Cardinals Fangirl

Talking Touchdowns: Carson-less Cardinals Look to Regroup Against 49ers

By November 2, 2017 No Comments

“Bye Bye Bye” – with Justin Timberlake in the news recently after being announced as the halftime act of the Super Bowl, the Cardinals say bye to their quarterback and the bye week in this edition of Talking Touchdowns.

The Red Birds fly north to the City by the Bay to take on the 0-8 49ers, who are off to their worst start in franchise history. Things don’t seem to be going well for the Niners, you could say both teams are “tearing up my heart!!” Let’s preview this matchup!

Arizona Cardinals vs. San Francisco 49ers

Offense

  • Arizona will be going with their backup QB, Drew Stanton, after losing franchise quarterback Carson Palmer to a broken arm in a bloody disaster of a game in London. Will Stanton be able to “Bring Sexy Back” to this team? In my honest opinion, Stanton is not the answer at quarterback and “This I Promise You.. I am more interested in seeing what third string QB Blaine Gabbert can do. Gabbert has never played a regular season game in a BA system, but he has actually started three times as many games as Stanton. It’s only a matter of time before Card nation will be saying “I Want You Back” to CP.
  • The 49ers did pull off a big trade, acquiring Patriots backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo for a 2018 second round pick, though he’s not expected to make his Niner debut this weekend.
  • Well, what offense?? You could say their offense is “Gone!” As the Cardinals and 49ers jockey to avoid the bottom spot in the NFC West standings, the QB woes for both of these teams continue. Kyle Shanahan has handed the ball to C.J. Beathard, who threw two interceptions in last weeks game against the red hot Eagles. The 49ers have only thrown five touchdown passes all season long.

Defense

  • I hope the defense did lots of squats over the bye because they will be the ones carrying this team on their backs the next few weeks. Its a mighty task since, halfway through the season, but the Red Birds sit 31st in the NFL in points allowed at 27.3 per game. That’s behind two teams: the winless Browns and the aforementioned 49ers. We need shutdown cornerback Patrick Peterson to make life hard on Pierre Garçon. “The Waiter” leads the 49ers in receptions (38) and receiving yards (483). (Garçon left the game last week with a neck injury.) C.J. Beathard was their leading rusher last game against the Eagles with 40 yards.
  • 49ers Defense: Could their front seven be the bright spot on this team?? The Niners run defense held the Eagles to only 112 yards rushing a week ago. They are coming off a game where, DJ Jones, Jimmie Ward and Solomon Thomas all left the game with injuries. They will need to be healthy and ready to stop AP and Fitz, who have found the fountain of youth in AZ. In last weeks game against the Eagles, the 49ers defense seemed to have bent and then broken. In the first 10 drives the Eagles had 139 yards. In the last two Eagle drives they had 137 yards. The defense just couldn’t keep up.

Game Prediction

Prediction time and I am not so confident about this, so 49ers FanGirl, Tracy, this could be closer than we think. This Cardinals team is in a state of flux with all of the injuries, they really need a player to step up, “it’s going to be me.” So I am going Arizona, 21-7. And for those who have been keep track, yes that was 7 Justin Timberlake references….Pop!…..ok eight…

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