What should be an offensive explosion between NFC West teams ends Week 1 of the NFL seasonArizona at San Francisco, with the 49ers -3 (O/U: 45) on WagerWeb.com. It's a rare Monday night appearance for both teams in recent years, as the usually downtrodden Cardinals appeared once last year, a 24-23 loss to Chicago, and the 49ers haven't been on MNF since 2003. Offense shouldn't be a problem in this game. San Francisco has made steady improvement in Coach Mike Nolan's two seasons. QB Alex Smith had a breakout year last season, his second in the NFL. San Francisco finished 7-9 in 2006, just missing a playoff spot, after going 4-12 in Nolan's first season. The 49ers spent some money in the offseason to keep the offense on the upswing, bringing in receivers Darrell Jackson (from Seattle) and Ashley Lelie (from Denver).
Adding those two to Smith, running back Frank Gore (1695 yards rushing last year) and tight end Vernon Davis should make San Francisco potent on that side of the ball. Gore did miss the preseason with a broken hand but is expected to be fine to play tonight. So, the San Francisco offense seems set, but it's the defense that needed some fixing, as it allowed an NFL-high 412 points last year. The 49ers addressed that need by adding cornerback Nate Clements and safety Michael Lewis. "The new guys that we've added have created a much higher level of competition," Nolan said. "Our guys are going into this season expecting to win. In our previous two years here, we hoped to win and we prepared to win. Now we have to believe we're going to get this team to the next step, which is to play well enough to challenge for a winning record and the playoffs." Arizona begins the Ken Whisenhunt era, as the former Steelers assistant replaces Dennis Green as head coach in the desert. Arizona finished 5-11 last season and hasn't been to the playoffs since 2002. The Cardinals have firepower on offense in quarterback Matt Leinart, running back Edgerrin James and receivers Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. However, like the 49ers, the Arizona defense is suspect as it ranked 29th overall last season, and 30th against the pass. "The reason that I feel good about our defense is because of some of the things that I've seen them do against our offense in practice," Whisenhunt said. The Cardinals have won the past four meetings with San Francisco. Bet on NFL at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook on Monday night. The second game of the MNF doubleheader at 10:15 features two up-and-coming young teams:
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