Solid Victories: Arz over SF

Doing a game by game analysis on the outcome of Week One's matchups will allow us to also get a brief glimpse of what retooling was done in the offseason. Let's look at the some of the matchups that constituted what could be called a solid victory for the winning side.







Arz … 1024.82
SF …... 96.5025











++++++++++Arizona Cardinals++++++++++

A very solid victory for Arizona which was stable in terms of coaching changes as Ken Whisenhunt enters his second year. This is reflected in a fairly stable offseason as they lost only a few key contributors but added several key players from free agency and the draft to bolster their depth.

LB Clark Haggans came over from Pittsburgh to add to a decent linebacking corps to cover for the loss of Calvin Pace to the Jets. Former Titan DE Travis LaBoy was added to the defensive line as a starter replacing DE Bertrand Berry who substituted in. Meanwhile, Chike Okeafor played at the OLB spot vacated by Calvin Pace. The defense was not at full strength, however, as veteran DT Bryan Robinson (from Cincinnati)played while DT Gabe Watson is nursing a knee injury.
Some might attribute the success of the Cardinal Running and Passing game to a completely intact returning starting offensive line---with the exception of C Al Johnson who was beat out by C Lyle Sendlein. Sendlein is not inexperienced, however; as he got in some significant playing time last year.
Here is the lineup that matched up against the 49ers----with the changes in the roster from last season highlighted in BOLD:

Defensive Front:

Chike Okeafor................Gerald Hayes..................Karlos Dansby

Antonio Smith...Bryan Robinson......Darnell Dockett.....Travis LaBoy


Offensive Line:

Mike Gandy.....Reggie Wells.....Lyle Sendlein......Deuce Lutui.....Levi Brown



++++++++++San Francisco 49ers++++++++++

The 49ers were somewhat competitive in this game as their result on the Football ERA algorithm was not pushed into negative numbers by the Cardinals---something that is seen in dominant performances:

Arz … 1024.82
SF …... 96.5025

In contrast to the Cardinals, San Francisco's offseason instability was reflected by the many changes to their starting lineup from that of the 2007 season. Offensive and Defensive stalwarts such as OG Larry Allen and DT Bryant Young were lost to retirement. In addition, OG Justin Smiley and LB Derek Smith both became free agent casualties as Smiley was signed by Miami while Smith went over to the Chargers. They did, however, add DE Justin Smith from Cincinnati to the defensive line.

Changes in the starting lineup are highlighted in BOLD.


Defensive Front:

Jeff Ulbrich............Patrick Willis............Manny Lawson

Isaac Sopoaga......Abrayu Franklin......Justin Smith......Ray McDonald



Offensive Line:

Joe Staley..Adam Snyder..Eric Heitmann..Tony Wragge..JonasJennings

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