1 to avoid a series sweep. Matt Dominguez broke out of a slump with a three-run home run and rookie George Springer also homered to back up seven strong innings by Jarred Cosart. Dominguez snapped an 0-for-23 skid with his two-out shot to left-centre field off Mike Minor (2-5) that made it 5-1 in the fifth inning. "Thats the big hit that when we were in this here funk that we were in, that was the big hit that had been eluding us," manager Bo Porter said. Dominguez said there was a mixture of relief and excitement when he connected on his home run. "I try not to focus on it but of course it gets in your head," Dominguez said. "Good situation. Got a good pitch to hit and I was finally able to put the barrel on it." Cosart (8-5) allowed six hits and a run for his fourth straight victory. Porter believes that Cosarts presence on the mound has improved with each start this season and the 24-year-old agreed. "When Im throwing strikes I have a lot more confidence and obviously thats what theyve been preaching," Cosart said. "And with the mechanical stuff Ive been doing I have a lot more confidence in throwing strikes and just being able to trust my stuff and attack the hitters and know Ive got a really good defence behind me thats going to make a lot of plays for me." Springers solo homer off Juan Jaime in the seventh pushed the lead to 6-1. He has 15 homers this season, the most by a rookie in franchise history before the All-Star Break. Lance Berkman had the previous mark with 12 in 2000. Minor gave up seven hits and five runs in six innings to remain winless since May 19. Jon Singleton had two hits and an RBI and Jose Altuve added a pair of hits and swiped two bases ffor the Astros, who had managed just four runs combined and had been shut out twice in a four-game losing streak.dddddddddddd. Altuve leads the American League with 107 hits and 30 steals. Justin Upton had two hits on Thursday and hit .364 with two homers and four RBIs in the series and B.J. Upton had a hit and scored Atlantas only run. "Things just didnt go our way," Justin Upton said. "For the most part we tried to play a little small ball with our run-scoring struggles and weve done a pretty good job of it. (Thursday) it didnt work out for us and we didnt get the big ball, either." The Braves had trouble stringing together hits against Cosart and he was helped by the Astros turning a pair of double plays. Evan Gattis doubled to start the seventh before Jason Heyward drew a walk, but Cosart retired the next three batters to end the threat. B.J. Upton hit a leadoff single before stealing second and taking third on an error on the throw by Jason Castro. The Braves went up 1-0 when he scored on a sacrifice fly by Tony La Stella. Altuve singled and a double by Singleton, which bounced off the wall in left field, sent him home to tie it at 1-1 in the first. Minor plunked Dominguez to start Houstons fourth before a double by Castro. The Astros took a 2-1 lead when Castro scored on a groundout by Jesus Guzman. NOTES: The Astros opened their gates 30 minutes early Thursday to allow fans to watch the World Cup match between the United States and Germany on the stadiums big screens. ... Atlanta 1B Freddie Freeman was back in the lineup after leaving Wednesday nights game in the eighth inning after being hit by a pitch on the right elbow. ... Houston selected the contract of RHP Jose Veras from Triple-A Oklahoma City and outrighted RHP Kyle Farnsworth before the game and he has elected free agency. Veras struck out Justin Upton for the last out of the game. ' ' '