Atlanta at Arizona

Can it get any worse for the Atlanta Falcons? They lose their best player in Mike Vick to start the season. Vick's backup is now one of the most promising new starters in the league - for a different team, as the Falcons let him go in the offseason. Starting November 18, they go on a five game losing streak giving up 31+ points in four of the games. In the middle of that, Vick's sentencing hits and you can see how hard it hit the players, who were happy to pay fines for dress code violations just to get #7 plastered over their bodies. Their last loss was absolutely horrible as Tampa Bay pasted them 37-3. Then, after that, their coach quits on the team before the season is over! Finally, they get snubbed by Bill Barcells. This is a sinking ship - get off of it quickly! They are headed on the road to face a team that recently had playoff hopes - another trouncing no doubt. Not so fast! Remember, we like to buy low and sell high. It doesn't get any lower than Atlanta right now. But, are they really this bad? Should they be getting double-digits from a team that is 6-8 and has lost three of their last four? The Falcons have faced some stiff competition during their five-game slide including Tampa Bay twice and Indianapolis. They also caught St. Louis and New Orleans on days where those teams showed up. This will be the second start for Chris Redman and that's a huge leap from start #1. We expect the Cards to take Atlanta a bit lightly, chalking this up as an automatic win. We expect Atlanta to show up after the debacle last week as they are 15-5 ATS in their last twenty road games following a game in which they were outgained by 150+ yards and 13-4 ATS on the road off a game in which they allowed 175+ rushing yards. With everyone counting them out, this is the time to back the Falcons.