Last week the Cardinals were a wide left field goal away from starting the season with a win. At the same time, the Buccaneers lit up their division rival Atlanta on the road in a seven point victory that was not as close as the score would dictate. A late rally by the Falcons nearly took the game to overtime, but against the Cardinals we can expect both offenses to be on their games early and calling up the play makers often.
No Yards and A Cloud of Dust
Arizona’s running game against the Patriots was not only abysmal, it may as well have been nonexistent. Running back David Johnson led the team with just 89 yards on the ground with Chris Johnson, who had a small resurrection of his football career last season with the Cardinals, gathered just two yards on one carry. It isn’t clear if this was a coaching decision or if Johnson perhaps was benched for the second year player from Northern Iowa but the two did great things last year as a duo out of the backfield. Johnson’s speed is still blazing for a running back at his age and he would be a great weapon to utilize on stretch and toss plays against a Tampa Bay defense that held Atlanta to just 52 rushing yards last week. The strength of Tampa is their ability to bull rush into the backfield with linemen like Gerald McCoy and William Gholston to attack running plays before they can really develop. The Cardinals will need to use quickness to combat that power inside.
Palmer’s Pocket Presence
The last few years have seen Carson Palmer find himself after years of difficulty with Oakland and a very shaky separation with the Bengals. Last year he was a borderline All-Pro selection and led an offense that was considered to be one of the best in the league last season. Last week Palmer seemed to give his wide receivers a lot more credit than he should have by taking three sacks on the day. The Cardinals did lose a big name on the offensive line in right tackle Bobbie Massie and the inclusion of Evan Mathis from the Broncos was going to have a feeling out period to allow him to get adjusted to the blocking scheme on his new team but there were times that it just seemed Palmer’s internal clock ran on longer than it should have compared to last year. The Patriots are known for their complex pre snap formations so that may have caused a bit of a problem for Palmer, but the former Pro Bowler must adjust to Tampa Bay’s defense with edge rushers like Robert Ayers and the tackling machine that is Kwon Alexander who both tallied a sack in last week’s game.
Make Good on Turnovers
Last year the Cardinals defense was able to generate turnovers on a regular basis it seemed like whether it came from defensive backs jumping routes or forced fumbles ripped out of ball carrier’s hands. Last week against a career backup quarterback there were no ball hawks out in the back half of the defense but the front seven forced two fumbles by Frostee Rucker and Markus Golden. On the year the Cardinals are a +2 in the turnover ratio but they will need to generate more turnovers against the Bucs who seem to have a Jameis Winston who has seemed to finally turned a corner in his touch passes as he found Mike Evans and Austin Seferian-Jenkins on absolutely beautiful deep balls down the field to burn the Falcons defense. If the Cardinals don’t get after those deep balls early, Winston might just make it a regular habit come the second half.
Prediction: Arizona 21 – Tampa Bay 19
The game will kick off from University of Phoenix Stadium this Sunday at 1:05 PM. Check Fox to watch the contest live.