A lot of people use the term “must win game” too loosely in sports. A must win game means if a team loses their season or playoff run is over. I don’t think a loss in week 2 ends any teams season but it can be a “make or break game”, and that’s what I’m calling this one. Make or Break.
- This becomes a “make or break game” for a couple of reasons. If the Cardinals lose the confidence of the team has to slide a bit, especially if they lose to the worst team in the NFL last year. That feeling that they might look like the best team in the division will go away, and all of a sudden they will be right back in the mix with a bunch of bad teams in a bad division. Even though the Cardinals wins would be against two less than average teams, A win this week would solidify them as the team to beat in the NFC West this season. Huge game for confidence.
- Maybe most importantly the Cardinals fans would lose interest in the team once again if they were to lose. It’s bad enough the Cardinals could barely sell out their home opener. How do you think the fans would react if they lost to the Dolphins at home? There probably wouldn’t be a season full of sell outs like they had the previous two years. That obviously means the Cardinals wouldn’t be on TV for those games which would hurt their popularity even more. So a loss here could be detrimental to the Cardinals fan base in a fairly large way.
- The Arizona Cardinals haven’t started a season 2-0 since 1991. Every other team in the NFL has started 2-0 at least once since 1992 except for the Cardinals. That stat makes me wonder why I haven’t been like so many other Arizonians and stop cheering for the Cardinals. But then I remember that a true fan has unconditional love for their team, and I stress the word unconditional. It’s a depressing stat but I won’t let it get to my head. I think the Cardinals will win their second game and be off and running to their season of destiny.
- Keys to the game… First the Cardinals defense needs to somehow stop the run. Gabe Watson and Alan Branch are still not at full strength. This means Bryan Robinson, Kenny Iwebema, and Calais Campbell are going to need to step up and contain Ricky Williams and Ronnie Brown. If the Dolphins can establish the run then this game might get ugly. If the Cardinals can find a way to stop the run then I don’t think this game will be close. The other key to the game is protect Kurt Warner. Kurt is as good as any quarterback in history if you give him time in the pocket, but if a team can get pressure on him he becomes a sitting duck. If the O-line can just give Warner a few seconds it should become a track meet. The Dolphins cornerbacks can’t handle the Cardinals wide receivers.
My prediction in this one is the Cardinals win their second game in a row 31-17.