49ers-Cardinals: Monday Night Football Battle To Keep Playoff Hopes Alive

San Francisco 49ers at Arizona Cardinals
Monday November 29, 2010 8:30 PM EST
Line: San Francisco -2
Overview:
Here we are in Week 11 and the Cardinals and 49ers are both a miserable 3-7. Both teams have shown flashes of what they could be if they put it together, but poor quarterback play and an underachieving defense puts them tied for last place. That being said, the winner of this game will move to 4-7, putting them one game out of first place in the NFC West.
Keys to the Game:
Frank Gore needs to get a lot of football jersey
carries. Frank Gore always does well against the Cardinals and on Monday Night Football. When Gore does well, the entire offense clicks. Troy Smith showed last week that his game is obviously lacking in some areas. Gore will need to have a big day, which will be more difficult with two rookies on the field and two 49ers offensive linemen, Eric Heitman and Joe Staley, sidelined with broken legs.
How bad will the Cardinals be on offense? Larry Fitzgerald has been improving lately, but he still hasn’t taken over games like he did when Kurt Warner was there. The Cardinals will have a tough time running the ball, as Parick Willis leads a defense that is built to stop the run. The Cardinals are splotchy on offense and will need to limit mistakes in order to make this one close.
The Cardinals need to keep Troy Smith contained. Last week, Troy Smith had a tough game against the Buccaneers. The Bucs kept Smith contained in the pocket, which didn’t allow him to extend plays and get the ball down the field. Troy Smith got the start over Alex Smith because he showed he could get the ball to Michael Crabtree, Vernon Davis and Frank Gore. The Cardinals need to be aggressive on the outside with their pass rush and contain Troy Smith within the confines of the pocket. Joey Porter is going to have to have a big day for the Cardinals.
The 49ers defense needs to focus on the run. If the Cardinals get their run game going, they will be less apt to put the ball in the air, where they make mistakes. Last week, they allowed the Bucs to pound the football tirelessly. The 49ers have the personnel to shut down the run game, but they can get caught up in playing safe and making plays five yards down field, rather than at the line of scrimmage.
Taylor Mays should be back in the lineup. cheap nfl jerseys
Mays has done everything the 49ers have asked him to do. He might be shaky in coverage, but the 49ers need his sense of urgency on defense. He is a great tackling safety and he has been making plays this year. The 49ers needed to make changes after the slow start, but punishing Mays for doing everything they have called on him to do is unfair. The best 11 should be on the field and Taylor Mays is one of the best 11.
Troy Smith Vs. Derek Anderson
Troy Smith looked like he had complete command of the offense in his first two games. While a regression was obviously anticipated, the lackluster performance against Tampa Bay has fans wondering if they will ever find a legitimate starting quarterback. I anticipate he will get back on track this week. He doesn’t make a ton of mistakes, but he holds onto the ball far too long. The offensive line isn’t good enough to hang onto the ball and wait for things to develop.
Derek Anderson is one of those quarterbacks that fans have to hold their breath every single time he drops back to pass. Anderson still struggles to utilize his targets and he has meltdown potential. The winner of this quarterback battle will likely win the game. It is likely both will struggle, but whoever struggles less could come away with the victory. Playing mistake-free and allowing the other to self destruct could lead to a victory.
Wrap Up:
The Cardinals have dropped five games in a row. While the 49ers certainly have nothing to brag about at this point in the season, they have won two of their last three games and three of their last five. Both of these teams are definitely in panic mode at this point.
They need a win on Monday Night Footballto nfl jerseys
allow them any shot at creeping into the playoff talks. Both teams are obviously vulnerable. While it’s obviously the worst Monday Night matchup of the year, someone is still going to cover. I’m taking the 49ers, because the Cardinals don’t look they are going to be able to get out of their downward spiral.
Free NFL Pick: San Francisco -2

NFL Odds: Denver Broncos Getting Almost Double Digits at Kansas City Chiefs

Justin Edmonds/Getty ImagesThe AFC West-leading Kansas City Chiefs have recorded blowout victories over Arizona and Seattle the last two weeks, but they were blown out at Denver three weeks ago. The Chiefs will try to avenge that lopsided defeat when they meet the Broncos at Arrowhead Stadium Sunday.NFL oddsmakers expect Kansas City to have its revenge. They have listed the Chiefs as a 9-point favorite with the total set at 48.5.Kansas City, who leads San Diego by one game in the West, can’t afford nfl jerseys
a letdown before meeting the Chargers in San Diego next week. But the Chiefs didn’t fare well in their first showdown with Denver. They fell behind 35-0 in the first-half of their embarrassing loss in the Mile High City.Motivated by that loss, Kansas City has bounced back strong. It crushed Arizona 31-13 on Nov. 21 and rolled past Seattle 42-24 last Sunday. The Chiefs racked up a season-high 503 yards of offense against Seattle.Quarterback Matt Cassel had one of his best days as a pro with four touchdown strikes. Three of them went to underrated wide receiver Dwayne Bowe, who leads the NFL with 14 touchdowns. Bowe has now caught at least one touchdown pass in seven straight games.In all, he caught 13 passes for 170 yards and now ranks fifth in the league with 885 yards receiving.Kansas City’s league-leading rushing offense (174.3 yards per game) wasn’t to be outdone as it racked up 270 yards. Running back Jamaal Charles gained 173 of those yards on 22 totes to break 1,000 yards on the season.Kansas City does not want to fall behind early Sunday as that would keep it from establishing its running game. That was the case three weeks ago in Denver. The Chiefs should be able to find some running room against a Denver defense giving up 141.6 yards per game on the ground (30th in the NFL).Kansas City has to be happy to return home, where it is undefeated (5-0) and winning by an average of 14.2 points.The New Orleans Saints jersey
Broncos are just 3-7-1 against the spread in their last 11 trips to Arrowhead.Since blowing out the Chiefs three weeks ago, Denver has gone backwards. It fell 35-14 at San Diego on Nov. 22 and 36-33 to St. Louis last week. The Broncos trailed the Rams 33-13 before scoring 20 points in the fourth.Denver’s Nov. 14 win over the Chiefs is its only victory both straight up and against the spread in its last seven games. The Broncos are just 5-16 in their last 21 games since starting last season 6-0.While Denver’s playoff hopes are all but shot, it does have a chance to sweep the Chiefs for the first time since 2007.The Broncos just may be able to get that done if quarterback Kyle Orton continues his awesome play. Orton leads the NFL with 3,370 passing yards after throwing for 347 against St. Louis.The Purdue product picked apart the Kansas City secondary to the tune of 296 yards and four touchdowns last month. Orton certainly had a November to remember as far as personal accolades go, throwing eight touchdown strikes and only one interception.Playing just a few hours from his hometown of Altoona, Iowa, Orton may be poised to put on a show for friends and family making the trip.The Chiefs are just football jerseys
3-9-1 against the number in their last 13 games as a favorite.Jimmy Boyd brought home the bacon in Week 12, and he’s ready for another profitable week. Cash in big by betting the same NFL picks as this world champion handicapper!

Week 14 NFL Power Rankings: Focus on the Oakland Raiders

Jeff Gross/Getty ImagesAt my site—www.GuysNation.com—I do a weekly power ranking of all 32 NFL teams. It's a hugely subjective process in which I account for a team's strength of schedule, margin of victory, good wins and bad losses.Where do the Chicago Bears jersey
Oakland Raiders currently rank?I'll admit it, I was starting to buy into the Oakland Raiders. Leading into their bye week, they went on three-game streak of victories, with two lopsided wins—against the Broncos in Denver and then while hosting the Seahawks. Their Week 9 victory over the Chiefs wasn't by a large margin, but the Chiefs are a good team and again, it's a division game.Following the bye week, I wondered what to expect as the Raiders traveled to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers. Although the margin of victory was fairly large and Oakland didn't score a touchdown, every team is allowed to slip up here and there.Then I figured the Raiders would have a good follow-up as they hosted Miami in Week 12, but again they fell far short of victory, though not by a huge margin.In a very encouraging win, Oakland took down divisional opponent San Diego for the second time this season, bringing them to 4-0 against the AFC West this season which is very impressive as teams often lose three games on their schedule in the away games in their division. Two of those road games are already accounted for, making it even more of a resume shining star.Does it seem like the Raiders will be a playoff team? They could certainly cause havoc if they reach the postseason, and they've definitely got a leg up on San Diego after beating them twice. But the Chiefs have a two game overall record advantage over Oakland, so even if the Raiders beat Kansas City again this season it's going to be tough to overtake them for the division, so it's going to be all about the wild card.Twelve teams make the playoffs...do I have the Raiders in that group?For the complete rankings and analysis, check out the article on my website, Unlike Power Rankings you see elsewhere, nfl throwback jerseys
your comments could help persuade me to rank your team better after Week 13!You also will probably enjoy voicing your opinion through voting in nearly a dozen polls set up to help get people's feedback on the Power Rankings!You also might like the dueling NFL Week 14 picks article on GuysNation.com, a new(ish) feature where the games on a given week's NFL schedule are debated amongst myself and another author on my site (who just happens to be a LIFE LONG PHILADELPHIA EAGLES FAN, so you KNOW he's got a high opinion of his opinion!)

Pittsburgh Steelers Antwaan Randle-El

The Pittsburgh Steelers' "One for the Thumb" year wasn't just a football season, it was a made-for-TV movie.The team's progress into the Super Bowl and beyond had all the thematic elements that Hollywood has grown to love -- happy times in the beginning, followed by a crisis (an injury to QB Ben Roethlisberger and three straight losses), then a dramatic resolution. The 21-10 Super Bowl victory over Seattle was dedicated not only to homecoming and retiring veteran RB Jerome Bettis, but to head coach Bill Cowher 4 Brett Favre White jersey
(frustrated in 10 previous trips to the playoffs) and the no-nonsense but lovable Rooney family. It was a heartwarming story indeed.But will it continue? Four key Steelers -- DE Kimo von Oehlhofen, DB Deshea Townsend, WR/KR Antwaan Randle-El and DB Chris Hope -- will be free agents, along with backup quarterback Charlie Batch. Offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt, author of the trick play that produced one of three touchdowns against the Seahawks, almost took the ' head coaching job. Of course, all this is nothing new. There was some consternation in Steeler Nation last year when the team let WR Plaxico Burress walk, only to be replaced with cheers for bargain basement free agent replacement Cedrick Wilson. The question is whether or not they can afford to do the same with Randle-El, who is not only a solid receiver but one of the league's best punt returners and a guy who can play quarterback in a pinch.The team believes nickel back Bryant McFadden can step in for Townsend and Brett Keisel for von Oelhofen, and the Steelers will save $5.6 million if Bettis -- the Bus -- parks himself for good. That would seem to leave Randle-El and Hope as the key free agent targets, although Pittsburgh will also make a serious effort to resign Batch.Bettis was certainly on the downside of his career, although still thunderingly scary as a red zone back, but his departure will leave a hole the size of, well, a bus. While Willie Parker emerged as the starter in 2005, his performance was uneven (the 75-yard touchdown run against Seattle was his only significant touch all night).If Duce Staley can come back from the knee injury that sidelined him most of 2005, he'll probably step into Bettis' role. Verron Haynes is the third down back, Dan Kreider the fullback. And that's it.All of this makes the 2006 draft highly problematic, even beyond the fact that it's almost impossible to plan when you're picking last. If Randle-El stays, the Steelers are set at wide receiver. If he goes, they'll have to look elsewhere for another wideout. Center Jeff Hartings, although a Pro Bowler, is getting old and prone to injuries. Another running back has to be a priority, if only for reasons of depth. Should both Hope and Townsend escape as free agents, the secondary will be suddenly thin.It's also difficult to ignore the fact that Pittsburgh got some breaks along its difficult path (five straight victories on the road, three of them as a wild card in the post-season) to Detroit. Dallas Cowboys jersey
Cincinnati seemed poised to eliminate its old nemesis before QB Carson Palmer was knocked out of their playoff game early in the first quarter. Roethlisberger was in the right place at the right time to keep the Colts' Nick Harper from scoring on a last-ditch interception return. In the Super Bowl itself, the Steelers were the beneficiaries of several close officiating calls that could have gone either way, as well as subpar performances by both Shaun Alexander and Matt Hasselbeck.This is a very good team, in short, with one of the stronger defenses in the league. But it's probably not a dominant team.Noted coach Cowher in the Super Bowl afterglow: "It's going to be like starting over. We're going to be re-establishing our group of guys with the mentality and identity that's going to be different from this season."He has no choice. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, 2005-06 will never be duplicated.

San Francisco 49ers Ahmed Plummer Johnnie Morton Chris Cooper

On Thursday, the San Francisco 49ers took action to prepare their roster for the future. They did this by releasing CB Ahmed Plummer, WR Johnnie Morton, and DE Chris Cooper. The move sends a clear signal that head coach Mike Nolan only wants players on his team that have a chance to 36 Bettis Black Jersey
contribute in the future. This mode of thinking is in clear contrast to last season when Nolan joined the club with a 'win now' attitude. The change of direction occurred after another miserable season, and hopefully did not come a year too late.Ahmed Plummer was a former first round draft pick of the 49ers. He has been the team's longest-standing defensive back over the last few years – but most of his seasons have been plagued by injury and somewhat inconsistent play. Plummer was an average corner with the team, but his salary structure was far above his value to the team. The 49ers will have to take a salary cap hit of about $7.5 million for his release.Wide receiver Johnnie Morton brought a veteran presence to the team's young receiving corps and stepped in admirably for Cedric Wilson who left to the join the Super Bowl champion Steelers last offseason. Morton was benched for the final two weeks of the season despite being healthy as the team began preparing its roster for the future. The 49ers dealt with injuries to receivers all last season, and also lost Derek Hamilton, PJ Fleck, and former first-round pick Rashaun Woods to the injured reserve. This move likely raises the need to add some security to the teams' receiving depth chart. Morton's departure leaves the 49ers with about $75 000 in dead money.Defensive end Chris Cooper spent the season on injured reserve in 2005, and since the 49ers are likely to address their defensive line issues this offseason, they likely felt that Cooper was not in their long-term plans. Cooper signed a 2 year contract last offseason, and the dead money created by his departure will be quite minimal.49ERS WIN COIN TOSSAccording to various published reports the San Francisco 49ers 2010 pro bowl Vikings 4 Brett Favre jersey
have won the coin toss between them and the that was held at the NFL combine on Friday morning.That means that the 49ers will have the sixth overall pick in this April's NFL draft while the Raiders will settle for the seventh overall pick.For the latest news, draft information, and resources about the 49ers visit 49ersparadise.com - you can also contact Bryan Hersh from there

San Francisco 49ers "Sidney Rice draft prospectus"

In Monday's column regarding Dwayne Jarrett and the chances he could be drafted by the San Francisco 49ers, I wrapped things up with the following paragraph:"In my opinion, Jarrett will be a very good pro ... (but) I really don't think the Niners are going to be taking him, especially when they could get the same type of Steelers 43 Polamalu jersey
receiver in the second round." The player I was referring to has a name that all football fans are familiar with. A name that helped define the 49ers franchise for nearly two decades: Rice. Jerry Rice, to be exact.Today's Rice, Sidney, is a 6-foot-3, 200-pound wide receiver from the University of South Carolina who chose to declare for the draft after his redshirt-sophomore season. Although many scouts feel Rice should have returned to school for one more year of polishing, he is still a phenomenal athlete, and he has arguably the best hands of any receiver in the draft. Rice only played two seasons for the Gamecocks, but he put up remarkable numbers and dominated his SEC opponents each week. In 24 games he grabbed 142 passes for 2,233 yards (15.7 per catch) and 23 touchdowns.In the NBA, a prospect with a large wingspan and excellent vertical leap is referred to as "long," and the word is a fitting description of Rice. With his long arms, lanky frame and 39.5-inch vertical, he plays even taller than his substantial 6-3 height, and he has a natural advantage over the smaller cornerbacks in the NFL. Granted, Rice is not as well built as Calvin Johnson, Dwayne Jarrett or Dwayne Bowe, but he is physical enough to shield off defensive backs and knows how to use his body to his advantage. Also, he is excellent at catching the ball at its highest point, and he rarely used his body to make the catch. He knows how to set up cornerbacks when he runs his routes, too, and does not take false steps.Though Rice is not a speed demon like Robert Meachem or Ted Ginn Jr., he ran a 4.51 40-yard dash, which is good enough for him to be a dominant force in the NFL in the right system. No matter what, he will be the type of red zone threat teams crave -- Chris Henry minus the baggage...and gun.In spite of all of his positive attributes, however, Rice is not projected as a top pick in the draft. NFLDraftCountdown.com says of Rice, "The key word is upside, and Steelers 43 Polamalu jersey
had he gone back to school for one more year he might have been a top five-10 overall pick in 2008...A bit of a project who teams will have to be patient with and develop, but he certainly has No. 1 wideout potential at the next level and could ultimately end up being a steal."Rice could certainly end up being a steal, because he will be almost assuredly be available in the second round when the Niners are on the clock. I hesitate to use the word "guarantee," but depending on your outlook on the class, there are five receivers who will likely go ahead of him: Johnson, Jarrett, Ginn Jr., Bowe and Meachem. But why? Well, for one, he has dealt with numerous injuries throughout his career. He missed the 2004 season because of a hyper-extended left knee; he broke a finger and had to have surgery on it in 2005; and prior to the 2006 season, he broke his thumb.Big deal. Niners running back Frank Gore barely even played in college, and he had one of the most productive seasons in the history of the NFL last year.Another knock on Rice is his lack of experience. Again, big deal. As mentioned earlier, it's widely believed that had he waited to come out in 2008 draft, he'd have been a top-10 pick. He has all the talent and potential you can ask for in a receiver, and for the 2010 pro bowl Vikings 4 Brett Favre jersey
Niners, he is the perfect fit in the second round. San Francisco needs a receiver with height who can make plays in the red zone. As of right now, the 49ers simply do not have that player on their team, and they will not find someone with Rice's potential later in the draft. Question? Comment? Have a player you want to see profiled? E-mail Thomas at tsorrell .Stay up to date with the San Francisco 49ers and the rest of the NFL this offseason

Soft Schedule Early

Wasn't there a book called "A Tale of Two Seasons"?It's a question I should know the answer to, seeing as I was an English major during Reagan's second term. But my time now is spent watching football, following football news and then writing about football. So with that in mind, I tried to analyze the ' 2006 schedule. 2010 pro bowl Vikings 4 Brett Favre jersey
And this year could truly turn out to be a tale of two seasons.This Sunday the Colts will beat up, I mean play, the Tennessee Titans -- a squad they manhandled 35-3 the last time they met. The matchup follows games against the Giants, Texans, Jaguars and Jets. After the Titans game, Indianapolis gets a week off to rest. Not exactly the toughest start to an NFL season, eh?Despite struggles in several of those contests, the Colts won all of their first four games and should, by all accounts, go into their bye with a 5-0 record to look back on.But looking ahead it's an entirely different scenario.First, the Washington Redskins come to town, a team just waking up and still clawing their way up the NFC East division standings. After that the Colts travel to Denver to play against the Broncos, who always play well at Mile High. Next they head to New England to try and avenge a few recent playoff losses to the Patriots. Then it's home against Buffalo, away at Dallas and home against Philly.To top it off they play three of their final five games on the road, where all football teams play a little bit better -- even the Titans.That stretch has to concern the team's top brass, to put it mildly. With the defense still missing standouts Corey Simon and Bob Sanders, and with Dwight Freeney not at 100 percent yet this season, there's reason to be worried. The Colts have not shut down an opponent's running game yet, and they've only succeeded in their own ground game against Houston and the Jets, two teams that haven't stopped anyone's backs.The 6 Sanchez White Jersey
Redskins, Broncos and Cowboys all run and defend against the run very well. Indianapolis should have a good gauge on how the season might turn out by the time those three contests are over in mid-November.Rest up, boys -- you're gonna need it. That undefeated feeling won't last long after the bye week.Original insights