Chicago Bears know Cards still have some talent
For real or not for real, that is the question.
Not many folks can honestly claim that they saw the 2-0 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 2-0 Cincinnati Bengals or 2-0 Kansas City Chiefs coming, nor did many predict the futility of the 0-1-1 Pittsburgh Steelers, 0-2 Houston Texans, 0-2 Detroit Lions or the truly woeful to date 0-2 Arizona Cardinals being as bad as they've been.
But if you learn anything after spending some time following the NFL, it's that it takes at least 4-6 weeks every season before we begin to truly know which teams are as good or bad as they started and which are capable of more.
Yes, Arizona is an embarrassing 32nd in total offense, 31st rushing, 32nd passing, 32nd in third-down conversions, 32nd in time of possession and 32nd in points scored.
Nearly as bad, the Cards are 30th in total defense, 28th vs. the run, 27th vs. the pass, 32nd in yardage differential and 25th in points allowed.
They are not going to morph into a playoff contender this season, but the Cardinals still have some very high-level talent on both sides of the ball. The Chicago Bears, then, are not guaranteed a victory merely by showing up in the desert Sunday afternoon and drinking lots of fluids.
Sam Bradford, who has the second-best, single-season completion percentage (71.6 percent in 2016) in NFL history is capable of much better than the 121.5 yards per game, 3.98 yards per pass, 0:2 touchdown-to-interception ratio and 55.6 passer rating he has compiled in the first two weeks.
But if he hasn't shown it by the end of the first half Sunday, the Bears are likely to get a look at the debut of Cardinals top pick Josh Rosen at quarterback.
The one thing the Cardinals have done relatively well the first two weeks is protect Bradford, allowing just three sacks in two games.
If the Bears can mount the same pressure in Arizona that they have in the first two weeks, the Cardinals' offense is unlikely to get moving and Rosen best be careful what he wishes for.
You should also not ignore that David Johnson just might be the best running back in the NFL, and if offensive coordinator Mike McCoy can get him untracked after his slow start, Johnson is a threat to go all the way any time he touches the ball.
There also is the ageless Larry Fitzgerald - who has been the Cards' only real weapon the first two weeks - but he is battling a nagging hamstring and not even a sure thing to go.
As scary weapons go, that's about it, and something tells me both Roquan Smith and Danny Trevathan have been getting Johnson's 31 permanently stamped on their brains and the Bears' defense should be fine.
The big question is whether quarterback Mitch Trubisky and Co. get rolling against the Pro Bowl-level talents of defensive ends Chandler Jones and Markus Golden, cornerback Patrick Peterson and safety Antoine Bethea?
The struggles of McCoy's offense aren't surprising, but the malaise of rookie head coach Steve Wilks' and defensive coordinator Al Holcomb's defense is puzzling.
If Charles Leno Jr. and Bobby Massie can't handle Jones and Golden, respectively, the Bears' offense could stutter.
The somewhat soft underbelly of Arizona's 'D' appears to be tackles Robert Nkemdiche and Corey Peters and 'Mike' linebacker Josh Bynes.
Will Bears rookie head coach and playcaller Matt Nagy temporarily put aside some of his more exotic instincts and bang away at the middle of that defensive interior with running back Jordan Howard?
And can Trubisky adjust the clock in his head and stay in the pocket a notch longer to find targets downfield?
While Peterson is good enough to stalemate Allen Robinson, the rest of the Cards' secondary isn't good enough to take away all of Taylor Gabriel, Trey Burton, Anthony Miller and Tarik Cohen.
The Bears are clearly the better team entering Sunday, but the best team doesn't always win.
It will mainly be up to Trubisky, Howard, Trevathan and Smith to win their matchups and make sure it does in this one.