The Falcons will host the Arizona Cardinals Sunday at the Georgia Dome in the 2010 home opener. The Birds are trying to get back on track after suffering an overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers last week in the season opener.
One reason for the Falcons’ loss last week was the running game never got off the ground. Michael Turner was held to 42 yards on 19 carries and Jason Snelling only carried the ball one time for one yard while Jerious Norwood carried the ball two times for eight yards. The Falcons will look to establish the run early, but like the Steelers, the Cardinals run a 3-4 defensive front led by defensive tackle Darnell Dockett and linebacker Joey Porter.
Matt Ryan had a solid game in the air last week, completing 61 percent of his passes last week. He will look to put up some big numbers against a Cardinals team who gave up 240 yards last week against the St. Louis Rams it won’t be an easy task, though because their defensive backfield does feature Adrian Wilson who is one of the best safeties in the NFL.
Fortunately for Ryan, he will have Roddy White as a go-to target. White is coming off one of his best games of his young career, notching 13 receptions and 113 yards against the Steelers. Michael Jenkins, who was expected to come back this week after suffering an injury in training camp will not play.
The Falcon defense did not have a good overtime period against the Steelers last week, giving up a 50-yard touchdown run which ended the game. But overall, the defense played well enough to win the game for Atlanta.
All three linebackers, Curtis Lofton, Mike Peterson and rookie Sean Weatherspoon were dominant against the Steelers, especially Lofton who led the team with 11 tackles and one sack.
And speaking of sacks, defensive ends Kroy Bierrmann and John Abraham each notched a sack and looks like their picking up where they left off in the preseason.
The unit will be going up against quarterback Derek Anderson who has good amount of NFL experience, but if the Falcons apply pressure to him early and often, the Falcons should come away with a win. The defense will have to do that because Anderson does have two talented receivers in Larry Fitzgerald and Steve Breaston.
There are a couple of lineup changes defensively for the Sunday afternoon game. Defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux will be back after serving a one-game suspension. He will start along with Peria Jerry who had a strong showing last week. Also, safety Erik Coleman has a knee injury and will not likely dress on Sunday. This will mean William Moore will get his first-career NFL start.
To say this game is a must-win for the Falcons is not out of the question. If they lose they will be 0-2 and have the New Orleans Saints waiting for them the following Sunday. Their season won’t be over by any means but the percentage of teams that start the season 0-2 and reach the postseason is very low.
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