update: A ~5u winner today (2-0). If you followed, congrats!!
WASHINGTON REDSKINS vs ARIZONA CARDINALS - *WEEK 13*
The soaring/streaking Redskins invade University of Phoenix stadium, whereas the Cards look like they're running as smooth as a 3-wheeled Pinto. Will the Cardinals finally get their crap together to assemble a win?
THE INTANGIBLES TO KNOW ABOUT THIS WEEK:
* Oddly enough, Bruce Arians is 6-1 against the NFC East (as the Cards head coach)
* Blast from the past: My fondest memory of a Redskins/Cardinals game was back in 1992 when AZ beat WAS 27-24 (and AZ scored 21 points in the 4th w/ two pick 6s that quarter!!). Of course, for the other times, WAS was the windshield, and AZ was... y'know.
* The last time Kurt Cousins played against AZ (in AZ), he was picked off three times and lost 30-20.. but still managed to throw a bunch of yards (350+).
* Interesting to note if you look at the rosters for both teams during the 2014 matchup and now: both teams aren't all that much different talent-wise..
* That ATL game was what I expected: Lots of points, and AZ shooting themselves in the foot just because they're on the road.
* On the flip side, AZ (based on my eye test) seems to have a lot less bone-headed penalties at home.
* There is some truth to what Arians said about his defensive players playing "selfish" and "trying to do too much": There were just way too many runs ATL ripped off simply because an AZ defender was out of position or not tackling properly
* Michael Floyd had something like 4 key drops against ATL last week? Oh vey..
* Carson Palmer, despite the criticism he's gotten this year, has actually played decently given the crappy o-line he currently has
* The world didn't end when the latest LT, DJ Humphries, got the start; he actually did decently.
* On the other hand, the RT and RG, John Wetzel and Ulrich John, got "tired" as the game went on; the eye test dictates that the pass protection got much worse in the 4th quarter because of this.
* Arians also attributes Ulrich John getting tired because as a sub, he hasn't played a full game since he was in college.
* I don't care what anyone says - David Johnson is a better RB than Ezekiel Elliot, simply because if DJ played WR, he could be in the Pro Bowl. He has better hands than most receivers, and oddly enough - more speed.
* Special teams was average (which means AZ didn't give up a TD on a runback/punt or screwed up a punt/FG), but that punter still really blows - his hang time and distance on his punt is way below average, if not at the bottom of the league.
* I know the 'Skins looked like worldbeaters against GB, but they were essentially played 4 safeties - and it showed when Cousins threw deep.
* I know I rail against the secondary outside of Peterson/Mathieu, but that GB secondary that night was as bad as I've seen on any team, but..
* AZ will still give up a lot of yards in the secondary - but that might not translate into points..
* AZ's defense at home simply plays better; those 5-7 yard runs on the road turn into 1-3 yard gains at home.
* I don't know if people noticed, the but the Redskin's secondary isn't all that great, regardless..
* AZ's WRs outside of Larry Fitz are still either hurting, inconsistent, or simply dropping balls..
* But AZ does go 6 WRs deep despite the injuries to John Brown and Michael Floyd, so I still expect AZ's passing attack to be a factor...
* Tyrann Mathieu made some really good plays last week; nice to see him make plays that made him the Pro-Bowler that he was...
* Expect a lot of running by DJ after he only got 13 carries last week. He's too good to only get 13, but of course the Cards threw the ball to him, too..
* I'd type more.. but it's getting late on this Saturday evening. **yawn**
OUTLOOK AND PREDICTION FOR WEEK 13:
I was kinda shocked when I saw last Sunday that the line for today's game was AZ -2.5 It dipped down to -2, and now back at -2.5, but I really do think this line will drop in WAS's favor (probably closer to AZ -1 or even pick'em). However, the big shocker is that the OU line went down from 50.5 to 48.5 (!!!). I really think this game will be a shootout. Cousins is playing well, and Palmer is playing a lot better than people think the past couple weeks despite his O-line issues. Therefore, I expect a lot of scoring in this game. I wouldn't be surprised if there were 55+ points on the board. Also, WAS's run defense is not very good, and DJ is the real deal at RB..
As for the side, despite what we've seen out of AZ/WAS the past few weeks, this is the type of game that AZ wins: They're pretty much out of the playoffs, and as a Cards fan I desperately hope they do a "suck for (Andrew) Luck"-type campaign the rest of the year. Unfortunately for me, AZ historically ends up winning these meaningless games during every non-playoff year, making my hopes for them drafting Deshaun Watson vanish like Cheech and Chong (read: Up in Smoke). Damn you, Cards - DAMN YOU.
PREDICTION #1: OVER 48.5 (3 UNITS)
PREDICTION #2: AZ -1 for -120 (2 UNITS)
Good luck to all if you follow - let's cash!
Updated total for 2016/17 football season: 6-4 W/L record = +$738.32. (Note: each unit theoretically reflects a $100 play)