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The Atlanta Falcons vs. Arizona Cardinals betting odds ranged anywhere from a pick to Atlanta as the -2 ½ favorite (for Arizona fans, the place to bet your team at +2 ½ was Sportsinteraction.com)
Atlanta has won 4 of the last 5 in this series and the last game, which they lost, was an Arizona 3 point win. The home team has won 8 of the last 10 however. Atlanta was getting just over 60 percent of the action in this game. Atlanta is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Arizona.
The Associated Press named Atlanta Falcons Matt Ryan the league's Offensive Rookie of the Year on Tuesday after he and Baltimore's Joe Flacco became the first rookie quarterbacks to start every regular-season game and lead their teams to the playoffs.
Selected third overall in April's draft, Ryan completed 61.1 percent of his passes for 3,440 yards and 16 touchdowns, helping Atlanta (11-5) finish with seven more wins under first-year coach Mike Smith than it had last season, matching the biggest turnaround in franchise history.
"I'm certainly flattered," Ryan said. "There's a number of guys who had great rookie seasons this year, so to even be mentioned in that light is nice. It's certainly a great honor, and I think it speaks to what we did as a team this year."
As impressive as he's been, Ryan knows matching up with Warner will make it difficult for the Falcons to continue their surprising season.
"I hope when I'm 37 I'm playing at the level he is," Ryan said.
But don't count Arizona Cardinals veteran quarterback Kurt Warner out just yet.
Warner was named league MVP in 1999 and 2001 and earned Super Bowl MVP honors after leading the St. Louis Rams to the title following the 1999 season. After several inconsistent years, he regained his old form in 2008.
Warner has lost the starting quarterback job four times with three teams since earning his second MVP award. He's been benched twice in Arizona, only to persevere with a season that statistically matches his best with the Rams.
More impressively, he's guided the long-downtrodden Cardinals (9-7) to their second postseason berth since 1982 and first since 1998. It was the longest playoff drought in the NFL before Arizona clinched its first division title in 33 years with a 34-10 win over St. Louis on Dec. 7.
"It feels good. It makes me feel about five years younger," Warner said of the Cardinals' success. Then he hesitated, "Maybe two years younger."
he Cardinals have been hard to beat at home this season, winning six of eight contests at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Falcons, on the other hand, started the season by losing three of their first four games on the road. But Atlanta concluded the season by winning three of their final four road games, including one over the Vikings -- in a dome.
The home trend is an important indicator here since Arizona has excelled at home and this historic stat truly applies to this game - Arizona is 5-1 Straight Up in their last 6 games when playing at home against Atlanta.
Gambling911.com will be on Arizona to cover the +2 ½ spread at Sportsinteraction.com. Be sure to ask about their FREE $100 cash bonus when joining.
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
