I'll be checking in here to add any thoughts while I watch the game today. Not a live blog exactly, but a way to stop myself from over-texting and IMing everyone I know. I'll just add new bullets in this post going from top to bottom.
First Quarter
The Cardinals have let Atlanta off the hook early in the game. Arizona has accomplished everything they'd want to, but they only lead 7-0. Anquan Boldin's drop took points off the board.
Atlanta is a dominant team when they lead the game. They are average when they trail. This is a great test of Matt Ryan's poise and Michael Turner's true value.
This looks like the team Ken Whisenhunt envisioned when he arrived from Pittsburgh. The offensive line is pushing people around. The defense is multiple and unpredictable. If they can protect Kurt Warner better, they are going to be tough to beat.
It looks like all the Cardinals had to do to get their running game going was give Edgerrin James half a season off.
Second Quarter
Probably the worst part of Atlanta's team is their pass defense. They struggled against teams like the Saints and Broncos. Mike Lombardi pointed this out earlier this week and he couldn't be more right. One thing we know after Anquan Boldin torched the Falcons for a 71-yard touchdown: The Cardinals will not stop passing like nuts no matter the score.
Keep Roddy White's 40-yard drop in mind when looking at Matt Ryan's final stats. What a throw by Ryan. Shades of White's first two years in the league where he dropped tons of deep balls.
Matt Ryan is so good at avoiding the pass rush while in the pocket. Like Tom Brady and Philip Rivers but with more atheltic ability. He bailed White out after the big drop with a couple big third down throws. A huge drive towards the end of the first half to keep Atlanta in the game.
The touchdown drive was all Ryan. Michael Turner finished it off with the score, but he doesn't really catch passes or make people miss. That's why Ryan would get my MVP vote ahead of Turner.
The Falcons have 40 offensive plays, and that's before they intercept the Cardinals on a deflection with two minutes left in the half. That's a huge total; Arizona has 21. This could wear the Cardinals defense down. It sounds crazy, but a few Edgerrin James runs would have helped in the second quarter.
Nice playcall by the Falcons on third-and-five at the Arizona eight yard-line. The Cardinals were protecting the end zone and Atlanta threw a perfect out to Roddy White for the first down.
The Falcons made a handful of mistakes in the first half: Ryan's pick, his overthrow to White, the White drop. But they made up for two of those mistakes by scoring touchdowns on those drives. Arizona's mistakes were two drops that took points off the board (Boldin) and added points for Atlanta (J. Urban).
I liked the Cardinals to win this game going in, but what a discouraging first half for them to be trailing at halftime.
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