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Between The Lines: John Abraham Should Be Cardinals' Worst Nightmare

In doing these Between The Lines posts, it's always interesting to see if mismatches jump out, or if there is a player that seems either underrated or overrated.

Normally it doesn't happen. The conventional wisdom on most teams is pretty accurate, and it's really hard to find a stud on the offensive or defensive line that hasn't been noticed at all. But as the Falcons get ready to play the Cardinals this weekend, there is a mismatch that jumps out from paying attention to the two team's lines: if the Falcons are wise with where they line up John Abraham, he could dominate this game.

There are a lot of factors to consider in Saturday's game: how will Matt Ryan react to his first playoff start, can the Cardinals slow down Michael Turner and is the Cardinals' triple-threat at receiver too much for the Falcons secondary, but as I see it, this game will first be decided by whether the Cardinals can block Abraham.

Cardinals Al Johnson Unlikely to Play This Weekend; Team Meets With Chukky Okobi

As was the case with most NFL teams in week one, the Arizona Cardinals were unable to escape without injury. Their starting center, Al Johnson, suffered a left knee "sprain" on Monday night and was scheduled to undergo an MRI yesterday. Although the results have not yet been made available, his status for week two is already in doubt.
"Since Lyle [Sendlein] finished the game, he'll be the one who takes it this week," Whisenhunt said yesterday.
Although Whisenhunt appears ready to give Lyle Sendlein the starting nod in week two, that is subject to change pending the addition of free agent Chukky Okobi. The former Steeler, who has connections to Russ Grimm and Ken Whisenhunt, visited the Cardinals yesterday and reportedly took a physical.

A veteran addition would be huge for Arizona if it turned out Johnson was going to miss more than a week.
"The thing that is critical at that position is communication from the center; he is the focal point of the communication," Whisenhunt said. "Last night when Lyle was in there, it affected Deuce's play and Levi's play because we were not as efficient communicating."
Johnson's MRI results should be revealed later today, at which point the status of Okobi will also be determined.

Update: Thanks to reader David Corcoran for updating me on this situation. The Cardinals have officially signed Okobi, as well as offensive lineman Brad Badger.

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