San Francisco 49ers: Previewing the Arizona Cardinals
The San Francisco 49ers are a team that many are not sure what to make of.
Following a tumultuous off-season, the 49ers were predicted by nearly all national analysts to have a horrible season in 2015. The team insisted all off-season that this would not be the case, and that it would be business as usual this year. The only problem is, it’s hard to have any sense of what usual is when you lose so many of your usual players and coaches.
First up was the Minnesota Vikings on the second game of the Week One Monday Night Football schedule. The game wasn’t pretty, on or off the field. Thankfully for the 49ers, the defense looked fired up and ready to go, and the Vikings offense was…not. Teddy Bridgewater wasn’t an accurate quarterback, and the Vikings seemingly forgot Adrian Peterson was on the roster, only giving him the ball ten times all night long.
As for the 49ers’ running game, it looked fantastic thanks to their own personal bell-cow in Carlos Hyde. Pegged as the primary running back now that Frank Gore left for greener (or more blue if we’re getting technical) pastures, Hyde ran for over 160 yards and two touchdowns, and the rest of the team looked just as impressive.
Pundits weren’t sure if it was simply a fluke or if the 49ers had truly been successful in reworking the team dynamics and getting their act together in the off-season. For all we knew at the time, it could have been secret powers imbedded in their new batman costumes that helped them crush the visitors that night.
Needless to say, fans and the players themselves were flying high as they traveled cross-country to take on the Steelers in Week Two. However, their hopes came crashing down immediately as Ben Roethlisberger ran the 49ers defense’ seemingly across the map, early and often. The offensive line from Week One must have been misplaced by the airline, as they were nowhere to be found against a stout Pittsburgh defensive line. The best idea the team could have is to simply shake this game out of their minds and look to build on a relatively decent second half from Colin Kaepernick.
The two-faced team is now heading back out west to face off against the Cardinals, and everyone is awaiting the 49ers’ on-field response to the disappointing week two performance.
The 49ers will need to rebound quickly. Arizona is a team that, like the 49ers of old, built their team around an impressive defense that doesn’t give up many scores, and feasts on the quarterback weekly.
Carson Palmer is healthy this year, and looks to be on a mission to remind people of his college-glory days at USC. He’s turning under the radar players like John Brown into stud wide receivers, moving the ball down the field at will. The running game has suffered a setback, losing Andre Ellington for at least a few games. Veteran Chris Johnson and rookie David Johnson are slated to take over, but haven’t been all that impressive collectively yet this season.
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The defense is led by arguably the best cornerback in the game, Patrick Peterson. He and a ferocious secondary frequently lead the league in interceptions, least yards allowed, and really just about any defensive stat you want to look at.
The crowd in Glendale gets loud and doesn’t stop until well after the game, so if the 49ers want to win, they have to control the ball and methodically move down the field in order to make the most of their opportunities.
It’s likely Kaepernick gets picked off at least once, and it’s hard to imagine the San Francisco secondary completely stopping a passing threat like Palmer. The Cardinals at home will simply be too much to handle coming off a long-distance travel week.
13. 42. 24. 32. Final