Thursday night’s late game is set to kickoff at 8:00 PM EST, as the Tennessee Titans host the Arizona Cardinals in Week 3 of the NFL preseason. Find out what the odds makers have on tap for us NFL bettors in this matchup.
This will be Arizona’s 4th
preseason game, and for the first three, things haven’t exactly gone
swimmingly. Arizona finally got a win against the Raiders last week. Can they
keep it going, or will the Titans continue to play well?
Tennessee
beat down the Bucs in Week 2 of the preseason 30-7, and it has become very
apparent, that Jake Locker will start for the Titans during the season. Locker
didn’t play great against the Bucs, as he was only 4-11 with an interception.
Either way, it was announced that he will be the Titans starter in Week 1 in
the regular season.
For this
game, the NFL odds favor the Titans at -3 ½, and while we should see most of the
team’s starters play for a majority of the game, this one should be fun to
watch through the end. Even though the Titans have named Locker the starter,
they could change their mind. Matt Hasselbeck hasn’t exactly been shining
either, but nothing is certain in the preseason. The Cardinals have themselves
a quarterback battle of their own, but theirs is a bit more dicey.
Week 2
The
Titans’ offense didn’t look great, but the team kicked their way to victory against
the Bucs. After falling behind early, the Titans’ Chris Johnson had a nice
14-yard touchdown run at the end of the first quarter to tie the game. After
that, it was the leg of Rob Bironas, and one more TD from Johnson to seal the
victory.
The Cardinals
finally got a win last week, as they squeaked by the Raiders. Even though Kevin
Kolb has a large contract, John Skelton looks as the clear favorite to win the
starting job in Arizona. Skelton didn’t play long, but he did throw a perfect
3-3 with 23 yards and a touchdown pass to Anthony Sherman in the second
quarter.
Kolb on
the other hand had a bad day, as he went 3-6 with only 22 yards, and he was
sacked three times for a total of 21 yards lost. The Cardinals are quickly
realizing that they screwed up in offering Kolb as much money as they did, but
they haven’t lost any real games yet, so it has only hurt the owner in his
checkbook, and not the team’s win/loss record.
The Sharp Pick
The
Titans are obviously the better team in this matchup, and a club that will likely be fighting for a
playoff spot by the end of the year, while the Cardinals will be thinking about
how high of a draft pick they will get.
However,
this is the preseason, and things can go either way. However, I still like the
home favorites in this one. Arizona hasn’t been able to do much against teams
with good defenses this offseason, and the Titans had an average defense last
season.
With
Chris Johnson back to his old self, and Jake Locker secured into the starting
job, Tennessee is the play. The Cardinals will play well, but Tennessee has the
better defense, quarterbacks, and much more depth than the Cards. Lay the
points.
My
Pick: Titans -3 ½