Street Rosenthal of HandicappingTrends.com
*200 Arizona Cardinals +3
Kurt Warner had his hip surgically repaired this off-season and is still battling soreness, but he expects to start and play a 1-2 series for the Cards. Matt Leinart will come in after Warner and likely play the remainder of the first half. St. Pierre will play most of the second half with second year QB Tyler Palko closing the game out for Arizona.
Roethlisberger will get 1-2 series for the Steelers. Mike Tomlin says he plans to use three other quarterbacks for this game. Charlie Batch will likely see time in the first half with second year QB Dennis Dixon opening the third quarter. Un-drafted rookie Mike Reilly will see some time in the fourth quarter and likely close out the game for the Steelers
Expect to see Leinart and St. Pierre have some time with the Cardinal second team, as it truly does look like these two guys are playing hard to secure a back up roll. There is more talent in the 3rd and 4th string qb's for the cardinals tonight. Expect to see the ball fly. The Cardinals will probably runa bit in the 4th and I wouldn't be suprised by some late touchdowns by the cardinals.
Whisenhunt is 2-6 (3-5 ATS) in his preseason career and has failed to cover in his prior two preseason openers. Tomlin is 7-2 (4-5 ATS) in the preseason with the Steelers with a pair of covers in his preseason openers. With those trends being noted, tonight is about a battle of quarterbacks trying to win a back up roll.
Take the Cardinals and feel good about the wager tonight.
Raiders coach Tom Cable needs to win to secure his coaching job. Cable has emphasized that there will be heavy competition for the starting spots and quarterback is likely no exception. "It's on," Cable said. "And everyone's got to fight for a job to get this thing down. To me, this sounds like a coach that wants to win tonight. Wade Phillips may also be coaching for his job this year, but don't expect him to go all out in the preseason.
The Dallas Cowboys have had no controversies or major injuries and only one position battle, a starting cornerback job. The Cowboys have nothing to prove tonight.
Tony Romo will start for the Cowboys, and he will likely play 1-2 series. Jon Kitna will likely get the remainder of the first half and may even play a few series in the third quarter. Rookie Stephen McGee will get extended playing time in the third and fourth quarter and fellow rookie Rudy Carpenter will likely close the game for the Cowboys. Not to impressive by any means.
The Raiders, have a talented quarterback squad. They will open the game with JaMarcus Russell and he will likely see most, if not all, of the first quarter and may even see time into the second quarter. Veteran Jeff Garcia will replace Russell and play the remainder of the first half and possibly see some time in the third quarter. Former NFL starters Bruce Gradkowski and Charlie Frye will see some time in the second half for the Raiders.
The Raiders are in a good spot to pull off a victory tonight for Coach Cable.
Jason Campbell is expected to play a series or two on Thursday night in Baltimore as the Redskins open preseason against the Ravens. After Campbell, all three of his backups: Todd Collins, Colt Brennan and Chase Daniel are expected to play.
Talk about an impressive quarterback rotation. Brennan was a preseason star as a rookie last year. In five games, he completed 36-of-53 passing attempts for 411 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. In his first preseason in Zorn�s offense, Collins completed 33-of-47 passes for 260 yards, one touchdown and one interception last year. Campbell completed 23-of-30 passes for 202 yards, one touchdown and one interception last preseason.
Ravens have a very good starter in Joe Flacco but after he leaves the game they have some issues. Troy Smith is the backup with John Beck the third string quarterback. Given the injuries the Ravens have suffered in camp and the weak qb backs ups I wouldn't expect much scoring for the Ravens tonight.
Head coach John Harbaugh even said that the coaches weren�t necessarily game-planning for the Redskins. His own team was the main concern. Stay healthy and evaluate the young guys. The Ravens are hoping to get as many reps as they can to sort out some especially deep and convoluted positions, like cornerback, wideout and of course there is the kicker. The first pre-season game for the Baltimore Ravens is nothing more than a way to evaluate some of the young guys.
I would tell you to buy the hook, but it would cost to much tonight. I surely expect Zorn to go for the win tonight.
Street Rosenthal 8/13
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