The Arizona Cardinals (1-2) got beat up today at home against the Indianapolis Colts (3-0).  The Cardinals got off to a good start in the first quarter as they went up 3-0 on a Neil Rackers field goal.  They looked like they might take a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter, but Tim Hightower fumbled the ball at the 5-yard line and all of the momentum shifted to the Colts.  The Colts went down the field 95-yards and scored a touchdown when Manning slung a pass to Reggie Wayne who made an amazing one handed catch into the endzone.  It put the Colts up 7-3, and they did not give up the lead the rest of the game.

The Cardinals defense failed to get much pressure on Colts’ quarterback Peyton Manning.  The one time they did get to Manning, they hit his arm as he released a pass and they intercepted it.  Other than that, Manning was able to just sit back in the pocket and pick the Cardinals’ secondary apart, as he went for four touchdowns and 379 yards passing.

Cardinals’ quarterback Kurt Warner did not get the protection Manning got, and he was banged around all game.  Warner tried to make some plays, but ended up throwing two interceptions.  After setting a single game record for completion percentage (96%) last week, Warner was forced to throw the ball a ton and went 30/52 (58%).  He did have one touchdown and 332 yards, but the Cardinals offense was pressured all game by the Colts big men up front and they could not keep up with Peyton Manning’s offense.

Warner did not finish the game, as he was clearly banged up and Matt Leinert came in for some garbage time.  The Cardinals looked very overmatched after the Colts got a lead on them.  They were playing catch-up most of the game, so they could not get much of a run-game going.  Still, they needed more production out of Tim Hightower who had a costly fumble and only got nine yards on 22 attempts (0.4 avg).  The 38-year-old Warner looked physically beat up and exhausted after this game and I am wondering if he has enough to go the full NFL season.  The Cardinals do have a bye this week, so it gives the veteran quarterback time to rest and heal.

The Arizona Cardinals are hosting the Indianapolis Colts this weekend and are looking to get their second straight win.  After a disappointing week one loss, the Cardinals bounced back and looked like the team that won the NFC Championship last year.  Kurt Warner was outstanding and nearly perfect, as he broke an NFL completion percentage record going 24-26.  He also had two touchdowns and the Cardinals offense looked great.

The Cardinals defense will have the tough task of containing Peyton Manning and his passing attack.  Colts’ running back Joseph Addai has not been that effective so far in the Colts running attack, but he is capable of having a very big game on the ground.  The Colts have not looked great so far, even though they are unbeaten, but Peyton Manning is a winner and finds ways to win.  He has had two comeback victories and will have little problem with the Cardinals secondary.

After last weeks performance by Warner and the Cardinals, it proved their potent offense from 2008 is still just as dangerous this year.  There are two great quarterbacks going against each other in this game and it will probably be a high scoring, gun-slinging type game.  I think Peyton Manning will find a way to win this one though, and the Cardinals will fall on a late field goal.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Cardinals 34, Colts 37

The Arizona Cardinals’ defense has been much improved so far this season and it’s because of the front seven.  The Cardinals already have 8 sacks and 14 tackles for a loss this season.  They are getting great pressure on the QB while taking away the opposing running game at the same time.  The Cardinals are only allowing a paltry 56.5 yards rushing per game this season.  If the defense continues to play like this the Cardinals will have another deep run into the playoffs.

Tim Hightower is holding off 1st round pick Beanie Wells so far this season.  Part of the reason for that is that he’s a far better receiver than Wells.  Hightower has carried the ball 23 times for 87 yards (3.8 ypc) with 1 TD run.  He has also caught 15 passes for 133 yards (8.9 avg) so far this season.  With the Cardinals being such a pass happy offense it helps Kurt Warner to have Hightower in the flats when all else fails down the field.  Beanie Wells has 14 carries for 73 yards (5.2 ypc) so far this season and he has yet to catch a pass.  The Colts have allowed 176.5 yards rushing per game this season so the Cardinals may run the ball a little more than usual Sunday Night.

Larry Fitzgerald is upset about how he has been used this season in the offense.  He has 10 catches for 105 yards (10.5 avg) with 2 TD grabs this season.  Fitzgerald’s brother sent a tweet that pretty much told the old man (Kurt Warner) to throw his brother the damn ball.  So now Larry Fitzgerald had to apologize for his brother’s blunder and he will need to remain focused on the task at hand.  I look for him to have a huge game against the Colts this Sunday Night and when the season is over everyone will still consider him the best WR in all of football.

The Arizona Cardinals (1-1) easily beat the Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2) today 31-17.  The score was 24-3 at halftime as Kurt Warner ate up the Jaguars secondary completing an NFL record 92% of his passes (24/26).  He had 243 yards and took exactly what the defense gave him, dumping it off for shorter passes most of the game.  Warner had two touchdowns and his performance was a complete turn-around from last week’s game where he threw two interceptions.  Warner hooked up with Larry Fitzgerald for one of his touchdowns and RB Jason Wright for the other.

The Jaguars looked completely over-matched in the first half, but did rally a small comeback in the second half as they scored 14 points.  The Cardinals defense did not look good, but that didn’t matter as the Cards offense was great.  The Jags were never really in the game and the Cardinals looked like the team that went to the Super Bowl last year.

FINAL SCORE:  Cardinals 31, Jaguars 17

The Arizona Cardinals offense looked nothing like the offense that led them to the Super Bowl last year.  In their 20-16 loss against the San Francisco 49ers the offensive rhythm was just not their for quarterback Kurt Warner and the rest of the Cardinals offense.  One of the main reasons for this was the lack of protection for Warner, as he was hurried and rushed out of the pocket on numerous occasions and was sacked three times.

The Cardinals defense will have a tough task in containing Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew, as he was the only bright spot for the Jaguars offense in their week one loss.  The Cardinals did a good job of containing the talented running back Frank Gore to only 30 yards last week, so they hope they can do the same to Jones-Drew.

I expect the Cardinals offense to look much better this week, more like the offense that won the NFC Championship last year.  This is about as close to a “must win” game you can get this early in the season, and the Cardinals are looking to send a message to the Jaguars and the rest of the league.  The Cardinals proved last week that they contain a talented running back, so I think they will be able to keep Jones-Drew from doing too much.  The Jaguars defense did look pretty solid last week, so they will be able to slow the Cardinals offense down some.  I think the Cardinals have too much for the Jaguars to handle though and they will edge out a close win.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Cardinals 28, Jaguars 17

With Anquan Boldin gimpy and Steve Breaston out the Cardinals needed someone to step up and Jerheme Urban answered the call last week.  He caught 5 passes for 74 yards (14.8 avg) against the 49ers last week.  Urban was the #4 WR for the Cardinals last season playing in all 16 games in which he caught 34 passes for 448 yards (13.2 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  The Cardinals need Boldin and Breaston back as soon as possible as Urban seems a little stretched out as a starter.

The Cardinals had some issues in this game and it showed on the field.  Anquan Boldin was limping around and Steve Breaston did not play so Kurt Warner didn’t have all the bullets in his gun.  Warner completed 26 of 44 passes for 288 yards with 1 TD pass and 2 interceptions.  Beanie Wells led the Cards with 29 yards rushing on 7 carries (4.1 ypc).  Tim Hightower only rushed for 15 yards on 8 carries (1.9 ypc) but he also caught 12 passes for 121 yards (10.1 avg).  Larry Fitzgerald had a decent game with six catches for 71 yards (11.8 avg) and a TD.  Jerheme Urban stepped in for the injured WRs and he caught 5 passes for 74 yards (14.8 avg).  The Cardinals finished up this game with 299 total yards on offense (40 rushing, 259 passing).

The defense was outstanding for the Cardinals in this game as they held the 49ers to only 21 yards rushing on 25 carries (0.8 ypc).  The 49ers did throw for 182 yards including a game winning pass from Shaun Hill to Frank Gore. 

The 49ers will likely do the smart thing tomorrow and run the ball a lot trying to keep the ball away from the Cardinals.  Frank Gore will likely be very tired Sunday Night but the Cardinals better also bruise him up some if they want to win this game.  Shaun Hill is a good play action passer so look for Isaac Bruce, Josh Morgan and Arnaz Battle to possibly get deep if the Niners establish the running game early.  Maybe this will be the game that Vernon Davis breaks out as the Cards’ OLBs are a little long in tooth (Clark Haggans and Chike Okeafor).

The Cardinals would like to run the ball a little more this season with Tim Hightower and Beanie Wells.  They might not have much luck against Patrick Willis though as he’s a tackling machine.   With that in mind the Cards might just attack the Niners D with Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston.  Kurt Warner should pile up some huge stats in this game.

PREDICITION:  ARIZONA CARDINALS 34, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS 30