NFL Football
2011-09-18 - Arizona Cardinals at Washington Redskins
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NFL Football Week 2
Sunday 18 September 2011 - Kick Off 1pm ET
6pm (British Standard Time)
Preview
Both the Washington Redskins (1-0) and the Arizona Cardinals (1-0) got off to winning starts in Week 1 and will be hoping to remain unbeaten going into Week 3 as they meet in a NFC game.
Mike Shanahan has taken a lot of criticism of the median and fans when he decided to move on without Donovon McNabb in the offseason, but he has been winning some people around who saw 'good Rex' playing on Sunday. Rex Grossman has been so hit and miss in his career that people will always be expecting 'bad Rex' to resurface, but his comparisons to Jake Plummer look apt.
Plummer was a player that really thrived under Shanahan in Denver, and he was nothing more than an average QB, so you can see why some are looking at Grossman in the same way after he threw for 305 yards and 2 TDs in the win over the New York Giants in Week 1.
Tim Hightower ran the ball well last week and he will want to put in a good performance against his former team who decided they can move without him after fumbling issues in his time in the desert.
It will be interesting to see how the Offensive Line holds up after they allowed Grossman to be sacked last week and they did not open up the running lanes as well as Shanahan's teams usually do. This could be the key to the win this week as the more time they can give Grossman, the more likely the QB will find the same holes that Cam Newton exploited for Carolina last week.
Arizona believe the youthful nature of their Secondary didn't help matters last week as they believe it was down to blown coverages that allowed Carolina so much success. They will have to play better as the Offense may not get as much joy against a vaunted Washington Defense.
Kevin Kolb passed for over 300 yards himself last week with 2 passing TDs, but there were holes in the Carolina Secondary that you could have driven a bus through. Arizona are unlikely to see that happening against a Washington team that has a much stronger Defensive unit than the layers have perhaps taken note of.
Head to Head
These two teams last met in 2008 when Washington won at home by 7 points.
The Redskins have won 7 in a row in the series against the Cardinals and they are 4-2-1 against the spread in those games.
Both teams are 1-0 against the spread this season.
Other Interesting Notes
Washington are 1-7-1 against the spread in their last 9 games as the favourite.
They have lost their last 4 against the spread as the home favourite of between 3.5 and 10 points.
Arizona are 1-7 against the spread in their last 8 games as the road underdog.
They are 1-6 against the spread in their last 7 games as the road underdog being given between 3.5 and 10 points.
The Cardinals are 2-5 against the spread in their last 7 games against NFC opponents.
70% of the wagers made in Vegas are on Washington.
Prediction
This is a tough spot for Arizona and I have to back the home team to come through and win while covering the spread.
Much like Seattle, Arizona have to travel to the East Coast for an early game and teams have struggled mightily in the past when having to do that.
I also think Washington are the better and more complete team that has the stronger Defense and that should make the difference here.
My biggest concern is that 'bad Rex' will show up this week and not play the solid game of Week 1 but instead throw some Interceptions on board.
Hopefully that won't be the case and the Redskins can move to 2-0 with a win by more than a field goal
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Washington Redskins 27-20 Arizona Cardinals
