Falcons 2016 schedule preview: In Week 12, the tricky Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals have proven to be one of the league’s toughest teams over the last couple of years, so even if they tend to fizzle out at some point in the playoffs, the Falcons must be wary of them. Bruce Arians is a terrific coach, after all, and they have a ton of talent.

This is just another in a series of potentially brutal games the Falcons must play in 2016, but at least they’ll be fairly fresh coming off the bye, I guess.

Revenge of the Birds has our Arizona scouting report, so read on to learn more about how the team’s offseason has gone and what we might expect for this Week 12 matchup.

Notable free agent additions: Evan Mathis (OG) and Tyvon Branch (SS)

Notable free agent departures: Bobby Massie (OT) and Jerraud Powers (CB)

Trades: Traded Jonathan Cooper and a 2nd round pick for Chandler Jones

Draft picks expected to contribute as rookies:

DT Robert Nkemdiche (1st Round) May not start in 2016, but is expected to be part of a much improved pass rush for the Cardinals

The rest of the class is promising down the line, but barring injury CB Brandon Williams (3rd round), C Evan Boehm (4th round), S Marqui Christian and OT Cole Toner (5th round) and CB Harlan Miller (6th round) will be special teams contributors and valuable depth.

Biggest offseason addition: Chandler Jones and Robert Nkemdiche. The Cardinals defense biggest weakness was inability to rush the passer, they spent their first two 2016 draft picks addressing the issue. Jones is a proven nine sack a year player, Nkemdiche can be a dominant interior rusher early, it should improve the Cardinals biggest weakness.

Biggest storyline heading into training camp: The growth of DJ Humphries at right tackle, how much does Evan Mathis have left in the tank at RG and can AQ Shipley man the center position for the year. The Arizona Cardinals have an offense loaded with talent, but the three question marks on the offensive line can throw a wrench in that plan.

Under-the-radar storyline heading into training camp: How does the new Arizona Cardinals secondary hold up? Justin Bethel is now cornerback two, Tyrann Mathieu may not be ready for game one so who assumes the role of free safety and nickel cornerback? The only guarantee for game one is Patrick Peterson, even Tony Jefferson is a battle for the starting job, everyone else is an unknown or returning from injury.

Notable injuries heading into training camp: Tyrann Mathieu had a second ACL tear, will he be able to get back to being the most versatile defender in the NFL?