To get you ready for week 3, FanHouse is previewing all 16 NFL games. Here is the Arizona Cardinals/Baltimore Ravens preview.
2007 Records:
Arizona Cardinals: 1-1 (t-2nd in NFC West)
Baltimore Ravens: 1-1 (t-2nd in AFC North)
Last Week:
Arizona 23, Seattle 20Baltimore 20, New York Jets 13
Last Meeting: October 12, 2003 – Baltimore 26, Arizona 18. Baltimore picks off former Raven Jeff Blake three times and wins without scoring a offensive touchdown.
When the Cardinals have the ball: In the preseason the focus was on
Matt Leinart and his talented band of wide receivers. The first two weeks have shown that
Ken Whisenhunt and
Russ Grimm brought a taste for the running game with them from Pittsburgh.
Edgerrin James looks revitalized and the Cardinals have rolled up an average of 146 yards per game through the first two. The Ravens have a rugged front seven, even without the injured
Trevor Pryce, so Leinart will still be called on to make plays. He'll need to be accurate and keep an eye out for playmaker
Ed Reed.
The Ravens defense will do what it always does: attack. They need to avoid the fourth-quarter letdown they suffered last Sunday and steel themselves for the power running game. Defensive coordinator
Rex Ryan doesn't let offenses dictate the pace of games, though, so look for a lot of activity up the middle to trip up the running game.
Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.
