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Cardinals @ Panthers Preview

October 24, 2008 by Jayson Saikaley  
Filed under NFL Football, Panthers

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The surprising Arizona Cardinals (4-2) who are coming off a bye week will travel to Charlotte NC to battle the Carolina Panthers (5-2) in this battle of division leaders in what should be an excellent game.

Cardinals at a glance….

The Arizona Cardinals are well rested and are raring to shoot for their best starting record since 1976. Their last 2 wins were impressive blemishing Buffalo’s previously undefeated record with a 41-17 win and then headed to the bye week with an overtime win against the Dallas Cowboys. Kurt Warner has a had a career year already throwing for 1708 yards and 12 touchdowns posting the leagues highest scoring offense. The Cardinals special teams have been stellar all season including scoring on the first and last play of the game against the Cowboys on week 6. Fitzgerald and Boldin have already combined for 10 of Warner’s 12 TD’s this season as the Cards will look to attack the Panthers from the air. Edgerin James will look to set up the pass with effective runs as the Cardinals will no doubt come into this game with a well thought out game plan with their extra week to prepare for Carolina.

Panthers at a glance….

The Panther’s are coming off a very impressive win over the Saints where they will look for Julius Peppers to continue to wreak havoc and haunt Warner on his blind side and help set the tone for the solid secondary of Carolina led by Lucas and Gamble. The Panther’s 2nd rank defense in the NFL against the pass will look to shut down the Cardinals aerial assault and force the Cardinals to run Edgerin James up the gut against the brunt of the Panthers Defensive Line. The Panthers will need to establish their run to expose the Cardinals zone defense this week in order to be successful. The Panthers will need to avoid any further special team mistakes and try to break their 2 season hiatus of scoring on the special teams this weekend in order to continue their domination at home.

My Gut Feeling….

I am always wary about teams that have a week off to prepare for an opponent. The Cardinals I am sure will have quite the extensive game plan and probably reviewed the tapes against the Buccaneers. This I feel is an overwhelming advantage for teams with byes (hence my thoughts on the whole bye process??) The Panthers played extremely well against the Saints and will try to run, and dump, in front of the Cardinals zone defense in attempt to open up a big play or two. The facts are this, the Panthers are undefeated at home this season and good teams generally play exceptionally well coming off a bye week so something has to give. This game is a toss up and too hard to call so I will continue my trend of last week and pick the Cardinals in a close game based on being the more rested prepared team.

Upcoming Games…

next week bye

11/09   Carolina at Oakland - 4:05 pm
11/16   Carolina vs. Detroit - 1:00 pm
11/23   Carolina at Atlanta - 1:00 pm
11/30   Carolina at Green Bay - 1:00 pm

Jayson Saikaley aka Jersey Jay…

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10 Responses to “Cardinals @ Panthers Preview”

  1. 1
    Zach Smith Says:
    October 25th, 2008 at 12:09 am

    I have been totally out of the loop on the Cards, so much other freelance work.

    Hard to figure this Cards team, especially on the road. Boldin will play a good chunk of this game. They need him to really screw with the Panthers D.

    FG game in my eyes. Hoping the Cards have a fast start on the road like they always do at home. I know Wisenhunt made mention of this during the week while preparing for Carolina.

  2. 2
    Jayson Saikaley Says:
    October 25th, 2008 at 8:12 am

    Kasay has been automatic for the Panthers so I like the sound of the field goal game you speak of. I may be putting too much into the bye week but an extra week of preparing and the Buccaneers game plan to study to boot has to give the Cards the edge.

  3. 3
    San Fran Dan Says:
    October 25th, 2008 at 1:06 pm

    I watched the Cardinal’s opening game this year against SF and I knew at that point this was a different Cards team than what we were used to. They seemed to be better coached and executed better than in past years. They are quietly under the radar but don’t be surprised if they win a playoff game this year or go even further.

    San Fran Dan

  4. 4
    Lee Tremblay Says:
    October 25th, 2008 at 1:10 pm

    I take the home team on this one. The Cards suck on the road, and it looks like the Panthers are for real this year.

    If this game were in Arizona, I would have taken the Cards hands down, but not in Carolina.

    (Carolina has burned me three times this year, so although I think that they will win, I wouldn’t bet much on it)

    Go Panthers

  5. 5
    Kevin Lee Says:
    October 25th, 2008 at 2:33 pm

    Panthers crapped the bed in TB and then come home to dominate the Saints. Cards the same way, both jeckyl and hyde teams.

  6. 6
    Kevin Lee Says:
    October 25th, 2008 at 2:33 pm

    I watched the Cardinal’s opening game this year against SF and I knew at that point this was a different Cards team than what we were used to. They seemed to be better coached and executed better than in past years. They are quietly under the radar but don’t be surprised if they win a playoff game this year or go even further.

    San Fran Dan

    Coaching, gameplanning and discipline was missing under Dennis Green. They always had the talent. Very true!

  7. 7
    Jayson Saikaley Says:
    October 25th, 2008 at 5:11 pm

    I watched the Cardinal’s opening game this year against SF and I knew at that point this was a different Cards team than what we were used to. They seemed to be better coached and executed better than in past years. They are quietly under the radar but don’t be surprised if they win a playoff game this year or go even further.
    San Fran Dan

    This team gets some home games in the playoffs it could be dangerous. The same can be said about the Panthers this season.

  8. 8
    Jayson Saikaley Says:
    October 25th, 2008 at 5:12 pm

    I take the home team on this one. The Cards suck on the road, and it looks like the Panthers are for real this year.
    If this game were in Arizona, I would have taken the Cards hands down, but not in Carolina.
    (Carolina has burned me three times this year, so although I think that they will win, I wouldn’t bet much on it)
    Go Panthers

    On any other week but Arizona coming off their bye week I would totally agree.

  9. 9
    Jayson Saikaley Says:
    October 25th, 2008 at 5:13 pm

    Panthers crapped the bed in TB and then come home to dominate the Saints. Cards the same way, both jeckyl and hyde teams.

    The Whole NFL is full of Jeckyl and Hyde’s this season… Welcome to the new NFL land of inconsistancy!!! :)

  10. 10
    Jayson Saikaley Says:
    October 25th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
    I watched the Cardinal’s opening game this year against SF and I knew at that point this was a different Cards team than what we were used to. They seemed to be better coached and executed better than in past years. They are quietly under the radar but don’t be surprised if they win a playoff game this year or go even further.
    San Fran Dan

    Coaching, gameplanning and discipline was missing under Dennis Green. They always had the talent. Very true!

    Right you are talent, coaching and a week off hence my pick this week ;)

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