Cardinals vs. Lions
BA AND COMPANY ARE BACK! Yes, Bird Gang, it’s finally here after 252 long Cardinals football-less days! The excruciatingly long preseason is finally over and we know everyone has already drafted the best fantasy team so it’s time to see the pigskin fly through the air for week one of NFL action. After a disappointing 2016, I have a good feeling about these 2017 REDBIRDS. This week is the greatest week in the whole year, because, well… FOOTBALL. Our Cardinals take on Matt Stafford and the pesky Lions on Sunday. These two teams haven’t met since week five of 2015, back when Megatron (Calvin Johnson) was still a Lion.
Ones to Watch
Offense
For the Cardinals offense, running back David Johnson isn’t just a player to watch in this game, but one to watch EVERY week because who knows what kind of crazy numbers he will put up. In 2016, Johnson ran for 1,239 yards with 16 touchdowns and then added in four touchdowns through the air. He averaged 1.25 touchdowns a game last year. Thats cray cray! Johnson is going to give the Lions defense a “run” for their money.. get it? see what i did there?… (I’ll see myself out).
We get spoiled for AT LEAST one more year of the Palmer to Fitz duo. Coming off a year where the ageless Fitzgerald caught 107 passes, its time to get this man a Super Bowl ring. Let’s make the most of it and celebrate this bromance as long as we can. The Lions offense, led by Matt Stafford who just signed a mega-new contract, has weapons in Golden Tate, who lead the team in receiving yards, and Ameer Abdullah. Abdullah was hurt most of last season so it will be all eyes on him to see what he can do.
Defense
As for the defense, on paper, these teams aren’t that different. After the 2016 season, the Lions ranked 13th and the Cardinals 14th. But, that was a defense without the HONEYBADGER for six of those games!! Alas the sneaky safety is back and healthy, and Tyrann Mathieu will look to finish what he started in 2016. For the Lions defense, I am going to highlight defensive tackle, Haloti Ngata. He might be the under the radar guy who helps Lions’ linebacker Tahir Whitehead make so many tackles (132 last season to be exact)… Ngata is a big body and requires two men on him that frees up Whitehead behind him to make plays. Keep a look out for him as the space eater.
Game Prediction
Of course, I am going Cardinals here. I am going Cards 27, Lions 20. GO CARDS!
[NFL-Cardinals-footer] [Cardinals-Photo-Credits]
