NFL Football
2011-11-13 - Arizona Cardinals at Philadelphia Eagles
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
United States: NFL Football Week 10
Sunday 13 November 2011 - Kick Off 1pm ET
6pm (British Standard Time)
Preview
The Philadelphia Eagles (3-5) may just be drinking in the 'last chance saloon' after blowing another 4th Quarter lead in the game against the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, a loss that leaves them 3 games behind the New York Giants in the NFC East. They will look to get back on the horse against the Arizona Cardinals (2-6) who will be without former Eagle Kevin Kolb for a second game in a row.
The Eagles loss was all the worse as it came against a team that is a potential Wild Card rival, and they are now in a position where they need to go 7-1, in my opinion, during the second half of the season if they do want to make the post-season.
I figure they will have a decent week this week as they face an Arizona Defense that was shredded on the ground by the St Louis Rams last week and now face the best rushing team in the NFL. LeSean McCoy is playing at a high level right now and I think he is due to have a big game.
Michael Vick and the receiving corps are also expected to bounce back in a big way after the Bears gave them a tough outing last time out. Arizona have struggled to finish anybody through the air this season as the Secondary has struggled without the experience of Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, a player traded to the Eagles when bringing in Kevin Kolb. The Cardinals can get pressure on the opposition QB, but Vick is elusive and you have to think the Eagles will be moving the chains with little problems that they don't create for themselves.
Arizona are missing Kolb at QB this week and that does not bode well for them as they have to start the inexperienced John Skelton, a player that looks like he has the tools to do well but struggles to make the right reads. He goes up against a Philadelphia Secondary that has not played as good as the talent suggests they should, although Rodgers-Cromartie will be keen to show the Cardinals what they are missing.
The Cardinals will need to get the ground game going, an area where Philadelphia have struggled all season, but Beanie Wells is banged up and that is going to be a problem for Arizona if they leave Skelton in long passing situations. The Eagles have a very good pass rush, while Arizona's Offensive Line has struggled to protect their QB, and that could lead to carnage if Arizona are in a big hole of in 3rd and long situations.
Head to Head
Arizona beat Philadelphia by a TD when they last met in 2009 in the Play Offs.
The teams had also met in the regular season here at Lincoln Field, with the Eagles winning by 28 points.
Philadelphia have won their last 2 home games, both straight up and against the spread, in the series.
Arizona are 3-7-1 against the spread in the last 11 games in the series.
Philadelphia are 3-5 against the spread this season, Arizona are 4-4.
Other Interesting Trends
Philadelphia are just 1-6 against the spread in their last 7 games as the home favourite. They are 6-1-1 against the spread in their last 8 games following an appearance on Monday Night Football.
Arizona have won their last 4 games against the spread when considered the road underdog of 10.5 points or more.
Prediction
I hate taking double-digit point favourites, but I am going to take the Philadelphia Eagles to win this game and cover for the following reasons:
First, Arizona are travelling to the East Coast and, barring any turnovers and punt returns for TDs as they did against Baltimore, this is usually a tough spot for West Coast teams.
Second, Philadelphia should be able to move the chains very effectively this week and that means the pressure will be on John Skelton to help his team keep up, something I don't believe he can do with the personnel around him.
Third, the Eagles have usually performed very well coming off a Monday Night appearance game, and they don't seem to be affected negatively on the short week.
The Statistics :
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Pick :
Philadelphia Eagles 31-13 Arizona Cardinals
