In this Week 3 dress rehearsal the Arizona Cardinals have the crowd behind them and more depth on the bench when they go up against the Packers.
The Packers' first team defense hasn't allowed any points yet in preseason, but only one team ranked lower in total offense last season than their first opponent the Cleveland Browns, who were in their first game under Eric Mangini. The Buffalo Bills, their second preseason opponent, weren’t much better last season when they ranked 25th out of 32 teams in total offense.
Green Bay is in for a rude awakening here in the desert Friday night. Their backups have been outscored in the second half 21-7 this August.
Both teams come in nicked up but Green Bay is in the worst shape. The biggest name out for Arizona is Anquan Bodlin who is dealing with a hamstring issue. Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt wouldn't rule Boldin out of the Packers game, but he also said Boldin's injury would mean Jerheme Urban would start along with Larry Fitzgerald. Steve Breaston, the team's No. 3 receiver, has been limited in practice and isn't likely to play.
The absences of Boldin and Breaston will give Lance Long, Early Doucet, Sean Morey and Onrea Jones more playing time. Those four players are competing for the fifth and sixth spots on the depth chart. We love backing teams with position battles in these August games. The backup QB position also is a battle for Arizona as Matt Leinart holds the edge but Brian St. Pierre isn't ruled out yet.
Whisenhunt plans to play most of his starters through the first half on Friday night, and some might play in the third quarter, too. He will gain some depth at running back as highly touted rookie Chris "Beanie" Wells makes his debut with the Cards. Whisenhunt doesn't take "dress rehearsal" week lightly; he is 2-0 ATS in Week 3 of preseason and last year they manhandled Oakland 24-0.
Despite the loss the Cardinals' first team defense looked solid against the Chargers last week. They showed us an aggressive pass rush which sacked Philip Rivers four times in the first quarter, while also keeping LaDainian Tomlinson contained.
Backup QB Matt Flynn is doutbful so Brian Brohm will likely close this game out and we'll see a lot of him and he's struggled in preseason, with reports from the Green Bay media saying he has looked awful in practice this week. This is the game where the Cards get into more of the swing of a regular season game and we like how they stack up against Green Bay Friday evening. We like Arizona laying 3.
Free Pick: Cardinals -3 (-110)