By Don Stone - Football
Atlanta
Looking around at the
sparse crowd in the Georgia Dome...and in the press box, someone asked, "How
can there be so many empty seats when you have two first place teams
playing."
Of course, he was kidding...I hope. Yes, Arizona is at the
top of the NFC West, and deservedly so. They were 10-6 last year and have
continued to win, even after losing their quarterback, Carson Palmer,
for the season with a torn ACL. Granted, their division is down with both
Seattle and San Francisco with nine losses between them. But, the Cardinals'
9-2 record is the best in the NFC and includes victories against the
Chargers, Eagles, Cowboys, 49ers and Lions. The only two losses were against
last year's Super Bowl teams, Seattle and Denver.
The Falcons are another story altogether. Its almost hard to
explain how a team with a 4-7 record can be in first place. Even more
difficult is the fact that they are not favored to win this game and have a
road game next week in Green Bay and the Steelers to follow at home. They're
not favored to win those either. And, still, they could win the division. As
long as they beat Carolina and New Orleans in the last two game of the
season, they are likely to get in with a 6-10 record...mainly because all
six wins would have come within the NFC South.
Four teams playing so poorly that six wins gets you the
championship and gets you hosting a playoff game. That would probably make
this the worst division ever to play in an NFL season where you might not
have 20 wins combined. That's giving Atlanta six, New Orleans six, Carolina
five and Tampa Bay two. The only thing keeping the number that high is that
there are still four games left between the division teams. And somebody
(probably) will win each one.
Fans are a bit torn on whether to root for the Falcons. Of course they
want their team to do well, but, most teams finishing a bad season have fans
wanting them to lose so they'll get a top draft choice. Someone was
calculating that the team that wins this division (Atlanta hypothetically)
at 6-10 would pick somewhere around 21 with the team that also finishes at
6-10 but loses the tiebreaker (New Orleans) would pick around #9. Quite a
difference in the quality of player you are getting for your future. And all
four teams desperately need lots of quality players to turn things around.
So, fans are in a quandary. Do they root against the Falcons so they get the
better pick or for them so the at least can say they won the division.
You might compare it to the Braves who were close to making it in
the postseason. Many felt that, even if they made it, they would flame out
quickly like they had done is so many seasons in recent years. And, that's
kind of what some feel will happen to their NFL counterpart. Even if they
get in, how much damage are they going to do?
Atlanta entered the game knowing the Saints had already upset the
Steelers with Carolina and Tampa Bay both losing. So, a win was extra
important to keep up with New Orleans.
Some key injuries kept WR Larry Fitzgerald
and RB Michael Bush
out of the game for Arizona and CB Robert Alford,
WR Roddy White and DT Paul
Soliai out for Atlanta.
The Falcons got the ball first and looked like the 2012 Falcons,
exploding with a 55 yard Steven Jackson
run that surprised everyone, probably including Jackson, who took it to the
one, twice as long as his best run this season. They went for it on fourth
and one and connected with a touchdown catch by TE Levine Toilolo.
Arizona started their drive on the 20 and went three and out.
Another explosive play as Devin Hester
ran the kickoff back 68 yards for a
touchdown. But the score was nullified by a facemask call on Hester as he
was entering the end zone Julio Jones
made a great catch for 25 yards to bring up a first and goal at the six. It
appeared that Matt Ryan would be
picked off at the two but, upon review, the play was ruled incomplete. So,
instead of seven, they got three on a Matt Bryant
20 yard field goal. Atlanta had a 10-0 lead. But a moral victory for the
Cardinals defense who kept Atlanta out of the end zone on a first and goal
from the two.
Michael Floyd got a quick first
down on a ten yard reception to the 32. But on the next play, the defense
put an end to that when S Dwight Lowery
intercepted Drew Stanton at the 46 and
ran it back to the 32.
Two plays later Ryan found Jones in the corner of the end zone for six
more. Falcons were up 17-0.
The next Cardinal drive was helped by a holding call to give them a first
down at their 25. But that's all they got as Atlanta started their drive on
their 20.
Hester got the Falcons into enemy territory on a 10 yard run followed by
a 16 yard pass to Jones moving them to the 30 as the first quarter came to
an end. Then a stunning turn of events when FS Rashad Johnson
intercepted Ryan at the 12 and weaved his way 88 yards through a myriad of
defenders all the way for six to make it 17-7.
Atlanta would try again, this time from their 21. Devonta Freeman
had one of his best runs of the season pushing it for 19 yards t the 47. He
added seven more across midfield. The drive stalled there but a nice 41 yard
Matt Bosher punt pinned the Cardinals
at their four.
That situation changed quickly as TE John Carlson
pulled in a 27 yard pass to the 31. RB
Andre Ellington had to be walked off the
field with a hip injury. Stanton hit Floyd for 22 into AF territory. But
Arizona's first promising drive was stopped when Floyd had the ball stripped
by William Moore, playing in his first
game after coming off the injured reserve. The ball was recovered by
Desmond Trufant at the AF40.
Then three straight plays went in the wrong direction including a holding
penalty on Jackson and a Ryan sack moving the ball to a third and 25 from
the 25. They got most of it back on a leaping 19 yard catch by Harry
Douglas but had to punt.
Starting at their 20. Ted Ginn, Jr.
picked up a quick first down with a 19 yard reception at the 39. Another
pass to Ginn, Jr. moved them 22 further to the Atl23. But a holding call on
Ted Larsen moved them back to a first
and 20 at the 33. With no one open, Stanton scrambled for seven to the 26.
The Cardinals were held and had to settle for three on a 44 yard field goal.
Atlanta began their last drive of the half at their 27 with just over two
minutes left in the half.
After 10 unanswered points by Arizona, Atlanta needed to get some of that
back. Jacquizz Rodgers got a first at
the 40 with Jones getting seventeen more on pair of catches. An illegal
contact call on the Cardinals stopped the clock at 32 seconds as Atlanta
moved into field goal range at the 32. Jones high stepped it 17 yards
downfield to the 11 with 17 seconds left. An attempted pass to Douglas in
the end zone drew an offensive pass interference call moving the ball back
to a first and 20 at the 21. Jones pulled another one down at the five with
7 ticks on the clock to go and a chance for one more play. A field goal was
all they could get moving the lead back to ten points at 20-10 at the half.
More questions would be asked about clock management on that drive.
All in all a surprising result but, given Atlanta's third and fourth
quarter struggles this season, nothing felt secure.
Arizona started the second half with an 8 yard pass to Floyd for a first
down at the 35. But they could get no more with Atlanta taking over at their
11.
The drive started with Douglas in a open field gaining 19 to the
37. Jones went deep and pulled down a circus catch 41 yards later at the
AZ22. Toilolo got them eight more and a first and goal at the 8. Once again,
Atlanta couldn't score in the red zone and wound up with another field goal,
this one from 21 yards extending the lead to 23-10. The question was would
the continuous three pointers keeping the Cardinals in the game within two
scores come back to haunt them?
Arizona started the next drive with a first down catch by Ginn, Jr. at
the 34. RB Marion Groice got them nine
in the air and three on the ground for another first at the 46. The
drive continued with an 8 yard pass to John Brown.
But the Atlanta defense held.
Atlanta took over at their 14 after a 32 yard punt. Scrambling to the
right, Ryan found Douglas at the 32. Jackson knocked over defenders for a
first down at the 43. Ryan escaped a rush getting out of bounds for six as
the third quarter ran out.
Douglas got 15 more, then seven going out of bounds at the 31 putting him
over 100 yards for the day. But, it wasn't enough for the first down. Again,
a fourth field goal from 45 yards for the reliable Bryant making it 26-10.
The Cardinals made it as far as the 26 when CB Josh Wilson
broke up a pass. Atlanta took over at their 19 after a holding penalty on
the punt. Atlanta, with a TD, would stretch the lead to a comfortable three
scores.
But, the Falcons kept it at a tenuous two score margin as they went three
and out giving the Cardinals the ball at their 29 with 8:57 to go in the
game. Normally, you wouldn't say a 16 point fourth quarter lead is tenuous.
But the Falcons' tendency to lose games late makes it seem so. Stanton found
Brown open on three straight passes taking them 28 yards closer to the AF43.
As Yoda
would say, "Closer, they would get no more," (to be read in a Yoda voice)
as Wilson picked Stanton off at the 32, running it back to midfield with
7:17 left to play. Another chance to put the game away.
The team grabbed eleven quick yards on a pass to Douglas. Ryan appeared
banged up on the next play but was good enough to continue and hit Jones 16
yards downfield to the 28. In field goal range again. But, seven would be
nice for a change. Jackson had another nice run for seven to the 21 as the
clock continued under five minutes. No seven. But three more couldn't hurt
with Bryant connected from 38. Didn't count, though as an offsides penalty
revived the drive with a new set of downs at the 15. Take down the 3 and
keep it going.
Arizona called their first time out at 2:41 hoping for a miracle. The
Falcons still couldn't penetrate the end zone. But the penalty had allowed
them to drain a few more precious minutes from the clock. Bryant was called
in again. This time his fifth field goal from 10 yards closer making it
29-10 and all but over. The five kicks were a career high for Bryant.
The Cardinals connected for 23 yards to Brown, who paid a price on a
vicious hit by Moore at the 43 at the two minute warning. Arizona got 11
more on a short pass to Wilson at the 20. Out of time outs, they could do
nothing but try to get one score before it ended. They did that on a three
yard pass to Stepfan Taylor
with 1:05 but missed the two point conversion. A pass interference call
prolonged the agony and gave them another shot, this time with Taylor making
it on the ground. Atlanta 29, Arizona 18.
Harry Douglas would snag the onside kick and that was pretty much it.
Apparently, there is still life left in the Falcons who went to 5-7 and
back into sole possession of first place. Certainly come problems on scoring
in the red zone but good news as Jackson topped 100 yards for the first time
as a Falcon, the first 100 yard Atlanta rushing game in 35 games. Jones also
reached 189 yards receiving, a career high.
Now its on to a much tougher first place team for a road game in December
in Green Bay.
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