Q&A: Fox analyst Thom Brennaman on Falcons at Cardinals

A: "We saw Murray last week in Cincinnati, and obviously it was his first win. But he was everything in that game last week that was advertised and what we all saw at Oklahoma. He threw for 250 yards. He runs for almost a 100. He made critical plays in critical situations. That final drive of the game, takes them 62 yards. One on a beautiful pass. I still don't know how he completed the pass to Davis Johnson down the (left) sideline. Then a 24-yard run. Basically, on that drive you saw everything that he's all about. Obviously, his shortcomings so far this year as a pro and it's now on him, it's his team, is that they are terrible in the red zone scoring touchdowns, but anybody that has watched Kyler Murray play. ... I'd take my chances at quarterback moving forward."

Q: This is your second Falcons game of the season. What have you seen from them? 

A: "It seems to me, outside of the last game where they were out in front by a point at halftime, the doors got blown off in the second half, (that) they've been hammered in the first half of games. When you are playing behind from such huge numbers, you're forced to do all of the things that we've been saying about Atlanta for how many years now. They come into a season, whether you have (running back Devonta) Freeman and (Tevin) Coleman. Coleman is gone now and you have Freeman and I think (Ito) Smith is going to be a really good player. In the games we've seen him, he looks like he has a chance to be a really good player. You say that yourself, we want to add some balance in the offense, and we don't want to throw it all the time. Here you are, Matt Ryan and you're falling behind in games and you're throwing for 300 yards every game. Which is fine. It's sexy. But you've thrown seven picks, and you've thrown seven all of last year. When you are playing from behind, I don't care, who you are. It doesn't matter who you are. Tom Brady doesn't play well playing from behind by two touchdowns when he's starting the third quarter. Matt Ryan has been a great player for a long time. This has got to be making him crazy."

Q: How are Terrell Suggs and Chandler Jones doing for the Cardinals? 

A: "They were invisible last week. As maligned as the Cincinnati offensive line has been with all of the injuries that they have had … they allowed 19 sacks, including eight sacks the week before against Pittsburgh. (Cincinnati quarterback Andy) Dalton was sacked only one time, and it was Jones and it wasn't Suggs. They've had great careers, and Suggs will go to the Hall of Fame one day, and who knows maybe Jones will go to the Hall of Fame, but you didn't even know they were on the field in that game last week."

Q: Did the Chase Edmunds kid jump out at you? 

A: "He's a nice player. He reminds me a lot of ways of (Ito) Smith. Sooner or later you're going to have to give him a chance to play. He's in a very different situation that Smith is in because they've got David Johnson. While Freeman has had a good career, injuries have caught up. He's not the player he was two or three years ago. Whereas David Johnson has come back from an injury, it was a wrist injury. He may not have the explosiveness that he had a couple of years ago, but he still a really good player. He's a 1,000-year, 90-catch back. But Edmond is a good-looking player. A really good-looking player."

Q: Are you looking forward to calling the game with Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald playing?

A: "Fitzgerald, the guy is just incredible. I've never seen a guy on the field and off the field, far more importantly, that handles himself the way this guy does. Every young person in the country (who wants) to go look for a role model out there, you go watch the way Larry Fitzgerald handles himself, and he's just a great player."

Credit: Eduardo Munoz

Credit: Eduardo Munoz

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