Much has been discussed this week about the Cardinals and the Bears being to two oldest teams in the League. Or the other hot topic- how Chicago passed on Bruce Arians as Head Coach in 2013, only to watch him have 2 winning seasons in his first 2 years in Arizona. But all of this is background music. Sure it’s cool, makes the week go by, yada yada… but there really is an actual game that’s going to be played on Sunday.
Teams that start off 2-0 have a 63% chance of making the playoffs. Bruce Arians was quick to remind the team that they were only 1-0 as of now, and believe you me, his focus is the team’s focus. Arians, the Head Coach of the year (2012 and 2014) has made his bones in Arizona by keeping to the task at hand. This week in Chicago should be no different. The Cardinals have a history of struggling with intensity in early East Coast games, but most of that was pre-Arians or the “dark ages” as we like to call it. The same goes with the “trap games”- Arizona has been winning the games they are supposed to win, which also puts the Cardinals in a new light.
This week’s match up has Carson Palmer facing a decent secondary in Chicago. The Cardinals are without their starter Andre Ellington at running-back, but I still believe Arizona has the competitive edge against the Bears defense. Chris Johnson and rookie David Johnson are more than capable to handle the ground game, and like Ellington they have no problems catching the ball.
As for Carson Palmer, the Cardinals didn’t give up a single sack against the Saints and the Bears went without a sack against Green Bay. If Carson has that kind of time in the pocket, I expect he will distribute the ball well while taking shots down the field. Basically, when Arizona runs the ball successfully they win ball games.
When Carson Palmer plays, they win a lot of ball games. I see both of these happening at Soldier Field. Further more, the receivers are top shelf and Arizona may have found a new legit catching threat in tight end Darren Fells. Advantage Arizona.
On the other side of the equation we have the Bear’s offense up against the Cardinal defense. Chicago’s Matt Forte is one to be respected. Much like the backs in Arizona, Forte can run and receive as well. Forte had 5 receptions to go with his 141 rushing yards in week one. If he has a good game, it can open it up for (dare I say) Jay Cutler.
Here’s the thing though, Arizona only allowed 54 yards total on the ground in their home opener. If the Cardinal front can stop Forte from going 100+, Jay Cutler may have a very long day, especially if wide receiver Alshon Jeffery is not in the game.
The Cardinal defense will be aggressive. Forte’s 5 receptions last week only garnished him 25 yards, but he may get a lot more than that if the Cardinals blitz doesn’t baby sit him out of the back field. The edge rushers will have to as I’m sure the Bears have studied the breakdown in Arizona’s last game. Also, the Arizona secondary might be missing two of their starting safeties in Tony Jefferson and Deone Bucannon (who also plays some linebacker). So I’d expect to see Justin Bethel making his first appearance on defense this week, maybe even quite a bit depending on how the game goes.
It will seem to most that Arizona has the better odds here, but as they say, that’s why they play the game. Anything can happen on any given Sunday, and you have to take it one game at a time. I know I am dropping some serious cliches here but sometimes that’s just the way the ball bounces. Seriously though, if the Cardinals can come out with intensity and play mentally smart football, I have Arizona winning this game handily, some where in the same neighborhood as last week, 31-17.
Images By: Mike Yduarte
