After a couple years of success before the departure of Kurt Warner, the Arizona Cardinals faced a difficult task last year of rebuilding the team to fill the void left by the Hall of Fame quarterback. While the Cardinals’ quarterback struggles last year were very apparent, this year head coach Ken Whisenhunt had hoped to put those struggles behind him by acquiring quarterback Kevin Kolb from the Philadelphia Eagles. Kolb has played fairly well so far this year, with his biggest misstep coming last week against the Seattle Seahawks, when he threw two interceptions. The Cardinals dropped that game, causing their record to fall to 1-2.
This week they face a big test when the New York Giants come to town. Kolb faces a Giants defensive line that can be dominant at times, and a secondary that limited Michael Vick to 176 yards and an interception last week. The Giants have the ninth best defense in the league as judged by yards allowed. The Cardinals, however, boast the eighth best defense, and their four interceptions this year puts them near the top of the league in this category as well. Their defensive line has nine sacks on the year to the Giants eight. So, it seems that when looking at defenses, the Cardinals are comparable to the Giants. With their respective pass rush and opportune secondary, they may be able to coerce Giants quarterback Eli Manning into making some costly mistakes.
Offensively, both teams hover around the middle of the pack this year. When the Giants’ offense has looked good, it has looked very good. The case in point was last week when Eli Manning torched the Philadelphia Eagles’ secondary for four touchdowns. The Giants tandem backfield of Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs combines a quick slasher with a power runner, and can be lethal. The Cardinals, however, have played very efficient offense at times this year as well. Kolb boasted a 130.0 quarterback rating in his week one game against Carolina. Kolb has one of the best receivers in the game in Larry Fitzgerald to throw to, and when his passes are accurate Fitzgerald is close to unstoppable. The effectiveness of the passing game against the Giants pass rush depends on the viability of the running game, however, and Arizona Cardinals – primary running back Beanie Wells is questionable for this week due to a hamstring injury. That would mean the rushing duties fall to fourth string running back Alfonso Smith. Smith struggled a bit last week, rushing for only 54 yards on 17 carries.
The Cardinals kicking game must also be more effective, a tough feat in windy Giants Stadium. Last week, Jay Feely missed from 49 and 51 yards. In this upcoming battle of two tough defenses, field goals may make the difference.
This is a key game for both teams. The Giants are already locked in a battle for first place in the NFC East that may involve all four teams in the division for the remainder of the season. The Cardinals are surrounded by mediocrity in the NFC West, but must come back with a win after last week’s loss in order to keep up with the division leading San Francisco 49ers.
