Atlanta Falcons vs. Arizona Cardinals: Breaking Down Atlanta's Game Plan

Sunday’s matchup between the Atlanta Falcons (2-4) and Arizona Cardinals (3-4) isn’t necessarily prime-time material, but it does have its share of storylines.

Atlanta will be making its first trip back to University of Phoenix Stadium since 2008, when an overachieving Falcons squad saw its comeback in the NFC Wild-Card Round fall short against Arizona and then Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner, 30-24.

The game was the first of four playoff appearances for the Falcons in the last five years under the leadership of general manager Thomas Dimitroff, head coach Mike Smith and quarterback Matt Ryan.

In addition to Ryan, defensive end John Abraham was a key playmaker for Atlanta’s defense and a member of the core group of players who carried the Falcons during that stretch.

Abraham will be lining up at outside linebacker in a Cardinals uniform when the teams face off on Sunday.

While both teams enter this contest under .500 and over two games behind their respective division leaders, each team has its sights set on turning its season around and being relevant in the wild-card chase once the race heats up in a little over a month.

Let’s familiarize ourselves with this year’s Arizona Cardinals team before we break down Atlanta’s game plan on offense, defense and special teams.

STATE OF THE CARDINALS

Arizona has lost two straight games after a quiet 3-2 start under rookie head coach Bruce Arians. Like the Falcons, the Cardinals have had big issues along their offensive line, where the injury bug bit the team before the season began and took away the unit’s highly regarded rookie first-round draft pick Jonathan Cooper.  

However, unlike Atlanta, Arizona’s offensive line woes have hit harder because Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer hasn’t been able to get rid of the ball as quickly as Matt Ryan does. As a result, Palmer has already been sacked twice as much as Ryan.

In addition to the protection issues, Palmer has thrown at least two interceptions in every game the Cardinals have played this year. The Cardinals have some offensive weapons in Larry Fitzgerald, Andre Roberts, Michael Floyd and Andre Ellington, but poor play by their offensive line and a few bad decisions by Palmer have held the unit back.

Defensively, the Cardinals will field most of the same unit that wreaked havoc on the Falcons in the Georgia Dome last year during Atlanta’s narrow 23-19 win.

A banged-up Calais Campbell leads the defensive front along with the underappreciated Darnell Dockett, while Daryl Washington is a linebacker in the mold of his fellow NFC West counterparts Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman. Former Falcons defensive end John Abraham had his best game in a Cardinals uniform in the team’s loss to the Seahawks last week and will surely be up for this game the way that fellow ex-Falcons Curtis Lofton, Tyson Clabo and Brent Grimes were when their teams played Atlanta earlier this year.

In the secondary, Patrick Peterson is continuing to build his resume and soon may be able to claim the title of the best cornerback in the NFL. If Atlanta's Roddy White doesn’t suit up again, you can be pretty sure that Peterson will be on Harry Douglas, especially after what Douglas did to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week. In addition to Peterson, the Cardinals have another former LSU defensive back named Tyrann Mathieu, whom fans in Atlanta may remember.

Three of the Cardinals four losses have come in divisional games, and with the way Seattle and San Francisco are playing the team’s best shot at making a playoff push is probably as a wild-card participant. With that in mind, the Cardinals will be looking to take care of business in what Carson Palmer called a winnable game (via NFL.com) against the Falcons on Sunday.

OFFENSIVE KEYS FOR ATLANTA

1.  START FAST

Arizona's has fallen behind early in each of its last two games, and Cardinal opponents have scored first in four of the team's seven games. Surprisingly, even though the Falcons are 2-4, they’ve only allowed just three first-quarter points in six games.

The starts haven’t been the issue for Atlanta, but they’re a part of the problem for Arizona. The Falcons need to exploit this and jump out on top early on the road.

2.  LOOK FOR TONY GONZALEZ

Opposing tight ends have killed Arizona’s defense as Zach Miller, Vernon Davis, Jimmy Graham and Jared Cook all had huge days against the Cardinals. While good coverage limited Gonzalez against the Bucs, Harry Douglas should draw more attention than he did last week after his seven-catch, 149-yard performance.

If that happens, then Gonzalez should have a little more room to operate, and he’s proven that he can make a lot of things happen with just a little room.

3.  YOUNG RECEIVERS MUST STEP UP AGAIN

Since Douglas and Gonzalez are likely to draw most of Arizona’s attention, the Falcons are going to need either Darius Johnson, Drew Davis or Kevin Cone to step up and make a couple of plays. Johnson and Davis did just that last week against the Bucs.

Matt Ryan did an excellent job of taking what Tampa's defense gave him, and one of these young receivers will probably get an opportunity to make some plays because the Cardinals preference will be to take away Gonzalez, Douglas and Jacquizz Rodgers.

4.  USE STEVEN JACKSON WISELY

An early report from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution suggests that Steven Jackson is going to give it a go on Sunday after missing six weeks with a soft-tissue injury. Even though the temptation may be to ride Jackson like the feature back that he was in St. Louis—especially now that Julio Jones is out—the Falcons need to stick to their program for now and ease Jackson back into the game plan.

That means they need to continue giving Jacquizz Rodgers plenty of carries while using Jackson in short-yardage situations, where the team has struggled running the ball with Rodgers or Jason Snelling.

5.  PROTECT THE FOOTBALL AND PLAY PENALTY FREE

The Falcons have almost as many turnovers on special teams (two) as they do on offense (four) this season. The offense can’t afford to get careless this week on the road against a good Cardinals defense.

Turnovers almost allowed the Cardinals to beat the Falcons in Atlanta last year with John Skelton at quarterback. Carson Palmer may not be Matt Ryan, but he’s good enough to lead the Cardinals to a blowout win if the Falcons offense has a repeat performance of last year’s game.

In addition, the Falcons offense needs to stay ahead of the down and distance against Arizona's opportunistic defense and avoid the penalties that lead to long-yardage situations.

DEFENSIVE KEYS FOR ATLANTA

1.  STAY AGGRESSIVE

Falcons defensive coordinator Mike Nolan turned up the heat on Bucs rookie quarterback Mike Glennon, and he needs to keep the temperature hot against Carson Palmer. This Cardinals offensive line isn’t very good, and Atlanta can put Arizona in unfavorable down-and-distance situations by dialing up the pressure and getting to a relatively stationary target in Carson Palmer.

2.  KEEP ARIZONA UNDER 100 YARDS RUSHING

Stopping the run is a big part of keeping the Cardinals in long yardage on passing downs. The Falcons can’t allow the Cardinals to gain any momentum on the ground with backs Rashard Mendenhall and Andre Ellington, because if Atlanta has to bring safety William Moore down into the box, that will really open things up for receivers Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd and Andre Roberts over the top.

Given that Carson Palmer has thrown at least two picks in every game this season, the Falcons want Arizona throwing the football in obvious passing situations.

3.  DON'T ALLOW ANY PLAYS OF 40-YARDS OR MORE

The Falcons tendency to give up big plays has been alarming this season. Every Falcons opponent in 2013 has hit on at least one play of more than 40 yards.

Even though he’s bothered by a hamstring injury, Larry Fitzgerald is more than capable of continuing that streak. As the Falcons know, the Cardinals crowd feeds off of big plays by Fitzgerald in the passing game. Carson Palmer will undoubtedly take a few shots downfield to test Atlanta’s young corners, and the Falcons need to be sure that those plays don’t connect.

On the ground, the Falcons need to play sound gap football and tackle well to avoid any long runs. The more plays Atlanta's defense forces Arizona to undertake, the more opportunities the Falcons will have to get turnovers.

4.  MAKE THE PLAYS THAT ARE THERE TO MAKE

Carson Palmer has proven that he will give the opposing defense an opportunity to make a couple of plays. When that happens Sunday, the Falcons have to make those plays. Dropped interceptions are missed opportunities; Atlanta needs its defenders to take the ball away when they get their hands on it.

5.  AVOID SILLY PENALTIES

Like the offense, the Falcons defense can’t afford to give up free yards to the Cardinals and allow them to gain momentum at home. This key is especially relevant for Atlanta’s younger defenders. Stansly Maponga and Malliciah Goodman both had personal-foul penalties that extended drives against Tampa. Those kind of penalties usually come back to bite teams more on the road than they do at home.

It’s great to see some the Falcons younger players contribute, but they need to avoid the costly penalties if they’re going to be on the field.

SPECIAL TEAMS KEYS FOR ATLANTA

With the ball in his hands, return man Robert Alford is a big play waiting to happen, but he couldn’t hold onto the ball last week and his punt-return fumble let the Bucs right back into the game. The Falcons have already dropped one game on the road this year largely because of a special teams fumble (against Miami), so whoever is fielding punts for Atlanta on Sunday had better take care of the ball.

The coverage units need to maintain their discipline this week because Patrick Peterson, Tyrann Mathieu and Javier Arenas can be game-changers in the return game.

OUTLOOK

This is a game that both teams really need if they’re going to make a run towards a wild-card berth, because their schedules aren’t too friendly in November and December. Since both teams have experienced struggles with their offensive lines, the team that wins the battles at the line of scrimmage will probably win this game.

 

All stats are via ESPN.com. All historical references are via Pro-Football-Reference.com