2009 Week 9 NFL Free Pick

By Adam Barone

Don’t let last week’s games fool you. The Cardinals are considerably more talented than the Bears, and will have little trouble covering the three points they’re being given.

      Arizona is undefeated on the road this season, and all three wins have been impressive. The Cardinals played at Jacksonville in week two, traveling east and overcoming what seemed to be an insurmountable west-to-east trend in noon games. They later dominated the Seahawks at Qwest field in Seattle, one of the toughest places in the league to be a road team. Then the Cards went to New York and beat the Giants in prime-time when many saw the Giants as the league’s best team.

      The Bears are undefeated at home, having beaten Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Cleveland. They beat the Steelers by three points after Jeff Reed missed two field goals, but Chicago hasn’t been the same team since. The Bears’ offensive line, a jumble of mix-and-match parts, couldn’t contain the defense if all five of them were given guns. Guard Frank Omiyale, once seen as an important free agent signing this past offseason, can’t seem to stop falling on the turf when he should be blocking. He’s been replaced by the very average Josh Beekman. The Bears are 26th in the league in rushing yards per game, and Matt Forte ranks 19th in the league after finishing seventh last season with three different linemen in front of him. Forte scored two touchdowns last week against Cleveland, giving him a total of three on the season. Rookie receiver Johnny Knox (insert lame “Jackass” joke here) leads the team with four scores.

      Arizona turned the ball over six times last week against the Panthers, virtually guaranteeing their loss. Quarterback Kurt Warner was responsible for all six, throwing five picks and fumbling once. That was, by far, his worst game of the season. It’s safe to say that it was a fluke, considering that two of the interceptions were tipped and Panthers’ defensive end Julius Peppers has been playing like he’s from Krypton lately. Panthers’ quarterback Jake Delhomme went the entire game without throwing an interception for the first time all season. Don’t expect Bears’ quarterback Jay Cutler, who’s thrown 11 picks on the season, to deny the Cardinals a turnover for the second straight week.

      A glance at the box score would suggest that the Bears dominated the semi-retarded Browns last week, winning 30-6. A closer look reveals that they had trouble slowing down Jamal Lewis, who averaged 4.3 yards per carry, and benefited greatly from a 6-for-17 performance by Browns’ quarterback Derek Anderson. Bears’ passer Jay Cutler failed to throw a touchdown pass and finished with a 66.7 rating. The Bears managed just three field goals early against the league’s worst defense, and scored one of their touchdowns on an interception return.

      Cardinals’ rookie running back Chris “Beanie” Wells has played phenomenally in limited playing time, and he and his jarring stiff-arm are primed for a breakout performance. Wells is averaging 4.2 yards per carry, compared to Tim Hightower’s 3.3. With more playing time and a chance to get into a rhythm, Wells has the ability to become the NFL’s next superstar runner. The Bears’ 16th ranked run defense is certainly vulnerable to big games, as the Bengals’ Cedric Benson proved with 189 rushing yards in week seven. With Anquan Boldin still questionable with an ankle injury, don’t be surprised to see the Cardinals take the next step in integrating Wells into the offense.

      The Cardinals and their eighth-ranked run defense will prove just how wide the talent gap is in this matchup on Sunday. Bet the underdog.

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