Al DeMarco
Sunday's Play 15 Dime - Arizona Cardinals
Is it hard for you to believe the Cardinals are such huge favorites – despite the opposition today – considering they’ve already clinched the NFC West title and realistically are the longest of long shots to earn a No. 2 seed and a 1st round bye in the playoffs? And laying over two touchdowns is even harder to swallow when you consider how poorly they’ve played the past two weeks on the road, losing at San Francisco in that 7-turnover Monday night debacle and then blowing a 17-0 halftime lead at Detroit last Sunday, needing a Kurt Warner TD pass with 1:54 remaining to squeak out a 31-24 win over the lowly Lions.
With all that being said, I love them today for three reasons. First, coach Ken Whisenhunt said immediately after the Detroit game that he is playing to win the season’s final two games; no starters will be rested. Smart man that Whisenhunt; he knows the importance of going into the playoffs on a roll.
Next reason I like them: Remember last year’s 0-2 close when the Cards got crushed by Minnesota and New England in the second- and third-to-last weeks of the regular season by a combined 82-21 score after clinching the division crown. Yes, they did make a phenomenal run to reach the Super Bowl, but Whisenhunt and the players are smart enough to realize that such things are often lightning in a bottle that isn’t easily recaptured.
Final reason I’m in the Cards’ corner today? It was just three Sundays ago in their last home game they put the hurt on Minnesota, manhandling Brett Favre and Vikings. If you can do that to Minny, you can certainly do the same – if not worse – to St. Louis.
Don’t be fooled by the Rams’ 16-13 home loss to Houston last week at home. The Texans dominated that game but allowed St. Louis to stick around and make it look good on the scoreboard because of their redzone inefficiency (one TD, two FGs in four trips inside the 20).
It doesn’t matter who quarterbacks for St. Louis today, rookie Kent Null or ineffective Kyle Boller, this is still an offense averaging about 11 points a game. The offensive line is in tatters with two new guards, and running back Steven Jackson is bothered by an assortment of injuries that have contributed to his 47- and 82-yard outings the past two weeks.
Defensively, the Rams are just what the Cards need for a playoff tune-up. Warner should carve up a pass defense that’s generated just 20 sacks in 14 games while allowing 65% completions. No surprise the secondary has been scorched for 19 TDs while coming up with only eight picks.
Warner should also get some ground support from Beanie Wells, who is coming off a career-high 110-yard effort against Detroit. The Rams also don’t stop the run, yielding 140 yards per game and 4.5 yards per carry to opposing backs.
As I said, if ever there was an ideal spot for a team to get a much needed playoff tune-up against an ideal opponent, it’s today in Glendale as Arizona rolls 37-13.
Strategy Note:
You've heard me discuss this many times on TV and radio; I don't believe in buying half points on any numbers other than 3, 4 or 7 so don't for a minute think I'm recommending buying the hook on 14 1/2 (if that's the price you get today). Seriously, a lot of handicappers say to do that but I've always been of the opinion that's it's a waste of money; when the line is this big the favorite should win by a blowout margin or the dog should cover easily; there should be no in-between. And since I'm expecting and calling for a blowout, there is no need to be wasting extra money foolishly buying a hook today
Demaco anyone?
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