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Monday Night Football Preview: Arizona Cardinals Vs San Francisco 49ers
Published by JM Van Horn on December 13, 2009
When the Arizona Cardinals take the field to play the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night football, they will have the chance to wrap up a second consecutive NFC West title. Will they have enough to defeat their division rival or will the 49ers stave off elimination for another week?
The Cardinals are coming off a dominating performance against the Minnesota Vikings where they constantly harassed Brett Favre, sacking him three times, while limiting of one the best running backs in the league, Adrian Peterson, to only 19 yards on 13 carries.
The key to the Cardinals success will be with their aggressive defensive scheme to help neutralize a re-energized passing offense of the 49ers. Quarterback Alex Smith has provided the spark over the last four game, completing 60.6% of his passes for 887 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions.
The Cardinals’ Darnell Dockett, who is making a serious run for the 2009 Defensive player of the year, will need to continue to be a disrupting force in the middle so his teammates can get to the quarterback.
Will they be able to reproduce the pressure when they first played the 49ers during week 1 where they sacked Smith three times? If so, then it will go along way to ensuring a victory on Monday night.
San Francisco 49ers TE Vernon Davis
The 49ers are in desperate need for a win if they want to have any hope of making this a respectable season. Their passing attack has come alive as of late and is led by Vernon Davis, who has recorded 63 receptions for 781 yards with ten touchdowns.
When it comes to running the ball, their lead back, Frank Gore has been left out in the cold, racking up on 221 yards over the last four games while averaging 3.9 yards per carry with one touchdown.
Another concern for the 49ers has to be how well their 26th passing defense will be able to handle the Cardinals passing game that has been lights out during the last month. In that time, quarterback Kurt Warner has completed 72.7% of his passes for 1,089 yards with 12 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
The last thing the 49ers want to do is to enter a scoring contest with the Cardinals, who are firing on all cylinders now. They need to find a way to disrupt the rhythm Warner has with his talented group of wide receivers.
While the 49ers have a decent home record, 4-2, the Cardinals are one better, 5-1, when it comes to games played on the road. Don’t expect the Cardinals to take this game lightly as they will be eager to wrap up another division title. Keep an eye on wide receiver Anquan Boldin who will use his physical style to muscle out another 100 receiving yards and one touchdown this week.
Prediction Arizona 31 San Francisco 17
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Tagged with: 2009 NFL Season, Adrian Peterson, Alex Smith, Anquan Boldin, Arizona Cardinals, Brett Favre, Darnell Dockett, Frank Gore, JM Van Horn, Kurt Warner, Monday Night Football, NFL Predictions, San Francisco 49ers, Vernon Davis
