Arizona @ S.F. (1 Viewer)

[Routilla]

I could see this game being either or, but I find it difficult to favor one outcome over the other. O'Sullivan has looked good in pre-season but that and a quarter will get you 25 cents. Warner has not had pressure on him to perform as a starter for a few years and I'm curious how he responds. I don't know that either defense can be considered menacing but both could be in line for some turnovers Sunday. Anyone else have an inkling of what to expect out of these two? How's the 9er DEF look against the pass(Warner), and how's the AZ DEF look against the run(Gore)?

 

[tomarken]

Warner has not had pressure on him to perform as a starter for a few years and I'm curious how he responds.

 

[Routilla]

Warner has not had pressure on him to perform as a starter for a few years and I'm curious how he responds.

He was #2 to Leinart last year before Leinart got hurt. Now he's the starter in week 1 with Leinart backing him up. It's just a switch that's all. I think he has at least a little more pressure on him being the starter from the beginning.

 

[AnonymousBob]

I think this game will be a shootout. I also think San Francisco has a very good chance to win this game so I'm clearly a fan...take what I say with a grain of salt. I think teams relying on the Cardinals defense will regret their decision after going against the Martz coordinated Niners.

 

[Routilla]

I think this game will be a shootout. I also think San Francisco has a very good chance to win this game so I'm clearly a fan...take what I say with a grain of salt. I think teams relying on the Cardinals defense will regret their decision after going against the Martz coordinated Niners.

I was thinking along those lines as well. If SF does have a decent passing game against what I think at least some people would admit is a below average AZ DEF, then AZ will probably throw more than they would like to. The SF DEF is the X-factor IMO. If they are legit then I could see them getting a lead and then hammering Gore. But if they too are below average then Warner will be a good play too.

 

[AnonymousBob]

The Niners have a solid defense but Warner should have a good game. With Boldin and Fitzgerald running their routes, Edge pounding the defensive line and...uhm...well who needs anything else?

Warner is a good play. I'm thinking 250 yards and a touchdown at a minimum. Brady was the only qb better than him to close out last season.

 

[Dragon1952]

Warner got about 10 starts last year alone. One of those was the 2nd game against the 49ers where he had 34 completions out of 48 attempts for 484 yds, 2 TD, 2 INT in a 37-31 OT loss. There was about 1000 combined offensive yds gained in that one.

 

[plapla]

i would stay away from both defenses in this matchup. I believe Martz is capable of points in WK1 for this offense. 49 DEF is never something I would play against Warner, James, Boldin, and Fitz---that is a lot of talent capable of anything.

 

[gianmarco]

Why can't it be both? My thought is that it's easily going to be both.

Both teams are going to turn the ball over and both teams are going to score a lot of points (even some possibly by the defense).

My answer: All of the above.

 

[Buckeyedawgs]

I am just thankful it's not on opening night and it's not a couple high school qb's Leinert vs Smith like it was last year. That was a hard game to watch though it did have a nice finnish when Battle scored on a end around in last minute.

Can't be any worst then it was last year! That's for sure!

 

[drummer]

Or, it could be a battle of the Kickers.

 

[Da Beers]

For what it's worth, the over-under is 42 (AZ by 2.5)

 

[Ozymandias]

For what it's worth, the over-under is 42 (AZ by 2.5)

And that means it is middle of the road. Vegas is hedging its bets on whether it is a shootout or turnover city.

 

[bucsbaby]

I like SF in this one although I expect it to be high-scoring. The difference I think will be in SF's ability to run the ball (Gore) and stop the run (Willis), so I feel like SF can control the TOP and keep Ariz's offense off the field enough to get the job done.

SF 34-Ariz 31

 

[Banger]

I think this game will be a shootout. I also think San Francisco has a very good chance to win this game so I'm clearly a fan...take what I say with a grain of salt. I think teams relying on the Cardinals defense will regret their decision after going against the Martz coordinated Niners.

I don't agree with this. Martz's teams always give up big QB sacks and int's due to the lopsided pass/run ratio. In '07 Detroit had 54 sacks (3rd worst) and goes to the team with the most 55 (tied for 1st).

 

[Banger]

I like SF in this one although I expect it to be high-scoring. The difference I think will be in SF's ability to run the ball (Gore) and stop the run (Willis), so I feel like SF can control the TOP and keep Ariz's offense off the field enough to get the job done.SF 34-Ariz 31

Actually AZ has been awful against the pass (28th) and good against the run (9th) last year. I also wouldn't count on a Martz team to pound the ball. If they shut the run down early he will abandon it like he did time after time with the Lions....

 

[Saint]

Shootout City AND high turnovers is my call.

I think this game could go either way, but I would have to lean towards ARI. I think ARI has the better offense overall. I think both D's will give up a ton of points though.

 

[bucsbaby]

Oh, I fully expect both teams to pass the ball with wild abandon, don't get me wrong. I just think the difference will come down to SF being better able to run and stop the run.

 

[coolice]

Shoot out. I need another solid perf from Warner which he had last against SF.

 

[vincentvega722]

It might be a 34-30 type game or maybe a 14-10 type of game. I probably middle it out to being a 24-20 game. Even though some might consider the '9ers to be a bad team, they do play pretty well against Arizona. It has been a trend recently in the NFC West when a team sweeps another team one year, that losing team will probably sweep that team the next year. Since the '9ers swept Arizona last season, I see Arizona winning this one 24-20. A bit confusing but that's how I look at it.

 

[David Yudkin]

I realize Martz wasn't around, but points scored between the two teams the last 3 years: 37, 68, 61, 46, 45, 27.