November 11, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; The Atlanta Falcons offense lines up against the New Orleans Saints defense during the second half of a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Saints defeated the Falcons 31-27. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

The bigger they are the harder they fall, especially in New Orleans. It was perhaps the worst game of Michael Turner’s career and one of the best for Matt Ryan, while still succumbing to a potentially devastating loss for a previously undefeated Atlanta Falcons team. I’m not going to lie, I had a bit of a sweat on with this one. Part of me genuinely thought that we could pull it off and if we could, we’d have breezed through the rest of the season without too much fuss. A loss to the Saints brought us back to earth and maybe that’s exactly what we needed.

There’s two things that can come of it. Either the game proves as a  reality check, the team get their head back in the game and continue on the form that they were, or they fall apart brick by brick. This is why I think the game against the Cardinals could prove to be the biggest test of Falcon morale at this point in the season. The team need to put the game behind them, forget about it. They’ll get another shot at the Saints and they can strive to put them back in their place. Until then, the Cardinals game is the most important game in the season.

Let’s look at what we’re working with against the Cardinals. The running game needs to get better – today. The Cardinals have the NFL’s 24th ranked rush defense, against Atlanta’s 26th in rushing yardage. Turner isn’t having the best season of his life right now, with only 529 yards to show for the year. There is no better man to trust with the football than Matt Ryan, who has easily established himself as one of the best QB’s in the league without a shadow of a doubt. I’m in favor of taking a chance on the Cardinals and exposing their rush defense,  bringing the entire team together as a whole.

When you’re Matt Ryan and you’re on the field with Tony Gonzalez, Roddy White and Julio Jones, it’s enough to give the QB a confidence boost. Ryan has looked extremely comfortable under pressure lately, I would lay that off to the fact that he knows with this trio on the field, he can make a pass and get those first downs with accurate play. The Cardinals know that, hence an unexpected battle of weakness on weakness might be the way to go. I’ll leave that up to Mike Smith, however.

The only question is, can the Falcons actually pick themselves up and get back on their feet for the rest of the season? They can. I know for a fact they will, they have to. Without that connected team confidence, an entire season can fall apart in a blink of an eye. I’m tipping for the Falcons to with this battle of the birds and to show the rest of the league that one loss on a streak isn’t enough to stop them. It’s only a few hours to kick off, with that I say:

Falcons – 30  Cardinals – 17

Nov 4, 2012; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) throws a pass under pressure from Dallas Cowboys nose tackle Jay Ratliff (90) in the first half at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Daniel Shirey-US PRESSWIRE

 

“We were good enough”

Said a humble Matt Ryan, after a season high 342 passing yards.

Matt Ryan certainly has the bragging rights in the NFL, after all, he’s helped lead the Falcons to a magnificent 8-0 record this season. You can see where he comes from, however. The Falcons aren’t without their fair share of mistakes, something they will definitely have to tighten up looking forward to the game against the Saints. Statistically it was a great game for the Falcon’s key players; Roddy White and Julio Jones managed to top 100 yards receiving and Michael Turner pushed forward with more than 100 yards rushing. The only issue with these numbers is that Falcons only managed to produce one touchdown.

Let’s not take anything away from the offense, however. They well and truly put a shift in for their team and were duly rewarded with the win that they deserved. Matt Ryan did a great job of controlling the clock, marching down the field and helping to get the job done. Matt Bryant also ensured to produce the goods on his kicks, making sure the Falcons weren’t held back as they continued their advance, practically kicking their way to a 19-13 victory over the Cowboys.
I have all the confidence in the world when it comes to the Falcons, but that was an intense game. The Cowboys hardly put a foot wrong at key moments in the game, let down only by their give away of seven penalties, which no doubt cost them a lot of potential plays. They just couldn’t managed to prevent an aggressive Falcons side tear their way to victory, whether it was through needed first down conversions or the extra yards for the field goal.

Now we look forward to the game against the Saints, one that will be highly anticipated by fans and players alike. Last year Falcons were absolutely bossed out of the game with a 45-16 loss. Then again, this isn’t the Falcons of last year. This is a team moving forward with a confident, reliable and focused QB in Matt Ryan, who has been showing that he’s the real deal and really stepped up in his playing. Then you have the Saints (2-5) who aren’t looking their best and will play the Eagles before they come up against the Falcons on November 11th.

It’s all about winning and finding ways to win and if you can do that like the Falcons have, I see no reason why we shouldn’t be 9-0 come next Sunday.