NFL Handicapping – Cardinals vs Patriots Betting Spread / Matchup
The Pats had no problem winning their season opener and while it is no surprise their offense played well it was a little surprising that their D played well. The Arizona Cardinals also won their season opener after Kevin Kolb came into the game and he will get the start in this game and has another chance to become the starter for Arizona if he plays well.
Venue/ Stadium: Gillette Stadium, Foxboro, MA
Time/Date: 1 PM EST Sunday, September 16, 2012
NFL Odds From: TopBet
Moneyline: Arizona +650 / Patriots -900
Spread: Patriots -13.5
Over/Under: 48
Arizona Cardinals vs. New England Patriots Preview
NFL lines have the Patriots as big 13.5 home favorites with a total of 48.
In their opening games the Patriots beat the Tennessee Titans 34-13 and the Cardinals beat the Seattle Seahawks 20-16.
In the opening games for both teams both covered the spread and both games went Under the posted total.
Brady had a good game against the Titans and while he did not light up the scoreboard, but he still passed for 236 yards for 2 TD and 0 INT. He has a great WR corps and 2 solid pass-catching TE’s and the Arizona pass defense will have their hands full. They shut down the Seahawks last week holding them to 139 passing yards and this game will see if they have a legit secondary.
Stevan Ridley is now the starting RB in New England and he really stepped up and showed he may be a solid #1 back after gaining 125 yards with 1 TD last week. While the Cardinals were solid against the pass they allowed Seattle to rush for 115 yards. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Kevin Kolb takes over for the injured John Skelton and least he has a good WR corps led by Larry Fitzgerald. The Pats’ secondary is still the weakness of the New England D and Kolb may have to carry the offense.
Arizona could not get the running game going last week and Beanie Wells and Ryan Williams, who combined for 23 yards on 15 carries last week, have a tall task in this game facing a Patriots’ run defense that totally shut down the Titans and Chris Johnson last week only giving up 20 yards on the ground.
The Pats used the draft to improve their defense and after Game 1 the high draft picks looked great, as first round picks Chandler Jones (1 sack) and Dont’a Hightower (fumble recovery for TD) and 3rd round pick Tavon Wilson (1 INT) all contributed on D.
In some betting trends for this non-conference match up the Cardinals are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games, 6-13 ATS in their last 19 road games, and they have an Under record of 6-2 in their last 8 road games.
The Patriots are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games after allowing less than 90 yards rushing in their previous game and they have an Over record of 15-6 in their last 21 home games.
Jason’s Pick: The Pats’ offense cannot be stopped and with their new defense they will crush the Cardinals in this home game and easily cover the spread.
