I'm not intimidated by Arizona.

[Pappy13]

I may be jinxing Miami by saying this, but I don't see this game as a slam dunk for Arizona. Yeah, they are 3-0 and playing pretty well, I won't deny that, but I don't think their 3 wins are all that impressive. They've beaten Seattle, New England and Philly, but Seattle isn't all that good despite their record and New England and Philly have not be playing particularly well as of late either. Don't forget that New England lost Hernandez early in the game against Arizona and they didn't really seem to adjust well. In fact Brady and the New England offense has been trying to find it's identity all year and hasn't looked the same this year in my opinion. Philly is kinda going through the same thing as Michael Vick is struggling to find a rhthym. Except for the Philly game, Arizona isn't exactly blowing out teams beating the Seahawks 20-16 with a TD drive in the last 5 minutes of the game to clinch it and then they beat New England when Gostkowski inexplicably missed a FG that would have won it for NE despite the fact they played pretty uninspired football the entire game and still had a 25-16 1st down advantage. They moved the ball in the game, but they couldn't get into the endzone and settled for a ton of FG's. New England and Philly are also both pass oriented teams which plays into Arizona's strengths on defense which is their backfield.

No, I'm not willing to go out on a limb and say that Miami will upset the Cards this weekend, but I won't rule it out either. I think the game is gonna be close especially if Bush plays and looks his usual self. The key for Miami will be in not turning the ball over. If they can do that on Offense, I think Miami's defense will be able to handle Arizona's offense which really isn't that good. If Miami is able to run the ball, not put up a lot of passes and not turn the ball over, they'll still be in the game in the 4th quarter.

That's just my opinion, I could be wrong.

[Brian Fein]

I'm not either.  I find Arizona to be obscenely overrated.  Don't forget the only reason they beat New England is because Gostkowski missed the game winner at the end.

Before the season, everyone had them slated as bottom dwellers.  Rip off a few wins over lack-luster teams and now they're engraving the Lombardi trophy.

[Fins4ever]

AZ. went 7-2 their last 9 games of 2011, which makes them 10-2 in the last 12. Hard to believe that is a fluke. The Cards have a stingy defense and their success mainly hinders on the play of the QB and the health of RB Beanie Wells. It looks like Kolb was not a bust after all.

For Miami to win, they will need to play better than they did last week. Should be a good, low scoring game.

http://www.fbschedules.com/nfl-11/2011-arizona-cardinals-football-schedule.php

[EKnight]

People are talking about the New England win like the Cardinals beat an expansion team. Wtf? And Miami is going to contain their offense? Which three guys in the secondary are going to cover Fitz? The line is 6.5. That seems about right to me, but a double digit win by Arizona wouldn't shock me. -EK

[Brian Fein]

Beanie Wells is on IR.  What else ya got?

New England beat themselves in that game.  Since when do they lose when the opponent scores only 20?

[AZ Fins Fan 55]

As someone who watches a lot of Cardinals football I can tell you their defense is fast and really, really good. The offense has never impressed me since Warner retired. Kolb has put together a couple of games where he has been serviceable and hasn't made his typical boneheaded mistakes but I still do not think he is a good QB. If Miami's pass rush can get to him and lay a couple of good hits on him he will start chucking Int's and making horrible passes. AZ's offensive line is just downright horrible, they create no push therefore AZ cannot get their running game going. Beanie being out only really hurts them at the goal line as he was great at pushing the ball in. Ryan Williams is a better back I believe but he is very prone to fumble and that could cost AZ. Miami's run D is very good so I do not see AZ's running game will be a problem for Miami. If they don't put pressure on Kolb he will be ok and AZ will win easily. The Miami offense will have a hard time establishing the run against the Cards D and I think that is the key to Miami pulling out a win. If Miami is able to control the clock and run the ball it will be an interesting game.

As much as I want to see the Phins win this game I honestly don't see it happening but hey I have been wrong before and I would love to be wrong now. My guess will be 23-16 Arizona.

[fyo]

AZ, the Cardinals' DBs are excellent against the run, but the defensive line is average and not particularly good at stopping "ground and pound" runs. While Reggie Bush has given the Dolphins one of the best "open field" running games, I wouldn't be surprised if Washington/Lenon/Gay limit his yardage. The big question with the running game is "can Miami's offensive line generate some push?".

I'm hopeful, since Arizona's D-line has been yielding a lot more on its right side than its left, which should play to Miami's strength (which is "anything away from Jonathan Martin").

[AZ Fins Fan 55]

^^^^Dockett, Williams and Campbell are also very good against the run. It will be interesting to see if Adrian Wilson comes back this week as he was out last week. They have not allowed a ton of yardage by runners this year. I think Lynch had 80 something while Ridley and McCoy gained around 70. Either way Bush will need to break the century mark for Miami to win in my opinion.

[Pappy13]

People are talking about the New England win like the Cardinals beat an expansion team. Wtf? And Miami is going to contain their offense? Which three guys in the secondary are going to cover Fitz? The line is 6.5. That seems about right to me, but a double digit win by Arizona wouldn't shock me. -EK

Fitzgerald is one of the best, but then in week 1 Miami faced Andre Johnson who is no slouch and Kolb is NOT Matt Shaub.  I'm not saying that 6.5 isn't right, that sounds about right to me too, I'm just saying that I'm not expecting a double digit win by Arizona, I expect it to be close.

[Pappy13]

AZ. went 7-2 their last 9 games of 2011

The Dolphins went 6-3. Just sayin'.

[fyo]

^^^^Dockett, Williams and Campbell are also very good against the run.

Overrated, IMHO. Particularly the leader of the gang, Dockett, although part of that may be him playing hurt. Going back to last season, that right side of the line has been mediocre against the run. We'll see if the Dolphins can take advantage on Sunday...

They have not allowed a ton of yardage by runners this year. I think Lynch had 80 something while Ridley and McCoy gained around 70.

I think you're confusing correlation with causation here. The reason these guys didn't get a ton of yardage is that Arizona was ahead. McCoy gained 5.4 yards per carry last week, which isn't exactly chump change (and well above both his season average and his career average). The Cards did better against the Patriots and Seahawks, but no better than "about average" -- and, again, the total run yards are low because the Cardinals were ahead (which causes other teams to pass more, unsurprisingly).

[MikeO]

Cardinals defense is for real.

Kolb is hot/cold. After Fitz their WR's are nothing special. But Arizona can bring it on defense. If Bush doesn't play the Cardinals win in a blowout. If Bush plays (normal amount of snaps too, not just a few token snaps) I see a close game.

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

AZ has the longest active win streak in the NFL.  They kept it by defeating the team with the longest win streak in the NFL week 2. 

[AZ Fins Fan 55]

Overrated, IMHO. Particularly the leader of the gang, Dockett, although part of that may be him playing hurt. Going back to last season, that right side of the line has been mediocre against the run. We'll see if the Dolphins can take advantage on Sunday...

I will respecfully disagree but I am also biased as I watch this team every week and they are much worse especially when Dockett is on the sidelines. Their defense is legit and and really, really good. Most of the reason they have gone 10-2 in their last 12 games is their D.

[MikeO]

The Dolphins went 6-3. Just sayin'.

And if Carpenter makes a kick last week they would be 8-4 in their last 12 regular season games. That really is amazing that with all the bitchin and moaning and with the total lack of offensive talent and a coaching change this team is one field goal away from being 8-4 in their last 12 meaningful games.