Kicker Neil Rackers is kicking the ball exceptionally well this season for the Cardinals.  He has made 10 of 11 field goals for the Cardinals this season and he has converted all 24 of his extra point attempts.  No team can really afford to leave points on the field because of the kicking game but the Cardinals don’t have much to worry about in that area with Rackers doing the kicking.

23-year old CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is having a good year for the Cardinals so far.  He has played in 8 games this season for the Cards and he has 27 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 10 passes defensed and 3 interceptions (one returned for a TD).  Rodgers-Cromartie has been a real impact player for the Cardinals this season and they hope he can keep up the good work in the second half of the year.

After the Chicago Bears’ defensive tackle Tommie Harris was ejected on the first play for punching Deuce Lutui, the Arizona Cardinals responded with a beat down of their own.  The Cardinals offense was nearly unstoppable against the Bears on Sunday, and Kurt Warner led the way.  Warner bounced back great after throwing five interceptions last week.  He did the opposite against the Bears, throwing five touchdowns and 261 yards on 22/32 pass attempts.  Warner hit Larry Fitzgerald for two touchdowns and 123 yards on nine catches.  The Cardinals also got a big day from their running backs, finishing with 182 rushing yards as a team.  Tim Hightower had 77 yards on 15 carries and Beanie Wells added 72 yards on 13 carries.

The Cardinals defense did a great job pressuring Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler, sacking him four times.  Cardinals’ cornerback Matt Ware also intercepted Cutler.  The one things the Cardinals defense did not do well was containing the Bears’ tight end Greg Olsen.  Olsen had three touchdowns on five catches for 71 yards.  The Cardinals built a 31-7 halftime lead, so Cutler and the Bears were throwing the ball a lot.  They did get a lot of yards through the air (347 yards), but the Bears never really threatened to get back in the game and the Cardinals won this one easily.

The Arizona Cardinals (4-3) are on the road Sunday against the Chicago Bears (4-3) and are looking to forget about last weeks loss to Carolina.  Kurt Warner needs to make sure he can take care of the ball in this one, as the Bears defense does a good job of turning turnovers into points.  Bears’ cornerback Charles Tillman proved that in the Bears win last week over the Browns, when he intercepted a pass and then juked and spun his way to the endzone.  The Cardinals should think about going with the run early and often, since the Bears are giving up 110 rushing yards per game and Kurt Warner has been throwing the ball to the other team lately.

The Cardinals defense needs to be ready for the Bears running game.  They will be trying to establish their running attack early, as they are coming off their best rushing performance of the year.  Matt Forte has been struggling for them all year, but had 90 yards on 26 carries last week.  Jay Cutler can be dangerous, and his favorite target is the athletic Devin Hester.  Hester has been stepping it up lately for the Bears.  In his last three games Hester has 21 catches for 265 yards and a touchdown, so the Cardinals better keep an eye on Hester.  Neither of these teams have been very consistent this year, but it should be a close one.  With the Bears coming off a win and having the home-field, I think they have small edge.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Chicago Bears 31, Arizona Cardinals 27

The Cardinals kept giving the ball to the Panthers and they couldn’t stop the Panthers’ running game and those two things doomed them yesterday.  Kurt Warner was awful in this game as he completed 27 of 46 passes for 242 yards with 2 TD passes and 5 interceptions (one of which was returned 13 yards by Julius Peppers for a TD).  He also lost a fumble and carried the ball 1 time for 8 yards.  Beanie Wells led the way in the running game for the Cardinals with 47 yards rushing on 8 carries (5.9 ypc).  Tim Hightower also was busy in this game as he carried the ball 8 times for 39 yards (4.9 ypc) with 1 TD run and he also caught 8 passes for 57 yards (7.1 avg).  Larry Fitzgerald (6 rec, 66 yards) and Steve Breaston (6 rec, 57 yards) led the way in the passing game for the Cardinals yesterday.  RB LaRod Stephens-Howling (1 rec, 14 yards) and TE Ben Patrick (2 rec, 18 yards) both caught 1 TD pass apiece in this game.  The Cardinals finished up with 320 total yards on offense (94 rushing, 226 passing) in this game. 

Karlos Dansby led a poor effort by the Cardinals’ D in this game with 12 tackles.  The Panthers rolled up 355 total yards on offense in this game (270 rushing, 85 passing).  The Cardinals are now 4-3 on the season.