Comparison of Niners and Cardinals Teams

Offensive Comparison
AZ QB: Kurt Warner, Matt Leinart, Brian St. Pierre
SF QB: S. Hill, A. Smith, D. Huard & N. Davis
Call-AZ: Warner without question. Makes you wonder how things would’ve gone had Warner gone to SF. The only good thing about the Niners’ QB situation is that there is huge dropoff in play if Warner is injured this season, while in SF any dropoff would not be so great.

AZ WR: Anquan Boldin, Larry Fitzgerald, Steve Breaston, Jerhame Urban, Early Doucet, Sean Morey
SF WR: I. Bruce, J. Morgan, B. Jones, A. Battle, M. Crabtree
Call-AZ: Not even close, I actually think that Breaston would be our no. 1. Now ask yourself if Urban or Doucet would be our no. 2? Ouch.

AZ RB: Tim Hightower, Chris Wells, Jason Wright, Dan Kreider, Tim Castille, Justin Green
SF RB: F. Gore, G. Coffee, K. Sheets, M. Norris, M. Robinson
Call-SF: I’ll take Gore or Coffee over Hightower/Wells. Beanie Wells is an unknown commodity and a good rookie year would help balance AZ on offense. Some fans love Moran, but what he has done lately? Robinson is only on the team b/c he is a good special teamer.

AZ TE: Leonard Pope, Anthony Becht, Stephen Spach
SF TE: V. Davis, D. Walker & J.J. Finley
Call-SF: Vernon Davis’ worse offensive year is still better than Pope’s best. Davis is still SF’s second best tackle.

AZ OTs: Mike Gandy, Levi Brown, Brandon Keith, Elliot Vallejo
SF OTs: J. Staley, A. Snyder, A. Boone, B. Sims
Call-AZ: Staley is a very good tackle, but Gandy and Levi Brown are a respectable pair of tackles. A great year from Snyder might tip the balance to a wash.

AZ Interior line: Reggie Wells, Deuce Lutui, Elton Brown, Herman Johnson, Ben Claxton, Trevor Canfield, Lyle Sendlein, Donovan Raiola
SF Interior line: D. Baas, E. Heitmann, C. Rachal, T. Wragge & C. Wallace.
Call-tie: Rachal and Heitmann are a good tandem but Baas needs to show up at the other guard position. Wells and Lutui have been extremely consistent for the last 2-3 years for Arizona.

Offensive Summary:
It is obvious that Arizona will have a far better offense than the Niners this year. Warner is a much better QB than Hill and that makes a world of difference in the final two minutes of any game. Gore is awesome, but when teams starting loading the box, will Hill be able to connect to Davis and Morgan to the extent that teams backoff the run? Noone knows how good Raye's offensive playcalling will be.

Against the Cardinals’ offense, the Niners’ D will sure have its hands full. I actually believe that our pass rush will be much worse this year than last year. Sure, SF can scheme, blitz corners & OLBs once the season starts, but Warner and their elite offense will be prepared to adjust to any trickery.

Longer term, the Niners have to add a quality RT and QB (assuming Hill isn’t the answer) in order to have a respectable offense.

Any thoughts?


Sources:
-AZ depth chart from Scout.com (old but good chart) Scout.com
-SF depth chart is my own.

[ Edited by Esco on Sep 1, 2009 at 14:50:10 ]

Defensive Comparison

AZ DL: Darnell Dockett, Bertrand Berry, Bryan Robinson, Gabe Watson, Calais Campbell, Kenny Iwebema, Alan Branch, Keilen Dykes, Rodney Leisle
SF DL: I. Sopoaga, A. Franklin, J. Smith, D. Evans, R. McDonald, K. Balmer
Call-AZ: No question that Dockett and Watson are stout and aggressive warriors in front. Although I have a lot of respect for Justin Smith, Balmer and McDonald are still young and unproven. The Niners may be a 1 year away from having an awesome line if Balmer and McDonald can step it up. Until then, the Cardinals have this category.

AZ LB: Karlos Dansby, Chike Okeafor, Gerald Hayes, Pago Togafau Clark Haggans, Will Davis, Victor Hobson, Ali Highsmith, Cody Brown
SF LB: P. Willis, T. Spikes, P. Haralson, M. Lawson, A. Brooks, M. Harris S. McKillop & J. Ulbrich
Call-SF: Willis is a HOFer and Spikes has been an great mentor to Willis and the team. Dansby and Okeafor are very good too, but they just can’t compare to Willis. Although Haralson showed flashes of brilliance last year, Lawson is a bust and may be replaced by end of this year by Brooks.

AZ CB: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Michael Adams, Bryant McFadden, Ralph Brown, Greg Toler and Wilrey Fontenot
SF CB: N. Clements, D. Bly, T. Brown, S. Spencer, M. Hudson & A. Rossum
Call-SF: Cromartie is a future Pro-Bowler but Clements’ experience counts more. Brown’s camp injury was a setback for this squad but Bly has been playing with a chip on his shoulder ever since he was signed by the Niners late in camp.

AZ S: Adrian Wilson, Antrel Rolle, Matt Ware, Aaron Francisco, Keith Lewis and Rashad Johnson
AZ S: M. Lewis, D. Goldson, R. Smith & M. Roman
Call-AZ: Adrian Wilson is a Pro Bowler and Rolle is ok. Michael Lewis’ concussions are a major concern. Goldson shows that he can hit but can he deliver turnovers and not get burned?

AZ Special: K: Neil Rackers P: Ben Graham and LS: Mike Leach
SF Special: P: A. Lee, J. Nedney and LS: B. Jennings
Call-SF: Rackers can kick but Andy Lee and Nedney are probably the best kickers the Niners have seen at the same time.

Defensive Summary
The Niners hopes to have a top five defense this year. AZ has a new defensive coordinator in Bill Davis, who was the Niners’ d-coordinator in 2005-6 (bumbling Billie Davis?). Overall, the Niners might make it to top-ten status if they can unleash (or find a way) to rush the passer.

Against Arizona’s high-powered offense, SF must find a way to put pressure on Warner or else he will pick the secondary apart on his second, third and fourth read.

Longer term, the lack of consistent OLB play and an aging secondary need to be addressed by the Niners before Manusky can claim to be in the same league as the Ravens and Chargers in terms of defense.

On gameday, will the Niners Defense be able to handle the Cardinals Offense?

Good info. We better be ready to play when we get to Arizona week 1

Free thread!!!!!!!!!!

Originally posted by Johnster:
Defensive Comparison

AZ DL: Darnell Dockett, Bertrand Berry, Bryan Robinson, Gabe Watson, Calais Campbell, Kenny Iwebema, Alan Branch, Keilen Dykes, Rodney Leisle
SF DL: I. Sopoaga, A. Franklin, J. Smith, D. Evans, R. McDonald, K. Balmer
Call-AZ: No question that Dockett and Watson are stout and aggressive warriors in front. Although I have a lot of respect for Justin Smith, Balmer and McDonald are still young and unproven. The Niners may be a 1 year away from having an awesome line if Balmer and McDonald can step it up. Until then, the Cardinals have this category.

AZ LB: Karlos Dansby, Chike Okeafor, Gerald Hayes, Pago Togafau Clark Haggans, Will Davis, Victor Hobson, Ali Highsmith, Cody Brown
SF LB: P. Willis, T. Spikes, P. Haralson, M. Lawson, A. Brooks, M. Harris S. McKillop & J. Ulbrich
Call-SF: Willis is a HOFer and Spikes has been an great mentor to Willis and the team. Dansby and Okeafor are very good too, but they just can’t compare to Willis. Although Haralson showed flashes of brilliance last year, Lawson is a bust and may be replaced by end of this year by Brooks.

AZ CB: Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Michael Adams, Bryant McFadden, Ralph Brown, Greg Toler and Wilrey Fontenot
SF CB: N. Clements, D. Bly, T. Brown, S. Spencer, M. Hudson & A. Rossum
Call-SF: Cromartie is a future Pro-Bowler but Clements’ experience counts more. Brown’s camp injury was a setback for this squad but Bly has been playing with a chip on his shoulder ever since he was signed by the Niners late in camp.

AZ S: Adrian Wilson, Antrel Rolle, Matt Ware, Aaron Francisco, Keith Lewis and Rashad Johnson
AZ S: M. Lewis, D. Goldson, R. Smith & M. Roman
Call-AZ: Adrian Wilson is a Pro Bowler and Rolle is ok. Michael Lewis’ concussions are a major concern. Goldson shows that he can hit but can he deliver turnovers and not get burned?

AZ Special: K: Neil Rackers P: Ben Graham and LS: Mike Leach
SF Special: P: A. Lee, J. Nedney and LS: B. Jennings
Call-SF: Rackers can kick but Andy Lee and Nedney are probably the best kickers the Niners have seen at the same time.

Defensive Summary
The Niners hopes to have a top five defense this year. AZ has a new defensive coordinator in Bill Davis, who was the Niners’ d-coordinator in 2005-6 (bumbling Billie Davis?). Overall, the Niners might make it to top-ten status if they can unleash (or find a way) to rush the passer.

Against Arizona’s high-powered offense, SF must find a way to put pressure on Warner or else he will pick the secondary apart on his second, third and fourth read.

Longer term, the lack of consistent OLB play and an aging secondary need to be addressed by the Niners before Manusky can claim to be in the same league as the Ravens and Chargers in terms of defense.

On gameday, will the Niners Defense be able to handle the Cardinals Offense?

Patience my friend, he is not a HOFer, after 2 years, if he keeps it up he will be

This is a very good assessment. Concern for me on offense is Dockett. One way to slow down an aggressive D-lineman is screen pass and I think Hill can execute that.

We need to find a Welker type slot receiver to use the WR screen and outlet pass.

Defense against them is what scares me. Like you say, Breaston could be our #1.

Why does everybody wanna compare us to every team in the league? Why can't we just be the 9ers and work on getting back to being the measuring stick in the NFL?

Wow someone has a lot of free time on their hands

Originally posted by Joecool:
Free thread!!!!!!!!!!

NINERMINER49
Wow someone has a lot of free time on their hands
/////

NINERMINER49?

Talk about the kettle calling the pot black:

http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:_EEcqfGoKtYJ:www.footballforum.com/signatures-graphics/4557-ninerminer49-gallery-i-will-take-requests.html+NINERMINER49&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=opera[url=undefined]undefined[/url]

Garrard? Brohm??

[ Edited by Johnster on Sep 1, 2009 at 15:31:20 ]

Overall a pretty good analysis. On paper, their O is better and our D's could be considered even overall. This is why I think that first game is really going to dictate how the season will fare.

If we do well against the Cards, I see it being an 8+ win season, while doing bad may very well result in less than 7 wins. They have a very highpowered offense, and this should give us a gauge of where we stand in mellowing out their O while keeping our D consistent....

Originally posted by Johnster:
NINERMINER49?

Talk about the kettle calling the pot black:

http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:_EEcqfGoKtYJ:www.footballforum.com/signatures-graphics/4557-ninerminer49-gallery-i-will-take-requests.html+NINERMINER49&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=opera[url=undefined]undefined[/url]

Garrard? Brohm??

Originally posted by Johnster:
NINERMINER49
Wow someone has a lot of free time on their hands
/////

NINERMINER49?

Talk about the kettle calling the pot black:

http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:_EEcqfGoKtYJ:www.footballforum.com/signatures-graphics/4557-ninerminer49-gallery-i-will-take-requests.html+NINERMINER49&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=opera[url=undefined]undefined[/url]

Garrard? Brohm??

Ouch

Originally posted by Johnster:
NINERMINER49
Wow someone has a lot of free time on their hands
/////

NINERMINER49?

Talk about the kettle calling the pot black:

http://74.125.155.132/search?q=cache:_EEcqfGoKtYJ:www.footballforum.com/signatures-graphics/4557-ninerminer49-gallery-i-will-take-requests.html+NINERMINER49&cd=5&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=opera[url=undefined]undefined[/url]

Garrard? Brohm??

lol.

Good insight and evaluation from a fans point of view.Although my fingers would've fell off after typing the 1st paragraph.lol

[ Edited by TRAVELER_9ER on Sep 1, 2009 at 16:53:42 ]