Arizona Cardinals
NFL betting line: Over 5.5 +110/Under 5.5 -140 (odds subject to change)
Last year’s record: 5-11
Our pick: Under 5.5
Remember when the Cardinals started last season with four straight wins, including a shocking upset in New England? Yeah, neither do we. Arizona went on to lose nine straight and 10 of their last 11.
Changes
The positive for Cardinals fans, however, is that the brutal finish to last season motivated the franchise to make some changes, and changes they have made. Bruce Arians, who gained notoriety last year for guiding the Colts to the playoffs when head coach Chuck Pagano was being treated for leukemia, takes over the coaching reins from the fired Ken Whisenhunt. Defensive co-ordinator Ray Horton, who actually ran a decent unit, is gone, as is general manager Rod Graves.
The Cardinals also addressed their on-field personnel, upgrading at QB (Carson Palmer replaces Kevin Kolb), RB (signing Rashard Mendenhall) and the offensive line.
Decent defence
Defensively, this team remains competent. The team ranked fifth against the pass last year and 12th in total yards, and held Tom Brady and company to 18 points in the previously-mentioned win at New England.
Tough schedule
But playing in the NFC West is unfortunately not as easy as it used to be, with both San Francisco and Seattle appearing to be Super Bowl contenders and the Rams also improving. Arizona will play each of those teams twice, with other tough tests this year including visits to New Orleans and Tampa Bay as well as home dates against the Lions, Falcons, Texans and Colts.
It’s entirely possible the Cardinals won’t be favoured in any of their games this season. When Cantor Gaming posted point spreads in May on every NFL game through Week 16, the best odds the Cardinals were given was pick’em at Jacksonville in Week 11, versus Indianapolis in Week 12 and at home to St. Louis in Week 14. They were underdogs of a touchdown or more four times.
Outlook
The Cardinals might be better this year, but better doesn’t necessarily mean more wins. Arizona needs to win six games in order to lose the under 5.5 bet. With the touch schedule they face, we don’t see it happening.
2013 Arizona Cardinals schedule
| 1 | Sun, Sep 8 |
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4:25 PM FOX | |||
| 2 | Sun, Sep 15 |
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4:05 PM FOX | |||
| 3 | Sun, Sep 22 |
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1:00 PM FOX | |||
| 4 | Sun, Sep 29 |
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1:00 PM FOX | |||
| 5 | Sun, Oct 6 |
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4:05 PM FOX | |||
| 6 | Sun, Oct 13 |
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4:25 PM FOX | |||
| 7 | Thu, Oct 17 |
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8:25 PM NFL | |||
| 8 | Sun, Oct 27 |
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4:25 PM FOX | |||
| 9 | BYE WEEK | |||||
| 10 | Sun, Nov 10 |
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4:25 PM CBS | |||
| 11 | Sun, Nov 17 |
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1:00 PM FOX | |||
| 12 | Sun, Nov 24 |
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4:05 PM CBS | |||
| 13 | Sun, Dec 1 |
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1:00 PM FOX | |||
| 14 | Sun, Dec 8 |
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4:25 PM FOX | |||
| 15 | Sun, Dec 15 |
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1:00 PM FOX | |||
| 16 | Sun, Dec 22 |
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4:05 PM FOX | |||
| 17 | Sun, Dec 29 |
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4:25 PM FOX | |||