Atlanta Falcons-Arizona Cardinals: Five Things Atlanta Needs to Do This Weekend

The Atlanta Falcons ride a three-game winning streak into Arizona on Saturday for the first round of the NFC playoffs.

They're playing well, with two tough wins over teams that were in the playoff hunt heading into the final week of the season and one, last week, over the Rams, that proved to be more difficult than originally believed.

The Arizona Cardinals, on the other hand, have lost two of their last three, including a 47-7 shellacking in Week 16 in snowy New England.

They won last week, 34-21 against the Seattle Seahawks, but they've clearly struggled down the stretch. Of their last six games, only two were victories.

While Atlanta fans are worried about the health of their team as they look to play in their first playoff game since 2004, Cardinals fans are most concerned about whether or not they will even get to see the game.

Hosting its first home playoff game in 33 years is exciting, but the recent economic woes may take its toll in Arizona.  As of Thursday afternoon, approximately 3,700 tickets remained unsold for Saturday's game.

NFL league rules dictate that the home team must sell out its game before Friday at 2:30 p.m. or the game will be blacked out. A blackout would mean Cardinals fans would miss what they haven't seen in a very long time: a playoff game featuring the home-town team.

It turns out they may miss quite a game. At first glance, it's easy to understand why the road team is favored by two-and-a-half points in this one. A closer look reveals that this might not be as easy as the Falcons faithful perhaps believe.

If Atlanta can accomplish these five things, their flight back across the country on Saturday night will be filled with elation as they look to a second-round playoff game.

Get Healthy

Perhaps the most difficult thing to do for this game, the Falcons need to find health and quick. A few players were held out of last week's game, most notably safety Lawyer Milloy and defensive end Jamaal Anderson. Both players are critical pieces to the most important aspect of the game plan: stopping the Cardinals high-powered offense.

Anderson did not practice with an ankle sprain last week and so far this week he has been unavailable as well. He's listed as questionable, but as game time approaches, it looks more and more like he will not play on Saturday.

Backup Chauncey Davis will look to fill in, bringing his four sacks to the starting lineup again. One of them, incidentally, came last week when he was starting in place of Anderson.

Milloy is listed as questionable, but all indications are that he will play on Saturday.

Standout defensive end John Abraham missed the second half of last Sunday's game and also did not practice on Thursday. He's battled injuries all season, but he's probable for Saturday.

Atlanta also hopes for improved health from tackle Sam Baker, receiver Harry Douglas, and tackle Todd Weiner.

While they need the depth these players provide, they also hope the extra playoff experience helps.

There are five players on this team that were with Atlanta when it was last in the playoffs in 2004. However, 20 of the 53-man roster have at least one year of playoff seasoning.

The Falcons hope the health and the experience will come through for them on Saturday.

Minimize the Cardinals' Offensive Damage

It's going to be tough to stop the Cardinals offense, which features MVP-candidate quarterback Kurt Warner and three wide receivers who each gained over 1,000 yards this season. They will need to at least put a leash on them and hope to slow them down.

The Atlanta pass defense hasn't been a strong suit all season. It has come through at some critical times in games, but statistically they're twelfth-worst in the league, allowing 220 yards a game.

On the other hand, they're eleventh-best in points allowed per game with 20.3. The bend-but-don't-break style that Atlanta often finds itself employing will be as critical as ever on Saturday. The Falcons will give up points through the air; they have to find ways to give up as few as possible.

One of the ways they can accomplish this is by getting a strong pass rush to Warner. Warner, age 37, has proven when you can get to him, you can slow him down. He is however notoriously fast with his release so that's easier said than done.

Cardinals left tackle Mike Gandy will draw the assignment of blocking Abraham. Even if Abraham can come up with a big day, it still may not be enough to slow Warner down.

Of the seven games in which he was sacked two or more times, four were losses, which isn't enough evidence to conclude that sacking Warner is the total solution for the Falcons.

Pressure on Warner alone won't be enough. The Falcons secondary will have to hold their own against the receivers.

The corners will get help from the safeties since the assumption is that the running game will be ineffective. Atlanta will need to concentrate on making solid and sure tackles as quickly as the ball is caught. The idea of every player being a "ball hawk" is more important than ever on Saturday.

The Cardinals' top three receivers, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and Steve Breaston each average 14.9, 11.7, and 13.1 yards per catch. That means they're making big plays and running after the catch. The Falcons will have to limit their ability to continue to run for extra yards after the catch.

The bottom line here is the Cardinals' passing offense is dangerous. Arizona scored the third-most points in the league. The top two in the league were the New Orleans Saints and the San Diego Chargers.

The Falcons played and defeated both teams (they split with the Saints, losing in the second match up of the season). They've proven they can handle the task of controlling a tough offense and now they'll have to go out and do it for a third time this season.

Start Fast and Take Some Shots Downfield

The Falcons are not ashamed of the fact that they want to run the ball.

In fact, they flaunt it, to the tune of 152 yards per game, second-best in the NFL. The Cardinals are a middle-of-the-pack 17th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed, with 110. However, they have faced six of the league's top nine rushing teams and lost all six games. So the Falcons should be able to run the ball—that's a given.

The Falcons do want to be balanced on offense though. Sure, running allows for clock control, but they still need to score points against this team. Atlanta will need to continue to start fast in the first quarter. They must start fast.

Arizona has scored 427 points this season, as mentioned before, third-most in the league. However, the points don't come in the first quarter. On the season the Cardinals have averaged four points in the first quarter.

Yes, you read that correctly: an average of four points in the first quarter. They explode over the course of the remainder of the game, which is the staunch opposite of what Atlanta does.

If Atlanta can take some shots down field to receivers Roddy White and Michael Jenkins and put some early fast points on the board, the cushion may be great enough for the remainder of the game.

If the Falcons can get into the red zone they should be able to find points. Arizona allowed 55 possessions inside the 20-yard line this season, seventh-most in the league. Of those 55 possessions, they allowed a touchdown 63 percent of the time, fifth-worst in the NFL.

Against the New York Giants and the Carolina Panthers (the two teams also in the top three in rushing), the Cardinals did a decent job of containing the running game, allowing 87 and 113 yards, respectively.

However, both teams were able to establish that portion of their offense, with 27 and 29 attempts each. In both games, the running game was respected and defended, but it opened up holes in the defense for the passing game.

Expect Arizona's talented safety Adrian Wilsonto play in close to assist with the running game. That means the Arizona cornerbacks will be covering the receivers virtually man-to-man. Cornerback Rod Hood has been especially prone to giving up touchdowns lately (four in the last three games) and expect the Falcons to go to his side of the field often on Saturday.

Win the Turnover Battle

Simply put, the Falcons can't give up possessions.

They've escaped three times this season with wins in games in which they turned the ball over three times. They were fortunate to overcome them, but they can't get away with it again in the playoffs.

Arizona has forced 10 fumbles this season, tied for fifth-most in the league. They also have 13 interceptions, tied with four teams for 17th. Atlanta must value every possession against this team and if nothing else, protect the ball and maintain field position.

On offense Arizona is prone to the turnover. In their last six games (in which they're 2-4), they've averaged two giveaways in each game.

If Atlanta can limit their mistakes on offense and force the Cardinals to maintain that turnover average and capitalize on them, it could go a long way toward helping Atlanta create the cushion they may need to outscore Arizona's offense.

Keep An Eye On the Cardinals' Running Backs

While the Falcons can't completely abandon their run defense, the passing game is clearly going to be the focus of the defense.

The Cardinals are the worst rushing team in the league, averaging only 73.6 yards per game. However, running back Edgerrin James gained 100 yards last week against the Seahawks.

Prior to that, in the last nine games, his highest rushing total was 19 yards (three games he did not even play).

With all the focus Atlanta expects to put on the Cardinals receivers in the passing game, Arizona could conceivably look to include the running backs in the passing game.

Arizona's three running backs have totaled 75 receptions this season, which could be an effective way of beating the Falcons' focus on the three wide receivers. With the safeties helping in pass coverage, the running backs could find openings for pass receptions.

This article originally appeared on the Atlanta Falcons Examiner page. To view, go here.