The Arizona Cardinals take on the Atlanta Falcons in Atlanta; they will be starting quarterback David Blough. He will be making his first start since 2019. Arizona comes into the game 4-11, and the Falcons 5-10.
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When you are starting a quarterback that has not played in a while, the offensive game plan should be simple. The Cardinals should lean on the run game. Look for James Conner to get a lot of carries against the Falcons. If the Cardinals can run the ball successfully, it could open up the play-action passing game.
Blough should focus on getting the ball out of his hands quickly and not turning the ball over. Blough should use his legs to extend the plays or run for yardage if receivers are covered down the field.
Stop the Run
The Falcons are third in the NFL, rushing for 160.9 yards per game. With rookie Desmond Riddler starting at quarterback, Atlanta will look to run often. Falcons running back Tyler Allgeier has 817 rushing yards and two touchdowns. In comparison, Cordarrelle Patterson has 635 rushing yards and six touchdowns.
The Cardinals will be without two of their best defenders, Budda Baker and Zach Allen. Baker leads the Cardinals in tackles with 111. The Cardinals will need to put eight men in the box and get off blocks to slow down the Falcons’ running game.
Keep Ridder in the Pocket
Ridder is a quarterback that can hurt you with his legs. So the Cardinals will need to keep him in the pocket. Arizona can do that by having both edge rushers keeping contain and not letting Riddler get outside, and they should use a quarterback spy to keep him from running wild. It will be a feat, but the Cardinals can’t let Riddler run wild.
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LaMarr Fields is a WNBA Insider, Sports Insider, and breaking newsÂ
reporter for Burn City Sports. You can follow him on Twitter via @lburncitysports
