Arizona Cardinals (1-1 SU, 2-0 ATS) vs. New Orleans Saints (2-0 SU, 1-1 ATS)
NFL Week 3
Date and Time: Sunday, September 22, 1:00pm
Where: Mercedes Benz Superdome
TV: FOX
by Bob, Football Handicapper, Predictem.com
Point Spread: ARI +7.5/NO -7.5
Over/Under Total: 49
We have an east versus west battle coming this weekend. Well, I should
probably say, south versus west, when the Arizona Cardinals
travel into the Bayou to take on the New Orleans Saints.
The Saints come in at 2-0, and the Cardinals are 1-1 as we move into week
3. The line now has the Saints favored by 7.5, while some random sportsbooks,
have it as high as 9. This is a somewhat one sided spread for an NFL game.
Lets breakdown these two teams and see what we can come up with.
The New Orleans Saints consider themselves to be legit Super Bowl contenders. At this time whether you or I believe it, they are 2-0, so obviously they are doing something right. Now, they opened their season with a great win against the Atlanta Falcons, but this past weekend they were anything but impressive. The Saints travelled to Tampa Bay and were only able to cross the goal line once in their 16-14 win. New Orleans plays the pass well, on both offense and defense. Through the first two weeks, the Saints rank 5th in the NFL in passing, and 8th against the pass. Typically this would be a good formula, the only problem is the ground game. Just like the passing game shines on both sides of the ball for the Saints, the running game suffers. New Orleans only averages a little over 75 yards a game on the ground, while giving up over 120 a contest. Of course its only week two and this trend may not continue, but of all the teams that are 2-0 in the league, I have been least impressed by New Orleans. The key to this game for the Saints is the big play. New Orleans needs to come out and put up big plays and big numbers early. Arizona is a team that you do not want to allow to get comfortable. The Saints need to hit them in the mouth early and set the tone from the start. If New Orleans can do this, they I see no reason as to why they can’t run the Cards outta the dome.
Arizona comes into this game at 1-1 overall, but they have covered the Vegas spread in both contests so far. The addition of Carson Palmer has the Cardinals ranked near the top 10 in passing in all the NFL. With all the recent rule changes, the NFL is becoming a pass first league. If you can keep your team in the upper rankings of passing, you can typically count on that becoming some wins. The Cardinals went on the road and lost a great game to the Rams, but they just this past weekend were able to stop Calvin Johnson and the Detroit Lions. Arizona is not a bad team, at all. Many public “squares” tend to look at previous seasons too much in the NFL. Every season there is that team people were high on that fall, and every season there is that team (or two) that come outta nowhere. I believe the Cardinals could be a team that turns some heads. Are they going to win the Super Bowl? No. Are they going to make the playoffs? Ehhhh Probably not, but that doesn’t mean they cant compete with some good teams along the way, the Saints included.
Bob’s Pick to Cover the Point Spread: I do not like these NFL spreads that are over a touchdown, I just don’t. Remember, I just won you guys some dough on the Titans +9.5 this past weekend. Anytime I see an NFL spread over 7 points, I get cautious. That means one team is way over valued, or someone is under valued. Remember, EVERY player in this league is a professional. Everyone is paid to do a job and do it well. If you look at the numbers, over 64% of this seasons games have been decided by less than 8 points. I have no reason to believe this one will be any different. The Saints offense is still trying to gel, and the Cardinals are trying to send a message to the league that they are for real. I think the Saints win the game, but I just cant lay 7.5 points along the way. Take the Cardinals +7.5
