Week Seven Prediction of Cardinals 2014 Season,Interesting Match-Up
By Earl Burnett
Sept 16 2012; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer (3) rolls out of the pocket as Miami Dolphins defensive end Olivier Vernon (50) is blocked by tackle Jared Veldheer (68 ) in the second quarter at Sun Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
It would be easy to say that the Arizona Cardinals week seven match-up is an automatic win, but that is far from the case as the Oakland Raiders are the opponent. The Raiders have their usual “Raiders look good on paper” quote from all of the experts every summer, but this time on paper may just translate to the actual playing field.
The Cardinals starting quarterback Carson Palmer will return to Oakland for the first time since his trade last season, and he and the Raider defense will be motivated to beat each other.
Oakland improved with the addition of some veterans like Justin Tuck and LaMarr Woodley, which will give them leadership on defense, and the running game adding Maurice Jones-Drew to combine with Darren McFadden and also a proven passer Matt Schaub on offense. These moves definitely look good on paper but they must magically gel together in one off season. A situation the Cardinals are all to familiar with as they went through it early last year, and that will be part of their advantage in this ball game.
Cardinals offense will have a field day in this game as another ex-Raider will look to dominate his old team, offensive tackle Jared Veldheer will be a beast in this game and sure to not let anything touch his quarterback.
This will probably be the Cardinals best offensive out-put of the year so far, in fact it could also be their break-out party on offense in the scoring department.
Look for the the deep ball set-up by the screen play to Andre Ellington to be huge in this game, Raiders will look to pound their running game to set up the pass, But the Cardinals number one ranked rushing defense is seasoned being under the Todd Bowles system for two years now, and will shut down the run and blanket receivers on the outside and get pressure on Schaub all day.
This will be a Cardinals win and Palmer and Veldheer will be praised for their play, as the Cards will improve to (4-2) on the year, by prediction of course.