The Arizona Cardinals offense was more than impressive in their 51-45 win over the Packers in the Wild Card round, but their defense was very weak.  They did get a great defensive play to win the game, but they gave up 45 points.  The Packers had a good offense, but they don’t have the weapons that the New Orleans Saints have.  The Saints have lost three straight going into this game, and they didn’t score more than 24 points in any of those games.  These are the playoffs though, so I am expecting the Saints to be much sharper in this game against the Cardinals.  They averaged 404 total yards per game this season, and they have a great quarterback in Drew Brees.  Brees has a great running game to go to as well, using three different running backs that gave the Saints an a rushing average of 132 yards per game.  This is going to be a very tough matchup for the Cardinals defense.

Kurt Warner has proven he is one of the best postseason quarterbacks ever and his 379 yard, 5 touchdown performance last week was amazing.  He had more touchdowns than he did incomplete passes (4).  The Saints defense is nothing spectacular too, so Warner should be able to find a lot of success.  They held teams to 235 passing yards per game in the regular season, but I expect Warner to easily surpass that with Larry Fitzgerald to throw to.  Anquan Boldin also may be able to suit up, giving Warner another huge weapon to go to.  The Cardinals ran the ball well against the Packers too, and with the Saints giving up 122 rushing yards per game they should continue a strong running game.  They are definitely going to need another huge game out of their offense, since I don’t see the Cardinals defense slowing down the Saints enough.  It could be another exciting, high-scoring affair but I think the Saints will be too much for the Cardinals to keep up with the whole game and I’m taking the Saints by a touchdown.

PREDICTION:  Arizona Cardinals 31, New Orleans Saints 38

The Arizona Cardinals decided to rest their starters against the Green Bay Packers last week, and they were blown out 33-7 because of it.  We will see if the extra rest paid off for the Cardinals in their rematch against the Packers this weekend in the NFC Wild Card game.  The Cardinals got hot at the right time last year, winning the NFC Championship and making a trip to the Super Bowl.  They are looking to get hot again in this year’s playoffs, and the offense should be able to find success and get on the right track against the Packers.  They have a great quarterback in Kurt Warner, who has two huge weapons in the passing game with All-Pro wide-receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.  The Packers have a very solid defense though, giving up only 284 yards per game this season.  They are great at stopping the run, so if Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower can get some things going in the running game it would be huge for Warner and the passing game.  It’s not likely they will rack up that many rushing yards though, so Warner will have to do most of the work with his arm.

The Cardinals defense will be facing a very good quarterback in Aaron Rodgers.  Rodgers has a great season this year, throwing for 4,434 yards, 30 touchdowns, and only 7 interceptions.  He completed 65% of his passes and has a very strong arm.  He also gets a lot of help from his running backs, with the Packers averaging 118 rushing yards this season.  The big weakness for the Packers is their pass protection, as they gave up 50 sacks this season.  The Cardinals front line should have some opportunities to get to Rodgers and they need to make the most of them.  If the Cardinals can’t slow Rodgers down, they will likely lose the game.  I want to go with the former NFC Champs in this game, but with Rodgers playing so well and the Packers coming off a big win over the Cardinals, I am going with the Packers in this game.

PREDICTION:  Arizona Cardinals 24, Green Bay Packers 27

The Arizona Cardinals (10-5) and Green Bay Packers (10-5) are facing off on Sunday and it looks like it will be a preview of the first round of the playoffs.  Both teams have clinched a spot in the playoffs, and it is very likely that the NFC West champion Cardinals will be playing the Wild Card Packers in the first round.  The Cardinals have an outside shot of getting a bye, but a lot of things need to happen including a tie between the Cowboys and Eagles so it is very unlikely.  That means Ken Whisenhunt may be resting his starters, especially the 38-year-old Kurt Warner.  Whisenhunt has not really said whether or not he will be resting his starters, so I am expecting them to play a decent amount.  Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, and Anquan Boldin have had success all season in the passing game, but they would like some help from Beanie Wells, Tim Hightower, and the rest of the Cardinals’ running game that averages just 96 rushing yards per game.

The Packers have a pretty good offense, which is led by their talented young quarterback Aaron Rodgers.  Rodgers has done very well for the Packers after replacing Brett Favre last season, and has passed for over 4,000 yards for the second straight season.  That means the Cardinals secondary needs to be ready for a lot of passing plays and they cannot get beat deep.  Rodgers has a very strong arm and is a good quarterback, so the Packers do have the ability to keep up with Warner and the Cardinals offense.  The Cardinals defense will really need to step up.  The Packers have a solid running game too, so the Cardinals need to hold the Packers under the 113 yard average they are giving up on the ground.  Although the Cardinals have clinched the NFC West, they cannot afford to have a let-down going into the playoffs and need to get hot like they did last year which brought them to the Super Bowl.  With an older team, Whisenhunt will likely rest them some though, so I will give the Packers a slight edge.

PREDICTION:  Arizona Cardinals 28, Green Bay Packers 31

The Arizona Cardinals (8-4) are coming off their best defensive performance and will be looking to continue that strong play Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers (5-7).  The 49ers beat the Cardinals in the season opener, but the Cardinals are a much better team at this point of the season.  They are third in the league in sacks, so the defense will be able to get a lot of pressure on 49ers’ quarterback Alex Smith.  If they can rattle Smith around, then the 49ers wont have much of a chance.  They held Adrian Peterson to 19 yards on 13 carries, so they shouldn’t have a problem Frank Gore.

On offense, the Cardinals have been clicking very well.  Kurt Warner has two great weapons to throw to in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, and he has had little problems finding both of them for big plays.  The 49ers give up 250 passing yards per game, so Warner and company should be able to air it out all night.  They aren’t particularly good at stopping the run either, so Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower should help carry some of the offensive load.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Arizona Cardinals 34, San Francisco 49ers 24

The Arizona Cardinals (7-3) are facing a revitalized Tennessee Titans (4-6) football team, who has won four straight games after starting out 0-6.  The Cardinals have not been doing a very good job lately of protecting Kurt Warner, who left last week’s game with a concussion.  Warner is expected to play, and if he weren’t I would be picking the Titans for sure in this match-up.  Warner is the leader of this team and has been having some very impressive games throughout the season.  He still throws too many interceptions though, so he needs to make sure the Cardinals control the ball a little more as the Titans eat up the clock with their running game.

Titans’ quarterback Vince Young has been one of the main reasons the Titans have turned their season around.  Young has not lost a game this season as the starter, and he and Chris Johnson have been running all over defenses the past four games.  The Cardinals need to try and force Young into a pocket passer, which is a lot easier said than done with the athletic Young.  They should use some of their linebackers to shadow Young, which will help prevent him from scrambling for big gains and first downs.  I think this will be a very close game and a tough one for the Cardinals.  I really like the running attack that Young and the Titans bring so I am taking them in a close one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Arizona Cardinals 21, Tennessee Titans 24

The Arizona Cardinals (5-3) are coming off a blowout win over the Bears and will be hosting the Seattle Seahawks (3-5) on Sunday.  The Cardinals have not really had much of a home-field advantage this year, with all three of their losses coming at home this season.  They are a much better team the Seahawks though, so they should be able to improve to 2-3 at home this year.  The Seahawks are coming off a win over the Lions, where their quarterback Matt Hasselbeck had a huge day and broke a franchise record for completions (39).  The Cardinals are giving up too many yards through the air (247), so they need to contain Hasselbeck as he is their best player.

The Cardinals offense should not have too much of a problem in this one.  Warner and Fitzgerald could have big games once again and it could be another blowout.  Warner needs to make sure he doesn’t turn the ball over though, as he has had some bad turnover games this season.  Maybe they can get their running game going a little more too as the Seahawks give up 102 rushing yards per game.  I think the Cardinals will win this one with conviction as they need to start having more success at home.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Arizona Cardinals 34, Seattle Seahawks 20

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 Arizona Cardinals (3-2) are on the road against the New York Giants (5-1) Sunday.  The Cardinals are coming off a big offensive explosion in their 27-3 win over the Seattle Seahawks.  It was a good sign from their defense too, holding a Seahawks team to only three points after they put up 41 points the week before.  The Giants are a much better team than the Seahawks though, so this should be a closely fought battle.

The Giants are coming off their worst defensive game of the year, but it was against the best offensive team this year in the New Orleans Saints.  They are still only giving up 148 passing yards per game despite the big passing game from Drew Brees (368 yards, 4 TDs) last week against them.  Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, and the rest of the Cardinals passing game has the ability to put up Saints’ type numbers though.  The Giants offense has that ability too though, with Eli Manning throwing for 1390 yards with 11 touchdowns and only three interceptions so far this year.  Eli has been battling plantar fasciitis, but he should be over it by now so I am expecting a better game out of him than the past few weeks.  This should be a very close game but I think the Giants have the better defense and will come away with a close win.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:   Arizona Cardinals 30, New York Giants 35

The Arizona Cardinals (2-2) are on the road against the Seattle Seahawks (2-3) Sunday.  The Cardinals still have that exciting passing game, and they are going to need it Sunday against the Seahawks, who only give up 208 passing yards a game.  Kurt Warner had a great game last week after a bye, but hopefully the 38-year-old can do the same without a week off.  If the Cardinals could get there running game going, they will win this game.  The problem though is that they only average 56.5 rushing yards per game.  The Seahawks give up over 105 rushing yards per game though, so the Cardinals should be able to get some good work out of their running game.

The Seahawks got quarterback Matt Hasselback back last week, and he had a very good game after missing the previous two games.  He threw four touchdowns last week with no interceptions, while racking up 240 yards on 18 of 30 passes. He really makes a difference it seems for the Seahawks offense, so the Cardinals need to figure out a way to limit Hasselback’s impact.  That is going to be easier said then done, as the Cardinals give up 303 passing yards per game.  Their run defense is one of the best in the league though, holding opponents 71 yards on the ground.  This looks like it might be a high-scoring affair and I really like the Cardinals passing game, but the Seahawks looked so good last week with Hasselback and the Cardinals pass defense is so bad, that I am going with Seattle in this one.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Arizona Cardinals 31, Seattle Seahawks 37

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