After giving fans a scare last week against a suffering Ravens squad, the Cardinals look to face their third straight AFC North opponent in the Cleveland Browns and continue their showings of dominance among the NFC’s best. The Dog Pound in Cleveland will look to make things difficult for Carson Palmer and company, but this game seems to be one that on paper should be the Cardinals running away. Then again, the same could be said about last week’s match up. We’ll see if the Cardinals start off slow or put the pedal to the metal early on in the contest.
Josh McCown Facing Old Team
Cardinal fans may forget that Josh McCown used to wear the white and red during his long journeyman career. This season for the Browns has been one of McCown’s finest as he has produced strong showings with limited weapons at the receiving positions outside of surprising tight end Gary Barnidge and the back and forth performances of Travis Benjamin throughout the year. However, the idea of McCown throwing for another 300 or 400 yard game in this contest is unlikely due to the shoulder injury the quarterback sustained against the St. Louis Rams last week after running into the padded railing near the stands on a scramble. McCown is expected to start regardless of the injury and if he cannot finish the contest it will likely be the polarizing Heismann trophy winner Johnny Manziel coming in after him. McCown is a tough customer and should be able to play all sixty minutes and if he can get some zip on his throws, the biggest concern is the Cardinals’ ability to guard the middle of the field where potential Pro Bowl candidate Barnidge does most of his damage. The middle linebackers for Arizona will certainly be tested in this game.
CJ2K Running To The House
The Browns defense has usually sat in the cellar of the AFC North. In a division that hosts the defensive traditions that Baltimore, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh do it is easy to say that. This year however has been a serious downfall in a unit that many thought would surprise some in the AFC. After drafting defensive tackle Danny Shelton to plug up the middle and be the nose tackle they needed to allow players like Barkevious Mingo and Paul Kruger to see more one on one battles on the edge the season so far has shown that the young former Husky has a lot of work left to do when developing his talent. The Browns give up an average of 150 yards a game on the ground, worst in the league thus far. The lack of penetration from the middle and inability to beat blocks on the edge has to have the offensive line and Chris Johnson in particular salivating at the thought of what they could do in the game. So long as Shelton doesn’t suddenly mature into a full fledged pro on the Cardinals, it could be a good day for the Cardinals and Chris Johnson fantasy owners if you bother playing those one day fantasy leagues. The league only shows commercials for them a billion times before the second quarter starts. Hard to imagine Johnson will come cheap this week if you want to play him.
Browns Don’t Jump On Routes
Carson Palmer has not been struggling to find the spots he has needed to put the ball in this year with an impressive total of only five interceptions through seven weeks. The idea of that changing against the Browns is unlikely as Cleveland does not go after the ball as much as they go after receivers when defending the pass. Joe Haden has developed into one of the more underrated corner backs in the league in a field that is littered with All Pro talent in almost every division these days. Add onto that Tramon Williams, who was a stellar cover man in Green Bay for many years and safety play by Tashaun Gipson and Donte Whitner you would imagine this defense having more than just four interceptions on the year. But no. These defensive backs for the most part play with their eyes on the receivers’ hips and legs rather than the quarterback’s eyes. Carson may catch a few Browns defenders this week off guard and on a few deep balls may get a few pass interference calls to go the team’s way. If Carson can avoid hanging the ball in the heavy Cleveland winds and exploit the way these corners play and get drives down the field in a hurry, they can make the game a bit easier on themselves.
The game will kick off at FirstEnergy Stadium in Cleveland this Sunday on Fox at 11:00 AM due to the day light savings change throughout the country. The idea of the Browns besting the Cardinals is an unlikely one and it should be an easier game than the last few this team has competed in. The team really needs to treat this as a tune up game for the rival Seahawks that they face next week and get all facets of the game working for them to build confidence and show Seattle that this is a different Cardinals team than their probably used to watching.
Cardinals – 31 Browns – 17