The Cards Get Stunned in Candlestick 24-9

        Candlestick park hosted another great Monday Night Game tonight, as the 49ers won the turnover battle and what turned out to be a much closer game than what it should have been.  It was certainly evident early on that Kurt Warner and the rest of the Cardinals, primarily the running backs, weren't planning on holding on to the ball for long, as the Cards were riddled with 7 turnovers throughout the game....are you kidding me?  Kurt Warner threw 2 interceptions, had a fumble and almost had another one, as he struggled to find any rhythm during the game because of a 49er pass rush that completed dominated the Cardinals offensive line.  3 different Arizona running backs each coughed up the ball in critical plays to thwart the Cardinals potential drives.  However, more importantly, the 49ers were only able to stumble to a 17-9 lead in the 3rd quarter, which should have been much more because of the endless opportunities the Cards handed them. 

          Alex Smith was suprisingly the better quarterback this night, as he threw for 2 touchdowns, but also tossed in 2 interceptions.  It's clear that Alex Smith has the skills to be a solid starting quarterback in the NFL, however, there's definitely times where he convinces you otherwise.  Nonetheless, with the help of Frank Gore rushing the ball 25 times for a huge 167 yards, San Francisco didn't need much to overcome the clumsy Arizona offense's output.  In addition, Michael Crabtree continued to impress, as he played a very agressive game and fearlessly sought out more yardage on a play in which he slipped to the ground, and got up to pick up another 6 yards for the first down.        
        The lone bright spot for Arizona was the rushing game of Beanie Wells, as he took the bulk of the wordload and pulled down 15 carries for 79 yards and a tough rushing touchdown.  For any sleeper picks to use in your fantasy football playoffs, feel free to deploy Wells in case you need him.  He has the potential to run in up the gut, or to bust it out wide for a long run.  The only thing he needs to do in order to cement more playing time is if he could block as well as Hightower.  At this point it's no comparison, as Hightower still runs well in his second year in the league and his blocking is far superior to Wells.  Either way, Wells has put together a respectable campaign in his rookie year and has certainly turned some heads.

         Overall, this was a sloppy game that San Francisco took advantage of, as they stripped the ball from Arizona runners throughout, leaving the Arizona offense to spend the game on the sidelines as specatators.  The Niners defense definitely flexed their muscles, as they held a robust Cardinal offense to only 170 pass yards.  Monday Night Football was entertaining and you've got to tip your hat to the Niners, however, I left the game expecting much more out of the Cards offense and was a bit disappointed in the effort after the Cardinals totally dismantled the Vikings a week prior.  You've gotta love the swings week to week in the NFL.