The key with Arizona is getting Boldin back 100% healthy , giving Edge James the rock and he continus to run like a man possessed or trying to prove something hearing his he wont be back comments. Everyone saw he how hard he ran vs NE in a blowout except the Zona staff . So those 2 players make the offense more likethe reputation it has . The other is postseason experience of 37 yr old QB Warner who excels when blitzed , Edge James and Coach Wisenhunt ..ATL 1st year QB and Coach ...plus ZOna hosting 1st playoff game since like WW II !! ATL defense ? Abraham will play but questionable , Milloy missed last week with a back injury (that he struggled to tie his shoes that week) and Jamal Anderson appears doubtful...Also did ZONA reclaim momentum vs SEATTLE in the 2nd H ?? I kinda think they did if they didnt it would be a terrible season. To many expected ARI to just show up and play well but looks like it took some work and came together in the 2ndH especially when Fitz started getting the ball.
Some tidbits that were cut and pasted..the bold are most interesting to me
-Arizona played six of the NFL's top nine rushing teams this season and lost each time. My take is that lets look at the 6 games indivually. I would assume @ NE , Minny , NYG , @ Wash and @ Carolina , an @ Jets . So 4 road games we dont even need to look at that closely and the 2 home games . The Falcons are not the Giants and the game was fairly competitive and the Vikings game was turnover realted more then anything . Berrian got on the board with a punt return then they scored after a turnover . ATL is not either of those defenses and with Harry Douglas questionable the kick game loses alot of luster .
-When Atlanta has scored first this season, it is 11-0. When its opponent scores first, Atlanta is 0-5. Kinda of interesting because 1st year coach , rookie Qb and general young offense in its 1st playoff game. Might be a good omen if Zona scores 1st but really doesnt mean much of anything ...Playing a SB QB and RB in Zona plus Wisenhunt ..
-The Cardinals have committed 30 turnovers this season with QB Kurt Warner accounting for 25 of them (14 interceptions and 11 fumbles). In the past seven games, the Cards have committed 16 turnovers and opponents have scored 10 touchdowns as a result. In the last 7 games who have they faced ? @ Philly , @ NE in snow , Minny and NYG plus STL and SEA twice ...look at the 1st 4 teams and well thats tough defenses and tough venues..kinda have to overlook it some IMO
-No defense in the playoffs has fewer takeaways than Atlanta's (18). Now this is saying on paper a turnover prone team is catching a break as ATL has not forced many turnovers or recovered them..which could mean dropped INT's or not grabbing a loose ball at a key moment .
-The Arizona defense allowed a league-high 36 touchdown passes. Terrible but they faced some tough scheduling IMO oustide of the division they didnt have many easy games ..of interest is how well Zona played @ Carolina . They kinda fell apart in the 2nd H when Carolina needed a WIN but generally for a poor road team they showed well . Which remember how well the NFC South did at home all season ...27-5 and TB lost its last 2 home games and NO lost to Car by 2 points in the final week for 3 of those 5 losses , ATL lost to Denver and NO to Minny ..and Carolina was 8-0......
-Arizona is 6-2 at home this season, averaging 30.3 points per game, and 12-4 at home under second-year coach Ken Whisenhunt. The Falcons are 4-4 on the road this season and scored more than 24 points just twice away from the Georgia Dome.
I think Zona does have a decent home field edge as their defense and ST seem to play better and the offense executes well early . ATL is young and seeing that the conference doesnt lose at home 4-4 is solid...
Notes:
ATL has won 3 games down the STRETCH despite losing 3 turnovers a game in them..@ SD , TB , STL. Matt Ryan has 6 INTs last 5 games including 2 at home vs STL this could be a red caution flag. He only had 5 in the 1st 11 games ..
49—Yards given up by the Falcons punt coverage unit, a new league record.
8—QB Matt Ryan is 8-0 when he leads the Falcons in for a score on their opening drive of the game.
So Zona played 6 of the Top 9 rushing teams and lost all 6 which 4 were away . What do they allow rushing yardage wise? How bout 4 YPC and 110 yds pergame at home its 3.9 YPC and 105 yds . Pretty solid considering the opponents and the game @ NE where they looked terrible and couldnt tackle anyone ...also ZOna one of 6 teams to recover DD fumbles on running plays.
Travel for ATL on the short week but also since Thanksgiving in Philly the Cards have had to travel only to NE in the snow . While that weekend ATL went cross country to SD , then to NO , home for TB , out to Minny , home for STL and now out in Zona...
CB Chris Houston at 5'11 will cover Larry Fitzgerald who is 6'3 and loves the jump ball.
While its just precautionary mainly the Falcons had 5 key defenders listed on the injury report : Abraham , Anderson , Milloy , Grady Jackson and Curtis Lofton , plus Harry DOuglas KR/WR ...
Warner 1st playoff game since 2001 Super Bowl , ZOna 1st playoff game since 1998 and 1st home playoff game since 1947.
Economy woes are surfacing IMO . Thats why Zona and Minny are struggling IMO to sellout .
Cards KNOW they are UNDERDOGS :
• The Cardinals are two to three-point underdogs against the Falcons. “I’m fine with being an underdog,” Whisenhunt said. “I’m fine with people thinking we don’t have a chance.”
It doesn’t surprise strong safety Adrian Wilson that the Cardinals aren’t favored, even though they are playing at home.
“We’re the Cardinals, man, nobody gives us respect,” he said. “It’s always something with this team. That’s what you hear in the media. It’s always somebody saying something. We’re underdogs. That’s fine. I know we play well at home. It’s going to be a tough game and we’re going to be ready to play.”
Wilson doesn’t need the underdog role to find motivation. “You’re asking the wrong one for motivation,” he said. “To me, the game can’t come fast enough.”
- The forgotten man is the KEY here . Edge james COULD have plenty of room to run with the Cover 2 scheme guarding against the deep pass . Which is Curtis Lofton' job to deal with Edge and he is on the injury report as well ...
- The ATL key could be Roddy White and Michael Jenkins facing a defense which allowed 36 passing TDs . Rod Hood has been targeted lately and expect that to continue . Ryan missed jenkins a bunch of times last week and finished just 10/21 160 yds ..Ryan @ Minny 13/24 134 yds TD not ovrly impressive . Last year White had a huge day @ Zona as did Boldin and Warner ...granted ATL was using Redman and terrible ..
ATL defense has really struggled the past 2 weeks IMO. They sold out to stop AP @ Minny and force Tavaris to beat them. Well AP 22c 76yds was held in check but Jackson himself had 8 carries for 76 yds and 22/36 233 yds 2 TDs 0 INTs.
The way I see it ARIZONA has the intangible edges here :
-Home Field
-Veteran team loaded with star players
-Experienced Coaching Staff vs 1st year coach
-Better health coming in especially on defense
-Underdog status in PrimeTime(okay midafternoon)
What scares me is that Zona is 5-5 L10 beating STL and SEA twice and SF on MNF . However I go back to the BYE WEEK when before that Edge was the main rusher . They ran the ball okay played well @ Wash and won @ SF , beat Dallas , Miami and Buffalo at home with just a terrible 1st H @ NYJ. I think the Boldin injuries and going to Hightower hurt the offense and they played some good teams and good defenses that gave them trouble
On Zona +1 , 1st H and 1st Quarter ......GL
