Arizona Cardinals Tackle 49ers

Let me start off by saying that I’m not one of the NFL analysts that’s very impressed with Arizona. Yes, they won, but let’s look at who they played against. They were at home against the 49ers—not the best of teams. They beat the 49ers by 7 and if not for some lucky breaks who knows. The Cardinals first real test will come next week when they travel to Seattle to take on the Seahawks. I expect that they will be brought back to reality.

For the 49ers, there’s great news. Alex Smith has matched his TD total from last season, and it’s only week one. Just three minutes into game one, Alex Smith connected for 31 yards and a TD with Vernon Davis. Smith had one TD all of last season and he’s already matched that output. Perhaps he’s making some progress.

The Cardinals won 34-27 and next week both of these teams face tougher challenges. This game is a dangerous one from an analyst’s perspective. Both teams are poor. It’s easy to look at this game and say that each team looked improved—that happens when two poor teams go at it. Sure, Warner had 301 yards passing with 3 TDs, but what will happen when he plays against a real defense?

The 49ers have a poor defense, yet James only had 73 yards rushing over 23 carries for the Cardinals. One of those runs was for 10 yards—his longest of the day. Take that single run away and you have 63 yards over 25 carries—an average of 2.5 yards per carry. That’s just not impressive. The offensive line of the Cardinals is suspect. It may only be a matter of time before the Cardinals go with rookie Matt Leinart—because Warner will either be hurt or ineffective.

As mentioned, the Arizona Cardinals travel to Seattle next week. The San Francisco 49ers are at home against the St. Louis Rams. The Rams offense looked unimpressive this past week. Perhaps a trip to San Francisco is just what the doctor ordered.