Arizona Cardinals (4-3) at Chicago Bears (4-3)
The last time the Cardinals and Bears met it was 2006, but you know doubt remember more about what happened after the game than during it: Arizona led then-unbeaten Chicago 23-3 but allowed the Bears to score three fourth-quarter TDs to win 24-23. That brought about this famous quote from the Cardinals coach at the time, Dennis Green: “You want to crown them, go ahead and crown their asses,” he said, his voice rising. “But they are exactly who we thought they are, and we let them off the hook.”
As for this week’s game, Arizona probably is glad to be on the road. The Cards looked terrible last week in losing 34-21 to Carolina to drop to 1-3 at home. Arizona QB Kurt Warner threw five interceptions last week, and Panthers ran off 270 yards against what was the No. 1 run defense in the NFL. But away from the desert, the Cards are 3-0, winning by an average of 15 points.
Chicago, which is a 3-point betting favorite on WagerWeb.com, is 3-0 at home after thumping inept Cleveland last week. The Bears offense is still trying to find itself, although WR Devin Hester has come on. In the three games since a Week 5 bye, Hester has averaged 88.3 receiving yards and has had at least six catches in each contest. Jay Cutler has been good as long as he’s not on a Sunday night national TV game and when Cutler has at least a 100 passer rating, his team is 13-0. Chicago really needs to get Matt Forte going. He had two TDs and 90 yards last week, but it took him 26 carries – he’s averaging only 3.5 yards per carry. Chicago did rush for 170 yards against Cleveland … but that’s Cleveland.
It looks like Cards WR Anquan Boldin will be a game-time call after not finishing a second straight game. The team might sit him just to get him healthy, because he has been fairly ineffective this year. And that ineffectiveness is causing teams to focus on Larry Fitzgerald. After catching 20 passes for 20 or more yards last year, Fitzgerald has six this season. He’s also averaging 10.8 yards per reception, down from 14.9. Arizona has to throw a ton because it can’t run the ball, ranking dead last in the NFL. Chicago is one of the best run-stopping teams in the league, so Warner could see 40 attempts on Sunday. Warner has 11 picks to go with 11 TDs this season; through seven games last year, he had 14 touchdown passes and six interceptions. Arizona has turned the ball over 18 times in 2009, the second-most in the NFC.
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
