The Cardinals hope to take their week six momentum through the bye week into this weeks match up against NFC top dawg, Carolina.
Carolina, like the Cards, is a very polarized team between road and home games. They got man handled in Tampa Bay two weeks ago, but rebounded by routing New Orleans last week. The Cardinals have only beaten the 49ers on the road this year, but are unbeaten at home.
If only both teams could be at home, then it might be a good game. Most critics believe the Cards will be their old road selves, and don’t stand a chance against the Panthers and Steve Smith. Personally, the Dallas game may have given the Cards that extra boost they need to get over their road game funk.
Expect a lot of passing yards in this game, as Anquan Boldin could be returning for the Cards, and Steve Smith will be testing the Arizona secondary. If the Cards avoid turning the ball over and can keep pressure on Jake Delhomme, they could come away with this one. They have, after all, injured the last two quarterback’s they’ve faced so Delhomme might want to tread carefully.
If the Cards can come away with a win they will have gotten over the hump and proved to the rest of the league that they are a viable playoff contender. A victory would also mean Arizona’s first 5-2 start since the seventies. The closes they got was starting 4-2 six years ago, but that season they only managed one more victory in a 5-11 season. Let’s hope this isn’t another 2002.
