Quarterbacks are the big story for both the Arizona Cardinals and St. Louis Rams as they will open NFL week 1 at the Edward Jones Dome under the St. Louis arch. Kick-off is schedule for 4:20pm EST and the game can be seen on FOX television. Online sportsbooks have opened with Arizona as a 4-point favorite in NFL predictions with an over/under betting total of 39. Matt Leinart was supposed to be the Cardinals starting quarterback but lost the job to Cleveland transplant Derek Anderson. While Leinart’s numbers were good it was apparent to head coach Ken Whisenhunt that the team responded better to Anderson’s leadership. Leinart was released from the Cardinals as a result in order to clear the air heading into NFL betting odds for week 1.
Leinart was not at all pleased and went public about it saying that “I feel like I’ve outplayed the competition, training camp, preseason. I think my play speaks about that. For me this goes beyond the football field.” Meanwhile the Rams were impressed with 2010 number one overall draft pick Sam Bradford, who had an outstanding preseason in NFL betting and ended up surpassing AJ Feeley for the starting job. Feeley sprained a thumb on is throwing hand early in preseason and Bradford got more playing time as a result, making the most of the opportunity. Bradford was 21-28 for 257 yards with 3 TD’s and 0 interceptions in preseason.
Bradford has become the face of the franchise and no doubt his starting the opener will increase interest in St. Louis. The Rams finished 3-1 in exhibition play as both offense and defense jelled nicely. Arizona has gotten the money in 4 out of the last 5 matchups between these teams with the last 4 games going under the total. Arizona has covered just 1 out of their last 5 games as a favorite with 4 of those games going UNDER the total while St. Louis has lost 4 out of their last 6 games in NFL odds as an underdog with 4 of those games going UNDER the betting total.