Cardinals gameday: Bears preview

THE SKINNY

The game will mark the halfway point of the season for Arizona, and we’re still not sure who these Cardinals are. Are they the team that marched into New Jersey and manhandled the New York Giants or the team that came home and was embarrassed by the Carolina Panthers?

Bears’ young receivers becoming weapons

Boldin inactive for Bears

The Cardinals tend to play their best when they have a chip on their shoulder, so you’d expect a motivated team to take the field Sunday. The Bears are 3-0 at home, including an early-season victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers, and their confidence was restored after last Sunday’s 30-6 thrashing of Cleveland.

If the Cardinals win, they’ll be in great shape heading into the second half of the season. If they lose, they could find themselves again tied with San Francisco (which hosts one-win Tennessee) for the NFC West lead.

THREE THINGS TO WATCH

1. Expect coach Ken Whisenhunt to try to take advantage of a suspect Bears secondary by throwing a few more deep balls to Larry Fitzgerald. The lack of a downfield passing game was a hot topic this past week, and Whisenhunt knows the Cardinals need to be able to strike quicker rather than having to rely on 10- or 12-play drives.

2. The Cardinals’ No. 1 run defense was blistered for 270 yards by Carolina. Now here comes Chicago’s Matt Forte, a physical runner who will test Arizona’s interior defense. Arizona needs to make the Bears one-dimensional — quarterback Jay Cutler has been known to throw a few interceptions — and the only way to do that is stop Forte.

3. The Bears aren’t the defensive force they once were, but they can make life difficult for Kurt Warner if defensive tackle Tommie Harris gets inside penetration and forces Warner to move out of the pocket. If Harris is contained, Warner should have time to throw and pick apart Chicago’s secondary.

Cardinals at Bears

When: 11 a.m. Sunday

Where: Soldier Field, Chicago

TV/Radio: Channel 10/KTAR (620 AM)

Records: Arizona 4-3, Chicago 4-3

Cardinals offense

WR Larry Fitzgerald

LT Mike Gandy

LG Reggie Wells

C Lyle Sendlein

RG Deuce Lutui

RT Levi Brown

TE Stephen Spach

WR Anquan Boldin

QB Kurt Warner

RB Tim Hightower

FB Dan Kreider

Cardinals defense

DE Calais Campbell

NT Bryan Robinson

DE Darnell Dockett

OLB Chike Okeafor

ILB Karlos Dansby

ILB Gerald Hayes

OLB Clark Haggans

RCB Bryant McFadden

LCB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie

SS Adrian Wilson

FS Antrel Rolle

Bears offense

WR Earl Bennett

LT Orlando Pace

LG Josh Beekman

C Olin Kreutz

RG Roberto Garza

RT Chris Williams

TE Greg Olsen

WR Devin Hester

QB Jay Cutler

FB Jason McKie

RB Matt Forte

Bears defense

LDE Adewale Ogunleye

DT Tommie Harris

DT Anthony Adams

RDE Alex Brown

SLB Hunter Hillenmeyer

MLB Nick Roach

WLB Lance Briggs

LCB Charles Tillman

RCB Zackary Bowman

SS Al Afalava

FS Danieal Manning