Craig Davis
Sunday's Lineup
50 Dime --- GIANTS (Buy the 1/2 point if your line is -7 or -7 1/2.)
Great spot for the G-men here because Vegas has posted a line that will scare people into taking Arizona. Like I've said many times before... we live in a short-term memory society and many times remember only what happened a week ago. Fresh off everyone's mind was the 48-27 beatdown the Saints put on the Giants in the Superdome last week while Arizona was busy playing defense for the first time in a while, keeping Seattle out of the end zone in a 27-3 thumping of the Seahawks. So the average bettor looks at this game and questions why the Cardinals are getting a full touchdown to New York... especially when Arizona has weapons like Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, Kurt Warner, Steve Breaston, etc. After a slow start, the Cardinals offense has really started to gel and have scored in the high 20s the last two weeks.
And why wouldn't they be able to score against a Giants defense that allowed over 400 yards of offense and 48 points in their Week 6 loss? I'll tell you why... because the Giants defense isn't that bad and they just happened to run into a buzzsaw last weekend in Drew Brees and the Saints receivers. Sean Payton had a PERFECT game plan and they executed it. Now, if you're backing Arizona, you have to believe Ken Whisenhunt is capable of calling the same type of game that Payton did. Guess what? He can't.
When Todd Haley left Arizona to coach the KC Chiefs, he took his offense with him, leaving Whisenhunt to call plays for himself. Although it seemingly worked the last two weeks, you must keep in mind they played two defenses that rate in the bottom third of the league in pass defense. Let's face it, Seattle's secondary is a joke. So is Houston's. The Giants, on the other hand, have enough talent at DE and DT to put pressure on Warner with just four while dropping seven in coverage to take away the underneath stuff as the safeties play deep to take away Warner's effective deep passes.
Also keep in mind, the Arizona offense might be without WR Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston who are both nursing injuries. When one or the other has missed a game this year, the Cardinals' offense has gone into a shell and failed to score like they normally do. In Week 1 the Cardinals scored a measly 16 points at San Francisco with Breaston sidelined and Boldin not 100%.
One other thing I don't like about this Cardinals offense is the fact they don't run the ball. Kind of amazing if you think about it, because Ken Whisenhunt is a Pittsburgh guy and all they did during his tenure there is run the rock 65-70% of the time. In Week 3 the Cards were held to just 10 points by a very good Colts defense because they became one-dimensional. I can promise you this... if the Cardinals become one-dimensional tonight against this Giants defense they are DEAD in the water.
It still baffles me that they drafted Chris "Beanie" Wells in the first round and yet they refuse to use him. He averages over 4 yards per run but he is often times spotted on the sidelines just waiting for his number to be called. In that Indy game, the Arizona backs ran the ball 12 times for just 24 yards. In their game two weeks ago vs. Houston, the Cardinals also abandoned the run, and nearly turned a 21-0 halftime lead into a loss because of their ineffectiveness in the running game. The Cards gave the ball to Wells and/or Hightower just 13 times combined over 60 minutes despite getting out to an early lead. In fact, they ran the ball only 6 times IN THE SECOND HALF. Are you kidding me? Try that crap against the Giants and they will dominate, period. Even though their running game didn't dominate last weekend vs. Seattle, they did at least try to run and the threat of the ground game kept Seattle honest and guessing.
For New York it's simple really. Set up the run early with Jacobs and Bradshaw behind this massive offensive line. Get the ball into the hands of your play playmakers and let them create, especially Steve Smith. Utilize play action to keep the safeties thinking about the run. It really is quite simple if you think about it. That offensive line is the key to them moving the football, and last week they lost the battle in the trenches for the first time all season. Establish the line and dominate... everything will fall into place when you're a team playing with a little chip on their shoulder. They were embarrassed last week and now have a chance to redeem themselves on National TV.
Another thing to keep in mind... Arizona doesn't travel well.... especially when they have to go to the East Coast. The Cards were a train wreck when traveling East last season and are currently 2-11 ATS in their last 13 on the road vs. non-division teams. The Giants, meanwhile, have covered 30 of their last 41 (when favored by any number), they're 7-2-1 ATS when coming in off a SU loss the week before, and are currently on a perfect ATS run (7-0) when allowing 30+ points the week before. It's all Giants here tonight boys, all Giants. Lay it.
paid and confirmed by me and mac5363
</td></tr></tbody></table></td></tr><tr><td class="EON_MI_GYG01Content DNNAlignleft" id="dnn_ctr1397_ContentPane" valign="top"><!-- Start_Module_1397 -->Arizona Cardinals (46) @ New York Giants(-7) 8:20, ET
