But seriously, this is a big-time game, and I believe that our team has it within them to ride their fiery emotions and play their best game of the year.

Favre and the Vikings are due for a disappointment, and we are ready to hand it to them, especially after coming off of disappointment of our own.

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Cardinals-Titans Preview: Arizona Looks to Halt Tennessee Hot Streak

The Cardinals face a tough matchup on Sunday afternoon versus a talented Titans team on a hot streak.

Ever since team owner Bud Adams demanded that Vince Young get another shot as the No. 1 QB, Tennessee has responded with four straight wins after beginning the season winless with Kerry Collins under center.

VY is clearly rejuvenated and playing with more confidence than ever in his young career. The team has changed its offensive approach, sprinkling in the college option play with positive results.

The interesting and maybe unintended effect of running the option is that not only does it allow Young to pick up first downs with his legs when the time is right, it also gives Chris Johnson even more chances out in open space, where he thrives.

With Collins in the lineup, CJ was good for 596 yards in six games. With Young starting, Johnson has rushed for 646 yards in four games.

It is a pretty scary thought to think that the Titans may have found a more effective scenario for Johnson and his deadly speed to flourish. CJ is on pace to become only the sixth back in league history to surpass 2,000 yards, and he is doing it at a 6.2 yards per carry clip.

Now for an absolutely ridiculous stat—Johnson has 18 carries of 20 yards or more. Adrian Peterson, the one usually anointed as the best back in the league, is the closest contender with 11.

The focus for the Arizona defense is quite obvious—attempt to contain Chris Johnson, as few teams have been able to do. They did a pretty good job versus Steven Jackson last game. If you throw out the 48-yard run, he only had 68 yards rushing otherwise. Not bad considering Jackson is second in the NFL in rushing behind Johnson.

Then again, that 48-yard run could be a frightening premonition of things to come on Sunday, as CJ is the fastest back in the league and the long runs, as stated earlier, are his forte.

Tennessee’s challenge will be to slow down Kurt Warner and the prolific Cardinals passing attack. The Titans enter the game ranked 31st against the pass but have been playing better as of late, led by the fiery Cortland Finnegan.

Even if Finnegan is unable to completely slow down Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, he will surely get under their skin and try to provoke a ruckus. He is the type of player that welcomes a fracas because it helps him elevate his level of play.

This game should be a slugfest and may come down to the last drive of the game to determine the outcome.

This article also appears on NFLTouchdown.com

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State of the Arizona Cardinals, as They Prepare for Titans

Losing rookie backer Will Davis for 4-6 weeks is a blow to a defense. There is hope he can play again this season, as he was coming on strong with two sacks, twelve tackles and increased playing time.

Now more than ever the Cardinals need Chike Okeafor to battle through his back issues and get back on the field. Though he has missed the last two games, he is still tied for the team lead with 4.5 sacks. The immediate future looks bright as Okeafor participated in practice this week and will likely play.

Having the luxury of signing Monty Biesel off the street is fortunate though. Biesel was on Kansas City’s roster briefly this season, and has 43 games with the Cardinals under his belt. Biesel can fill in admirably at linebacker and is a special teams warrior.

One quiet development of late is receiver Early Doucet apparently passing Jerheme Urban on the depth chart. Although it is still not reflected officially on the team-issued depth chart , Urban was a healthy inactive two games in a row, and has not registered a productive game since the fifth game of the season.

Last season Urban was a very productive fourth receiver with nearly 500 yards receiving on 34 receptions—impressive considering the three above him all had over 1,000 yards. The curious bit is that Doucet hasn’t obviously outplayed Urban and is not as fast.

Maybe Urban was benched for one too many drops in key situations? Perhaps the coaching staff is eager to groom Doucet to take over Anquan Boldin’s role on the team for next season?

There were all kinds of people weighing in on Matt Leinart and questioning what the outcome of this weekend’s game versus the Titans would be if Kurt Warner was unable to play. Fortunately for Cardinals’ fans, Warner has practiced in full and is likely to start, so for the short-term the point is mute.

For the long-term however, there is growing concern about Leinart’s lack of readiness to take over should Kurt go down with a serious injury. For this set of eyes, the team should strongly consider signing a proven veteran such as Jeff Garcia to back up Warner for the pending playoff run.

This article also appears on NFLTouchdown.com

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NFL Picks Week 12: The Chosen

Week Eleven 12-4 Season prediction tally: 107-53

Thursday

Green Bay at Detroit —Matthew Stafford may have just begun his portfolio of legendary finishes, with the way he finished the game versus Cleveland. If he goes on to be a great QB, we will all be watching that highlight reel 10 years from now.

Unfortunately for him, he separated his shoulder on the second to last play of the game before his touchdown throw with no time left with his left arm out of socket, and is unlikely to play in this contest.
Pick: Packers

Oakland at Dallas —It is ridiculous that this one feels like a toss-up, but Bruce Gradkowski might be better equipped to run the Oakland offense than the benched Jamarcus Russell, and Dallas is the worst 7-3 team I have ever seen.

Then again, are the Raiders the worst 3-7 team I have seen?
Pick: Cowboys

N.Y. Giants at Denver —Denver just allowed the worst rushing team in the league (Chargers) to pile up over 200 yards on them. I like Brandon Jacobs’ and Ahmad Bradshaw’s chances. Or at least Jacobs’. Bradshaw is now also on crutches along with his usual mid-week walking boot .

Pick: Giants

Sunday

Seattle at St. Louis —Marc Bulger was starting to have some chemistry with his receivers, but now he is out 3-6 weeks. Neither team is very good but at least Seattle is fielding their No.1 QB Matt Hasselbeck.
Pick: Seahawks

Carolina at N.Y. Jets —The Jets are suddenly in disarray, and I still believe in DeAngelo And Stewart.
Pick: Panthers

Tampa Bay at Atlanta —Tampa Bay fell back down to Earth versus the Saints and revealed their true identity after two promising games.
Pick: Falcons

Miami at Buffalo —Buffalo is not as bad as there record indicates, and always seem to play teams tough.

Miami is surprisingly content with playing less wildcat and more conventional offense without Ronnie Brown, and I think they have too many weapons for Buffalo to stop.
Pick: Dolphins

Washington at Philadelphia —Philly has too many weapons.
Pick: Eagles

Cleveland at Cincinnati —The Browns and Brady Quinn looked great—versus the Lions. The Browns simply refuse to win .
Pick: Bengals

Indianapolis at Houston —Alright this is the one, the game the Colts finally lose. Houston has lost two in a row by a field goal, including the last time these teams met. They have the Colts figured out and will get over the hump.

Bernard Pollard really has brought an intensity to the Texans defensive backfield they lacked before they signed him after being waived by Kansas City.
Pick: Texans

Jacksonville at San Francisco —I like the 49ers to play spoiler in this one since they are No.6 against the run.
Pick: 49ers

Kansas City at San Diego —I think this one will be closer than their last affair, 37-7 Chargers. KC is really coming on strong, winners of their last two in a row and now 3 out of 5.

San Diego’s defense is balling now though and they have their running game back on track.
Pick: Chargers

Chicago at Minnesota —The Vikings are every bit as good as the Colts and the Saints. The Bears are every bit as bad as the Redskins and Bills.
Pick: Vikings

Arizona at Tennessee —Arizona may be forced to start Matt Leinart, who kills the Arizona offense.

Even if Kurt Warner plays, Tennessee’s defense has been much more effective, and I think Vince Young and Chris Johnson will present match up problems for the Cardinals. I like the sense of urgency the Titans are playing with right now.
Pick: Titans

Pittsburgh at Baltimore —It could be that neither of these teams are going to be all that great this year. Sorry fans, you can’t expect them to be every year.

I like Joe Flacco to bounce back from the late game interception versus the Colts and regain his moxy.
Pick: Ravens

Monday

New England at New Orleans —Instant classic? I sure hope so. Looks like it on paper. I’m taking the Saints because I think the tandem of Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell might be the hardest running duo in the game this year—and that is saying something.
Pick: Saints

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Arizona Cardinals’ Tim Hightower Is Quietly Having a Great Year

The knock on Tim Hightower last year was that he didn’t have the big play ability that the Cardinals needed out of the running back position. That is exactly why Beanie Wells was drafted in the first round, everyone assumed.

In his rookie season, despite compiling 10 rushing touchdowns, he only averaged 2.8 yards per carry. To many, this was all the proof they needed to rate Hightower a complimentary back at best .

There is no denying the excitement bubbling to the surface about Wells’ immense potential, but there is another story brewing in Arizona that you shouldn’t forget about;Tim Hightower is quietly having a great year.

The day after being named one of the best two running backs to play for his alma mater at the University of Richmond in its 81-year history this past Saturday, Hightower broke off a 50-yard run against the Rams, the longest by a Cardinals’ back since 2004. He became the first Arizona back to top the 100-yard plateau this season by totaling 110 yards on 14 carries for a 7.9 yards per carry average.

With that output, he brought his 2009 rushing yards total up to 430 yards with five TDs and an impressive 4.2 yards per carry average, but it is his improved production in the passing game that speaks loudest regarding his outstanding value—Hightower is second in the NFL among running backs with 47 receptions, behind only Ray Rice.

He now has 773 all-purpose yards, not bad for a guy that doesn’t return kicks and hardly gets a mention in the media.

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Cardinals Brace for Rams’ Steven Jackson

In this weekend’s game between Arizona and St. Louis, the focal point for the Cardinals will be containing Steven Jackson, who has averaged five yards per carry while topping 130 yards in each of his last three games, and is only 85 yards shy of going over 1,000 for the fifth straight season.

If they can do that, stopping the Rams’ passing game should be fairly easy.

St. Louis has lost two of its top three receivers to IR and is now down to practice squad warriors, outside of second-year wideout Donnie Avery. Marc Bulger and Kyle Boller have combined for only seven touchdown passes in nine games.

Although Arizona is still ranked in the Top 10 against the run, it has stumbled as of late. Against Carolina the Cardinals were gashed for 270 yards and then bled out another 164 to a weak Seattle rushing attack.

The Cardinals could be bolstered by the return of Gerald Hayes , the veteran linebacker who is one of their best run stuffers, but is listed as questionable to play after missing the last two games. He was able to participate in full on Thursday, however, and appears ready to suit up on Sunday.

Kurt Warner has enjoyed great success returning to the Edward Jones Dome as a Cardinal, with a 104.5 passer rating and the continued backing from the fans in St. Louis, where he is a walking legend.

Can he do it again? With the way the Arizona running game has performed lately, he may not need to.

St. Louis is 28th against the run and Arizona has amassed 304 yards on the ground the last two games—not bad for a team averaging only 84 yards per game on the season. While starter Tim Hightower is playing well, with five rushing touchdowns and a second-best 45 receptions, it is rookie Beanie Wells who is garnering most of the attention.

Beanie has displayed a wealth of physical gifts en route to a 4.6 yards per carry average and 14 runs of 10 yards or more. His stiff arm is so lethal the NFL competition committee is looking into having it banned. Okay, not really.

Still, the rest of the league has been served notice that Beanie Wells is about to go off .

It should be noted that despite its horrible record St. Louis is 1-1 in its last two games, getting the team’s first win before the bye week and then losing by only five points to an undefeated Saints team, one of if not the best team in the league this season.

In this week’s matchup the Rams have nothing to lose, and a divisional foe for whom to bring out their A-game. This game will be hard fought, so don’t be surprised if the Rams manage to pull off the upset.

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Arizona Cardinals’ Rookie Sensation Beanie Wells Is About to Go Off

We’ve been waiting, and the moment has come. Beanie Wells has arrived.

Wells is establishing himself not only as the most talented running back the Cardinals have seen since the long gone days of Hall of Fame nominee Ottis “O.J.” Anderson, but also the final piece of their elaborate puzzle which could make Arizona a true contender for another Super Bowl run this year and beyond.

Against the Seahawks in a game that saw Arizona struggle early, it was Wells who gave them the extra notch of MVP-esque intensity and determined running that sparked the team to victory.

In three out of the last four games, Wells has been given at least 13 carries and has capitalized with at least 67 yards rushing. Yesterday, he added his second and third touchdowns of his young career.

More impressive than stats alone are the lethal stiff arms, the combination of explosiveness and power, and the ability to break off long, game-changing runs, an element sorely missing from the Arizona attack for eons. In seven out of nine games to date, Wells has had at least one run of 14 yards or more in limited action.

That limited action is the beta version that is about to go live. One of these games, some poor, unsuspecting opponent is going to get gashed by one of the best pure young runners in the game today.

Beanie Wells is about to go off.

Tim Hightower is still the starter and has demonstrated great value to the team that will not diminish in spite of Wells, yet there is no denying the superiority of Beanie’s physical gifts. When you watch Wells run the ball, it is easy to envision comparisons to greats from yesteryear—Jerome Bettis, even Earl Campbell comes to mind.

He is not on their level yet, but he is coming around. For some, the wait for Wells to reach professional prominence has been longer than for others.

Flashback to April 25, 2009. Wells dropped to No. 31 in the 2009 NFL draft because he was tagged “injury prone” while playing at Ohio State. Though he did suffer through ankle , wrist, thumb, foot, toe, hamstring, and concussion injuries during his three-year collegiate career, he only missed three games in all.

No matter—running backs Knowshon Moreno and Donald Brown were both selected ahead of Beanie because of it.

Nonetheless, the Cardinals faithful and most fantasy pundits salivated over Wells , assuming that he could immediately , single-handily turn around a struggling Arizona rushing attack by usurping Hightower’s spot in the starting lineup.

Not so fast, I tried to tell everybody . Hightower is not going anywhere and has some solid skills himself. Yet, now I have no choice but to admit that Beanie is a star in the making.

Yep, Beanie Wells has arrived, and he is about to go off.

This article also appears on NFLTouchdown.com

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Arizona Cardinals’ Rookie Sensation Beanie Wells Is About to Go Off

We’ve been waiting, and the moment has come. Beanie Wells has arrived.

Wells is establishing himself not only as the most talented running back the Cardinals have seen since the long gone days of Hall of Fame nominee Ottis “O.J.” Anderson, but also the final piece of their elaborate puzzle which could make Arizona a true contender for another Super Bowl run this year and beyond.

Against the Seahawks in a game that saw Arizona struggle early, it was Wells who gave them the extra notch of MVP-esque intensity and determined running that sparked the team to victory.

In three out of the last four games, Wells has been given at least 13 carries and has capitalized with at least 67 yards rushing. Yesterday, he added his second and third touchdowns of his young career.

More impressive than stats alone are the lethal stiff arms, the combination of explosiveness and power, and the ability to break off long, game-changing runs, an element sorely missing from the Arizona attack for eons. In seven out of nine games to date, Wells has had at least one run of 14 yards or more in limited action.

That limited action is the beta version that is about to go live. One of these games, some poor, unsuspecting opponent is going to get gashed by one of the best pure young runners in the game today.

Beanie Wells is about to go off.

Tim Hightower is still the starter and has demonstrated great value to the team that will not diminish in spite of Wells, yet there is no denying the superiority of Beanie’s physical gifts. When you watch Wells run the ball, it is easy to envision comparisons to greats from yesteryear—Jerome Bettis, even Earl Campbell comes to mind.

He is not on their level yet, but he is coming around. For some, the wait for Wells to reach professional prominence has been longer than for others.

Flashback to April 25, 2009. Wells dropped to No. 31 in the 2009 NFL draft because he was tagged “injury prone” while playing at Ohio State. Though he did suffer through ankle , wrist, thumb, foot, toe, hamstring, and concussion injuries during his three-year collegiate career, he only missed three games in all.

No matter—running backs Knowshon Moreno and Donald Brown were both selected ahead of Beanie because of it.

Nonetheless, the Cardinals faithful and most fantasy pundits salivated over Wells , assuming that he could immediately , single-handily turn around a struggling Arizona rushing attack by usurping Hightower’s spot in the starting lineup.

Not so fast, I tried to tell everybody . Hightower is not going anywhere and has some solid skills himself. Yet, now I have no choice but to admit that Beanie is a star in the making.

Yep, Beanie Wells has arrived, and he is about to go off.

This article also appears on NFLTouchdown.com

Read more NFL news on BleacherReport.com

Fantasy Reactions: Week 9 Still In Progress Report

So the Fantasy uncertainty that hung over the Houston Texans this week has given way to some clarity.

Some had Kevin Walter pegged as the recipient of Owen Daniels’ touches, but let it be known that one guy who continually gets overlooked may have gotten at least two of those touches. Jacoby Jones has quietly had a solid year to date, and ended the day with a season high four catches for 67 yards.

TE Joel Dreessen only had two catches, answering the question of whether his production would greatly increase (and the answer is no). To be fair, Kevin Walter had 5 catches for 67 yards, his second best outing this year.

While Ryan Moats did indeed start and receive the majority of the carries with 16, he only averaged 2.4 yards per attempt. Still, he made your fantasy gamble digestible with a receiving TD.

One more word of caution though for next week—Moats fumbled. Trust me, the coaching staff noticed.

Chris Chambers was let go by the Chargers and picked up by the Chiefs this week, and celebrated the change of uniform with two TD. While that will make him one of the waiver wire darlings this week, the player that popped out at me from the Chiefs game is WR Lance Long .

As a Cardinals fan I had been pulling for this undrafted player to make the Cards’ squad for two years. He did make it this year but was waived after a week or two.

Kansas City head coach Todd Haley was familiar with him from his days as Arizona offensive coordinator, and picked him up. Long had a team-high 11 targets, eight catches, and 74 yards.

Lets give some props to the Arizona rushing game. It’s not so much that they didn’t have the talent to run the ball effectively, it’s that they didn’t try. They were the last-ranked rushing team coming in due partly because they attempted less times than any other team. Today’s 31 carries for 182 yards for a 5.9 average as a team demonstrates their upside.

One more thing. To say I am tired of hearing about Tim Hightower being a less effective runner than Beanie Wells is an understatement. I finally can admit that Wells clearly has more burst, and more natural ability.

Yet as I have always said, if Hightower doesn’t get hit in the backfield, he is a smash-mouth downhill runner that punishes opponents. Last year and this off-season I had to hear over and over and over how Hightower wasn’t capable of being an every down back because of his 2.8 YPC average.

Well guess what? In a game where both he and Wells ran very well, Hightower averaged 5.1 YPC to Wells’ 5.5.

It seems like almost every week, I check in on Ray Rice in the 3rd or early 4th quarter and his points are average at best. Then by the end of the game he has given me a nice point total. I don’t have any stats in front of me to verify this, just seems like he is devastating in the late stages of the game.

Regardless of when he does it, he is rapidly becoming a Top five RB. In a game where the Ravens only had the ball for a third of the game, Rice caught a team-high eight balls and 87 yards on eight looks and carried the ball a team-high 12 times for 48 and a TD. Meanwhile Willis McGahee has been phased out and did not receive a carry.

To put it another way, he caught eight of the 18 receptions and ran 12 of the 17 times.

This article also appears on FantasyFootball.com

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Cardinals Need To S%#* Or Get Off The Pot

So what is it going to be, Cardinals?

We had been waiting since 1947 for you to get back around to hosting a playoff game. Then, you managed to get to the Super Bowl on a historic postseason hot streak. Don’t leave us now, we haven’t even gotten around to calling you a good team yet!

At least let us get sick of your success first. We are more than ready for that final hurdle to be cleared.

Saying we are eager to see you put together three or four division championships in a row is an understatement. We are downright starving to see you become the consistently dominant team that you have the talent to be.

A 4-3 record is not bad, especially considering you have already had a three-game winning streak and are a magnificent 3-0 on the road. We’ve seen you whoop the perennial super power New York Giants and made the Seahawks look like a high school team.

Yet it is now or never, Cardinals. Anquan Boldin is dangerously close to the magical age of decline (30), and Kurt Warner turns 90 in December.

For real, how much longer can the dynamic quartet of Fitzgerald, Boldin, Breaston, and Warner stay together? NFL life is fleeting, we need more than not bad.

All that passing prowess, plus a young and talented duo in the backfield. What is the reasoning behind Beanie Wells and Tim Hightower not getting on the field at the same time at least a couple of times a game again? Please remind me, because I fail to see how opponents could stop that.

We should be tearing opponents apart! This team has the firepower to post a 50-burger every time out.

More than offensive weaponry, I want to see intensity. Not every other game, but every snap. Play as if you have something to prove even when you don’t. Less talented teams can always accomplish more with the proper amount of determination and desire.

Imagine what you can be with the combination of superior talent AND conviction. If you can’t imagine I’ll go ahead and spell it out for you—Super Bowl champions.

This article also appears on NFL.com‘s BlogBlitz

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