Both of these teams are going through rough times.  The Cardinals have fired their offensive co-ordinator after last weeks meltdown against Chicago.  The Oakland Raiders are 0-5 and are getting outscored an average of 25.2-10.0!

The Cardinals have been alot better with rookie Matt Leinart under center.  But look for the Cardinals to try to get Edgerrin James (398 yards rushing, 2.7 ypc) going against the Raiders run defense which allows 149.0 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry.  After the Cards start pushing the Raiders around on the ground, it will be time for Matt Leinart to start playing catch with Anquan Boldin and Bryant Johnson.  The Raiders will have a tough time dealing with Boldin who already has caught 40 passes for 502 yards this season.

The Raiders will look to run the ball on the Cardinals.  The Raiders offensive line is very good at run-blocking as the Raiders average 111.8 yards rushing per game and 4.5 yards per carry.  Lamont Jordan will be the main ball carrier, as he already has rushed for 314 yards this season.  The Raiders must protect QB Andrew Walter better.  The Raiders have already allowed 24 sacks, which leads Walter to rush some passes that eventually wind up getting picked off.  Walter already has thrown 7 interceptions this season.  Randy Moss could have a good game against the Cardinals if Walter has time to throw the football.  Moss only has 17 receptions for 222 yards this season, but it hasn’t been his fault.

The Cardinals should win this game easily, especially if they jump to an early lead like they have the last two weeks.  Because the Raiders offense is so bad that the Cardinals won’t have to worry about blowing a lead to them!

the firing is a good thing as the cards were playing not to lose. This is the NFL and players can smell it when you are scared. Good things have come from this loss however, The offense should become a pass first and the running game will open up bigtime. MAD MATT wanted to go down the field and score again and put the game out of reach by passing. He was on a roll and the line was able to protect. Green has had great quarterbacks before and knows how to use them.

The Arizona Cardinals fired offensive co-ordinator Keith Rowan and replaced him with QB coach Mike Kruczek.  Kruczek has been doing a good job with Matt Leinart so far, but this seems like a desperation move on the part of Dennis Green.  The Cardinals were only averaging 290.2 yards per game and 18.5 points per game.

Just a word of sympathy for you all down south.  The Cardinals were always my favorite hardluck team, but picking up Denny G as coach has been a serious problem for you. 

note:  I am a Vikes fan by virtue of proximity. 

 

His complete and utter lack of gonads in going for a TD at the end of the first half cost him the game against Chicago. 

Maybe the Bidwells actually watched the game and will dump him soon in favor of a real coach.  This and the lack of attention to defense doomed the Vikes in 1998 and almost every other year of his tenure up north. 

 

All that being said, Go Cards!  I really liked what I saw in Leinart and the rest of the team.

Linebacker Gerald Hayes has been making huge plays all season long.  Hayes has 33 tackles, a sack, 2 fumble recoveries and 2 interceptions.  SS Adrian Wilson is a dominator.  The opposing team must know where he is at, at all times!  Wilson has 31 tackles, 4 sacks and 2 interceptions this season!  The Cardinals know have two building blocks for a defense that can dominate in the future as long as the right players are out around these two guys.