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Looking ahead to this week's matchup against Arizona I think we have a shot to win. It's always hard to say what you have on a team (theirs or ours) after week 1 but I think we matchup better here for one simple reason: Carson Palmer is more Jay Cutler than he is Aaron Rodgers. Despite all the media hype and love of Palmer I've seen him have equally bad games as Cutler, often worse. He can make equally nice throws into coverage too so you just don't know what you'll get. He is a stationary target and that will help our pass rushers quite a bit, especially if we can get some pressure up the middle.

 

Larry Fitzgerald: He's not as quick or as fast as he used to be so he is typically very well covered and often doesn't get passes thrown his way. Somehow he had 6 receptions last week. He still has great hands and can make tough catches in traffic. I'm not worried about him coming into the game. More often than not I see him making plays on crossing routes underneath the coverage.

 

Michael Floyd: Another big body WR who can go up and get the ball. He can disappear at times and then show up and hurt you. Not sure how well he looks this year but he's more of a concern than Fitzgerald at this point.

 

John Brown: Small, fast WR. He is the threat that can really take the top off the defense.

 

Cards Oline: They have questions just like we do. Hard to say if we'll be able to take advantage of their weaknesses but I expect guys like McPhee are going to win some battles on the edge and get pressure. They have a backup filling in for Iupati again this week. They played the Saints (weak defense) in week 1 so there isn't much to gain from how they performed. Can we take advantage?

 

RB: Ellington is the guy who worried me the most but he injured his knee last week and won't be playing. That leaves Chris Johnson who was signed late in preseason and then injured his hamstring. Johnson played last week but his conditioning and experience in the offense is questionable. The Cards 3rd string RB is a rookie from Northern Iowa. Big man with some speed but not a lot of shiftiness. I assume he wasn't picking things up very well in preseason because the Cards made the late decision to bring in C.J. but his one reception last week went for 55 yards and a TD.

 

Defense: One thing that will help as we prepare for this week is the Cards use a similar scheme as Green Bay. This should help guys like Kyle Long settle in. One big difference is their Mr. Everywhere is FS Tyrann Mathieu who closes on plays aggressively and takes some liberties to drop off his coverage n attempts to make plays undercutting routes. Cutler needs to know where he is at all times.

 

Dline: This has been the strength of the defense in years past with guys like Calais Campbell often getting into the backfield. Fortunately he should be lined up opposite Slausson and not Ducasse. Their starting NT is out for the season so it'll be a backup at NT.

 

LB: Their ILB don't have the range our guys have but I don't know how well this group of ILB/OLB are playing this season.

 

CB: Patrick Peterson will stay with anyone on our roster. In years past he's been soft on his technique giving up some plays but this year he's improved. We should look the other way first.

 

Looking at what Brees did against the Cards he used Ingram out of the backfield for almost 100 receiving yards. They didn't gain much rushing but if we can get the running game going a bit then we should be able to take advantage of Forte out of the backfield. I look for Martellus to have a big game. This is a well coached team and they aren't going to quit without a fight but they have more weaknesses than Green Bay. Hopefully we can take advantage of the home field and grab a big win.

 

forgot to include this link

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap300000051...ggles-on-palmer

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Somehow ESPN has them ranked as #6 in their Power Rankings, which to me is laughable. I see this as a very winnable game, more so than Week 1 against GB. Ellington is out, and they really have no running game. None of their WRs or TEs are elite, so we shouldn't have to shade coverage.

 

Their defense is pretty good, but Brees had a bunch of opportunities in the passing game with Ingram getting a ton of looks out of the backfield. I see a busy day for Forte out of the backfield.

 

Our WR's should be much better in Week 2 after another week to heal and get up to speed with the offense.

 

Bears 27 - Cards 17

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I was a real big fan of David Johnson coming out of the draft, calling him a poor mans Matt Forte. Even took him as a late round flyer in fantasy football. I'd look out for him this game as I don't really buy CJ>1k being a workhorse anymore. ...... John Brown is scary too, got him going in draftkings.

 

I do like our chances a bit more though.

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Somehow ESPN has them ranked as #6 in their Power Rankings, which to me is laughable. I see this as a very winnable game, more so than Week 1 against GB. Ellington is out, and they really have no running game. None of their WRs or TEs are elite, so we shouldn't have to shade coverage.

 

Their defense is pretty good, but Brees had a bunch of opportunities in the passing game with Ingram getting a ton of looks out of the backfield. I see a busy day for Forte out of the backfield.

 

Our WR's should be much better in Week 2 after another week to heal and get up to speed with the offense.

 

Bears 27 - Cards 17

 

Our First 3 games are against Teams ranked 6 or better. What a nice way to start the 2015 season off.

 

AZ not having Ellington helps out. Floyd is not 100% with a hand injury.

 

 

AZ is still a solid team but I think the Bears will have a better chance at creating a turnover or 2 on D. Rodgers was near perfect against 18 for 23. I do not expect Palmer to play a near perfect game like Rodgers.

 

 

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Honestly, I don't know what to make of the Bears yet. In previous years, under previous defensive schemes, this would be one of those games for which we have high hope, but inevitably we'd encounter disappointment as Carson Palmer became the reincarnated Joe Montana. 5-15 yard passes over and over and over, and there would be nothing the Bears could do about it.

 

I think this game, however, is an unknown. The Cards D vs the Bears O seems like a pretty even matchup. The Cards O vs the Bears D is something I don't feel great about. But as chitownhustla just said, Palmer is not Rogers, and those perfect passes that Rogers threw will have a little more air, or will be off by a yard one way or another. Those are the opportunities the Bears' D needs to grasp, and whether or not they do will be the difference in the game.

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