2012 NFL Betting – 49ers Try To Bury The Cardinals In Matchup Of NFC West Rivals
The San Francisco 49ers are not playing their most convincing or dominant football of the season, but they still have a chance to gain a lot of leverage in the NFC West race.
San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals – Monday, October 29
Online football betting line: San Francisco -7 and total is 38
Why San Francisco Will Win
College football betting gurus will point out that their brand of football is appreciably different from professional football in many ways, but in some respects, the NFL and the NCAA have the same kind of sport. It’s still based on blocking and tackling, on being more physical, on owning the line of scrimmage and being more dominant at the point of attack. Any online sports book expert is going to tell you what football scholars tell you as well: The team with better line play is going to win unless the quarterback comparison is extremely lopsided in the other direction. This is why the San Francisco 49ers are going to grind down and overwhelm the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football.
Arizona’s offensive line is a mash unit. The Cardinals have been ravaged by injuries on their offensive front, eroded to the point that they have virtually no depth whatsoever. This line got terrorized by the St. Louis Rams a few weeks ago, and it got blitzed by the Buffalo Bills’ front seven a few weeks ago as well. When one realizes that Buffalo’s defensive line has been one of the most disappointing defensive lines in the NFL this season, and when you also realize that Buffalo subsequently lost at home to Tennessee in a shootout after beating the Cardinals, it’s painfully clear that Arizona – despite having a winning record at 4-3 – is a team that is in the midst of a rather precipitous free-fall. The Cardinals are displaying the quality of a 2-5 team at the moment. They are simply not ready for the physicality and brawn of San Francisco’s defense. They’re not ready to handle the 49ers’ power running game, either. Even if Arizona plays fairly well on defense – but does not force turnovers from San Francisco quarterback Alex Smith – it will not have much of a chance of winning here, because its offense is likely to get shut down. It would be highly surprising if Arizona’s offense can manufacture anything more than 10 points without help from its defense or special teams.
Why Arizona Will Win
When you go over your next play at any of the best online betting sites in the country, you must realize that Alex Smith, the quarterback of the San Francisco 49ers, has reverted to his old, bad ways. Perhaps Smith will break out of a slump in this game, but he has been genuinely horrible in recent weeks, stinking up the joint against the New York Giants and the Seattle Seahawks. San Francisco averaged eight points in those two games, and if Smith remains in his funk, Arizona could win a 10-7 slugfest.
Who Will Win?
Arizona might play well on defense, but it will simply not be able to hold up over the course of 60 minutes. San Francisco will win comfortably.
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NFL Betting Pick: San Francisco -7