Gameday Preview: Oakland Raiders vs. Arizona Cardinals
By Scott Allen
The Arizona Cardinals open their home schedule on Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.
When: 2:00pm University of Phoenix Stadium
TV/Radio: CBS 5 /92.3 KTAR
The Cards come home to face a team that has some things in common. Both have defeated the St. Louis Rams. Both are looking to go to 2-1. Both have issues at quarterback, although the Raiders have already made their move in benching Jason Campbell in favor of Bruce Gradkowski.
Gradkowski came in last week to lead a stagnant offense to a victory over the Rams 16-14. It was a little surprising that the move was made to replace Campbell not only in last weeks game but for this weeks game as well. Then again, that’s the Raiders for you. Campbell signed a huge free-agent contract in the off-season. I probably would have given the guy a couple more games. However, you can’t complain what Gradkowski brings to the tablde.
As for the Cardinals, they have their own quarterback issues to deal with. Derek Anderson hasn’t played particularly well in the first couple of weeks. He was serviceable in week one and had a hard time getting the offense going last week in Atlanta, getting picked off twice. So it should be interesting to see if either offense can get something going this week.
Best Matchup: Cards wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald vs. Raiders cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha. It has been hard enough getting Fitz some catches over the past two weeks. It doesn’t seem it will be any easier for him today against Asomugha, Hopefully last weeks garbage time in Atlanta and this weeks practice time has allowed Anderson and Fitz to get on the same page. They will have to be on their “A” game with the Oakland defensive backfield roaming around.
Prediction: If this game was in Oakland, I think it would be a little tougher to predict for me. It is still a game that makes you stop and think for a minutes as it is. Given the Cards history of responding to big losses in the coach Ken Whisenhunt era, this being the home opener, and the Cards wanting to make people forget about last week, including themselves, Arizona should be able to prevail today in front of a sellout crowd in Glendale. Arizona 20 Oakland 10