Arizona Cardinals (1-0) at New York Giants (0-1)
The Cardinals were one of my overrated teams coming into the season and I still think that’s true, even after their 1 point comeback victory at home over the Chargers on Monday Night Football week 1. They get Tyrann Mathieu back from injury this week and Andre Ellington was able to play through his foot problem last week and have moderate success, but neither of them are 100%. Guys like Karlos Dansby, Daryl Washington, and Darnell Dockett are all still gone from that 2013 defense and now John Abraham is out with a concussion and considering retirement.
On the offensive side of the ball, Jonathan Cooper, the 7th overall pick in 2013, is still not 100% coming back from the leg injury that cost him his whole rookie season and has yet to prove himself worthy of a starting job to the coaching staff. Carson Palmer, now in his age 35 season, looked decent against the Chargers, but should struggle against better defenses. The Giants don’t have a great defense, but they’re still more talented than the Chargers’ stop unit, which was one of the worst in the NFL in 2014. Palmer is also dealing with a bad shoulder.
The Giants have a lot of issues, particularly on the offensive side of the ball, but I don’t think they should be 2.5 point home underdogs here against Arizona. The Giants were 1.5 point favorites a week ago and I don’t think enough happened last week for this line to move 4 points. The Giants were blown out in Detroit, but I don’t think people realize how good Detroit is going to be this year. The Cardinals easily could have been blown out there as well.
The Cardinals are also in a bad spot, with a game against the 49ers on deck. Teams are 44-60 ATS as road favorites before being home underdogs since 2002, including 18-29 ATS as non-divisional road favorites before being divisional home underdogs since 1989. The Cardinals have bigger things on the horizon, while the Giants have a random game against the Texans on deck. I wish we were getting field goal protection with the Giants, but they should still be the right side.
New York Giants 17 Arizona Cardinals 16 Upset Pick +120
Pick against spread: NY Giants +2.5
Confidence: Low
[switch_ad_hub]
[switch_ad_hub]
[switch_ad_hub]
[switch_ad_hub]
Football Fan Spot 