Monday night football and we will see the San Diego Chargers travel to Glendale, Arizona to take on the Arizona Cardinals. The game has a start time of 10:20 pm (Eastern) and will be televised on ESPN. Current Vegas odds have the Cardinals listed as 3 point favorites, while the total is set at 46.5.
Analysis: The San Diego Chargers surprised many last year by going 9-7 on the year and making it to the 2nd round of the NFL playoffs, before bowing out to Denver. Now the Chargers are looking for bigger things in Mike McCoy’s second season as head coach. Last year the Chargers offense was ranked 12th in scoring, at 24.8 ppg, while also ranking 5th in total yards (393.3 ypg), 4th in passing (270.5 ypg) and 13th in rushing (122.8 ypg). Philip Rivers had a very nice bounce back year under the guidance of Mike McCoy, who fixed some of Philips mechanics, while also giving him more freedom at the line of scrimmage. Rivers #1 target was rookie Keenen Allen, who caught 71 passes for 1086 yards, while Ryan Mathews had a his best year yet rushing for 1255 yards and 6 TDs. ). The biggest area of concern for San Diego was a secondary that was not very good last year, ranking 29th vs the pass. The Chargers used their first pick in the draft to take CB Jason Verrett from TCU. He is a bit undersized, but still he will help this unit out allot. The Bolts also helped add depth to a solid LB corps by drafting OLB Jeremiah Attaochu (Georgia Tech) and then the line got some help with 5th round pick NT Ryan Carrethers.
The Arizona Cardinals had a solid 1st year under HC Bruce Arians as they went 10-6 on the season. This year they have questions at LB and still have a weak running game, plus they reside in the same division as the Niners and Seahawks, which should make duplicating last years 10 wins a tough task. Carson Palmer led this offense last year and he had a decent season, throwing for 4274 yards with 24 TDs, but still made too many mistakes with his 22 INTs. He will have back his top two targets from last year in Larry Fitzgerald (954 yards, 10 TDs) and Michael Floyd (1041 yards, 5 TDs). The Running game has been a sore spot of this team for years and this year could be no different as Mendenhall has retired, leaving the running game in the hands of 2nd year back Andre Ellington, who may not play this game due to an injured foot. Last year the Arizona defense had an awesome front 7, but gone are LBs Karlos Dansby (FA), Jasper Brinkley (FA) and Daryl Washington (Suspension). The Cardinals did nothing in the draft or free agency to upgrade the middle of the defense, so it will could be a weak spot for them. They did strengthen an already good DL with the drafting of DE's Kareem Martin (3rd pick) and Ed Stinson (6th pick). They also upgraded a solid secondary with their 1st pick SS Deone Bucannon and through free agency by grabbing Antonio Cromatie from the Jets.
Pick: The preseason game between these teams put up just 21 total points, but both teams also played very vanilla on offense, knowwing that they were gonna meet again in week 1. This one will be different as we should see allot more scoring here. The Chargers have an explosive offense that is led by the resurgent Philip Rivers, who is now in the 2nd year of Mike McCoy's system, so I look for him to have a bigger year this time around. The Chargers have an average set of WRs, but they also did last year and were still able to put up 24 ppg. They also have a solid running game, while will then help open holes downfield for Rivers to make some big plays. The defense is clearly the weakness of the Chargers, especially along the line and the defense backfield, where they rate 26th or worse on both units. Carson Palmer and the first team offense had a nice showing in the preseason and I expect that to continue in this one. They still have no running game, but the WR corps rates as one of the best in the league. This one should be a fun one with a game that is played in the 50s.
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Handicapping Tips: Derivative Betting
Steve Fezzik, from Pregame.com takes a look at some handicapping tips pertaining to derivative betting. This includes a free pick from Steve.