Arizona offense vs. Atlanta defense

	CARDINALS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	28
	Pass	29
	Tot. Yds.	31
	Scoring	30
	Int's allowed	25
	Sacks allowed	41
	FALCONS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	29
	vs. Pass	7
	Total yds. allowed	15
	# of Ints.	10
	# of Sacks	38
	Turnover differential	-20

The Arizona offense has been plagued all season by an inability to run the football and the inconsistency of QB Jake Plummer. Plummer has thrown 19 picks in only 9 games, against only 7 touchdowns. Not surprisingly, the Cardinals are 2-7 when Plummer starts (both wins were against Philadelphia). With backup QB Dave Brown at the helm, the Cardinals were 4-1. A predictable correlation: Brown threw only six interceptions in his time as a starter.

This week against Atlanta, the Cardinals need to establish the run early in the game to set-up play action for QB Plummer. The Falcons have a talented front seven and this unit will be in Plummer's face all day unless the Cards prove that they can run the ball early.

The running game, aside from buying Plummer a little more time, will also force the Atlanta linebackers to play closer to the line of scrimmage, and open up the underneath routes for Arizona's wide receivers and TE Terry Hardy, who was a favorite target of Plummer earlier in the season. Arizona's receivers need to start holding onto the football -- the team dropped eight balls last week against Buffalo and will need to be sharper this week against the Falcons.

Atlanta's defense has done a valiant job this season, but the inability of the offense to sustain any drives has left the defense susceptible to big plays later in games. The defense's ability to tackle opposing rushers seems to deteriorate considerably as games progress, and depending on whether QB Chris Chandler is in the line-up, this could be a problem again this week against an Arizona team that boasts a huge offensive line.

It is important that Falcon defenders, particularly the front four, don't overpursue against Arizona RB Adrian Murrell. Murrell is a shifty, cutback runner who doesn't hit the holes hard, but waits for daylight and then makes his moves.

RDE Lester Archambeau will be matched up against Arizona LOT Matt Joyce, who is filling in for injured starter L.J. Shelton. Archambeau is a veteran, who should be able to use his experience and a combination of moves to take advantage of Joyce, who will be making only his second start as a tackle. If Archambeau can draw double teams or force the Cardinals to keep a tight end or back out of the play to help block him, it should open things up for his linemates, DT Chuck Smith and RDE Shane Dronett.

The Falcons need to run the football, and the team's best option to do so is RB Winslow Oliver, who has breakaway speed but is undersized at 170 pounds. Oliver's size prevents him from being an every down back, and repeated hits from opposing linebackers make Oliver a threat to turn the football over. He has three fumbles in the last two weeks. Atlanta needs to game-plan to get Oliver the ball in space, where his speed and escape ability make him a more dangerous weapon, so look for the Falcons to throw the ball to Oliver in the flat early.

Whoever starts at QB will be missing a valuable weapon this weekend, as WR Tim Dwight will probably not step on the field again this season. Dwight has deep speed and is one of the few players on the Falcon roster who is capable of stretching a defense. This leaves the team with WR's Jammi German and rookie Eugene Baker, neither of whom is a gamebreaker.

Arizona's defense looked like a different unit without DT Eric Swann in the line-up. The Cardinals had been solid against the run with Swann playing about 40% of the team's downs, but when Swann didn't play last weekend against Buffalo, Arizona's run defense looked downright porous.

Luckily for the Cardinals, they will be facing one of the worst rushing teams in the NFL in Atlanta. The Falcons are averaging just over 71 yards per game on the ground and have a depleted corps of wide receivers, so expect the Cardinals to be aggressive and come at Atlanta QB Chandler with a variety of blitz packages.

The Cardinals have confidence in a secondary anchored by LDC Aeneas Williams and will not hesitate to leave their corners in single coverage to get in Chandler's face. Chandler is much less effective when he is forced out of the pocket and has to throw on the run, so expect to see SS Kwame Lassiter on the line of scrimmage for much of the day.

The Cardinals' defense has been solid for most of the year despite all the team's injuries, aside from a letdown last week against Buffalo. LOLB Rob Fredrickson has been a bright spot playing over the opposing offense's TE, so he should be able to neutralize Atlanta's O.J. Santiago, who has had an awful year to this point.