Obviously this video kind of sucks but it serves to illustrate my point. When the Cards and Niners get together for Moday Night Football it's bound to be bizarre. Two years ago we witnessed Eric Green's inability to recover a fumble in the endzone and instead more or less boot the ball out of bounds. Last year we had Chike Okeafor barely tackle Frank Gore, Mike Singletary's abysmal clock management, and Clark Haggans stuffing Michael Robinson at the 1 for a gut wrenching Cardinals victory. As a Cards season ticket holder I have seen some of the greatest highs and many of the incredible lows in which this team has been a part of. Even just this current season the Cards played host for two Sunday Night games and nothing better illustrates the Jekyll/Hyde nature of our beloved birds quite like these two games. Week 3 we saw a listless Cards team get simply dominated by Peyton and the Colts, whereas last week's game against the Vikings seemed to legitimize the Cardinals to the rest of the nation as well as proving truly how good this team can be when it hits on all cylinders. The point I'm trying to make is this; no matter how poor an effort the Cardinals put forth, no matter how lopsided the final score had been, I have never left a Cardinals game feeling worse and sicker than I did after last years monday night miracle---and we won. To this day Ill never be able to explain what this win did to me. I couldn't celebrate, I was in way to much of a haze for that. I couldn't drink my sorrows away since we had a) won and b) I truly felt sick. I did the one thing my mind and body allowed of me. I got into bed, curled up into some sort of pseudo-fetal position, and passed out. If memory serves, I didn't leave said bad/position until about 2 pm the next day. When I look at this week's matchup, I'm extremely optimistic. I have never really believed in this 9ers team. I think Mike Singletary is vastly overrated, their Oline is porous, and they're quarterbacked by Alex "small hands" Smith. Once you factor in how motivated this Cardinals team is (more national exposure, can clinch the division, and the revenge factor) and I forecast a Cardinals win, with a chance at complete domination. All that being said, I still know in the back of my mind what a Cards-9ers MNF game usually boils down to and I got to say I'm glad this game is in S.F. Despite my confidence, I kind like knowing Ill be able to comfortably sit on my couch and the beer necessary to take the edge off is a quick trip to the fridge away.
Generally speaking when I device my keys to Cards victories they are done with general terms, today however we're looking at 2 players as the difference makers.
Adrian Wilson: To date I have not been thrilled with the way in which Bill Davis has utilized A-dub. In talking with my dad about this we came the conclusion that Wilson has had a rather pedestrian season but we do not believe his play has dropped. He and I feel as though A-dub has been used much more as a decoy than an actual threat. He is constantly stalking around the line of scrimmage and then dropping back into coverage. I certainly am not advocating for Wilson to become an exclusive blitzer, nor would I want to see Clancy Pendergast running this D again solely for the purpose of getting Adrian more involved, but there has to be some sort of middle ground. This matchup against the 9ers will force A-dub to put forth one of his most well-rounded efforts. The 9ers have a top RB in Frank Gore, a top TE in Vernon Davis, and a suspect offensive line. Often times when the cards face teams with top TEs this season we have seen A-dub play almost exclusively as a coverage safety and one who matches up against said TE. This has generally yielded poor results (see: Greg Olsen, Bears). Billy Davis must find other ways of minimizing Vernon Davis' effect, allowing for A-dub to assist in run support as well as generating some pressure on the QB. Plus, with A-dub 1 sack away from joining the illustrious 20-20 club, what better stage than Monday Night Football.
Anquan Boldin: Simply put, the return of a healthy Q has allowed for this offense to dominate. After sitting for the Chicago game, Q came back for a home game against Seattle. While watching the offense sputter to an inferior Seahawks team in the first half, I commented several times that Anquan had been open and yet was not seeing the ball come his way. The offense's first half showing was so lackluster that a disappointed home crowd booed the birds as they went to the locker room at the half. Many things changed for the offense in the second half, including Beanie Wells taking over for an extended stretch, but nothing was more noticeable than the emergence of Anquan. Q's final numbers for that game read 8 catches for 105 yards and without assigning an arbitrary number to this, I can confidently say the vast majority of this was in the 2nd half. Since then Q and the Cards offense have been on a roll. Bringing this full circle and back to the forthcoming MNF matchup I see Q as the biggest weapon in this game. The 9ers like to attempt to "out-physical" the Cardinals and nobody is more physical at his postion than Quan. During the week 1 matchup the 9ers focused on Fitz (and rightfully so), often bracketing him with a safety over the top. Hobbled with a hamstring injury, Q was not able to take advantage of the single coverage. This time around that won't be. Q will have single coverage most of the night and plenty of opportunities to hit on those short and intermediate routes that he so effectively runs. For the Cardinals to continue to dominate on offense the goal should be to get the ball to Q early and often. Allow him to beat up a few cornerbacks and safeties and slowly watch that 9ers D soften. Once this happens the running game should open up and Fitz can start streaking down the sidelines.
Lastly two personal notes: 1) I can't put into words how excited I am to watch this game and many years of DRC v Michael Crabtree. A few years down the road both these guys *should* be at or near the top of their respective positions and watching them square off twice a year should truly be a treat. 2) A personal request to Whiz- Please let us see more offensive plays with Trel lined up at QB. I know its hard to take a future HOFer out of the game, but seriously, is there anything more exciting right now than Antrel Rolle with the ball in his hands? He is simply electric. Whether it be the 2 times he has lined up as QB or when he gets the ball on a turnover I literally start freaking out. I automatically assume he will score a TD. I do not think Im the only one who feels this way either. Please Whiz, make this happen!
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