Cardinals Counting on Palmer in Return Match with Packers
By Charles Jay
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At about this time last season, the Arizona Cardinals were going into the NFL playoffs with absolutely no answer at quarterback. Starter Carson Palmer had been injured, and Drew Stanton, his back up, was on the shelf as well. So they had to go against the Carolina Panthers without either one of them, using Ryan Lindley instead. They had 75 yards of offense in that game, setting a new league low.
What a difference a year makes; Arizona now gains more yards per drive than any team in the league, and they have scored 30 points or more nine different times as they head into Divisional Round post-season action against the Green Bay Packers in a game that will kick off at 8:15 PM ET on Saturday night at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ. Vietbet customers don’t have to stop betting at the opening kickoff; they can continue to wager on the game in progress, using the innovative option of Live Betting Extra.
Cardinals vs Packers – Vietbet NFL BETTING LINE:
In the NFL betting odds posted on this game by the people at Vietbet, with reduced juice attached, the Cardinals are favored at home:
Arizona Cardinals -7 (-105)
Green Bay Packers +7 (-105)
Over 50 points -102
Under 50 points -108
The Cardinals (13-3 SU, 9-7 ATS) really pushed the Panthers for the #1 seed in the conference, despite the fact that Carolina had gone undefeated for the first 14 games of the season. Ultimately, the Panthers got it done in the season’s final week, while Arizona look like it rolled over and play dead for the Seattle Seahawks at home. Prior to that, however, they had made quick work of the Packers, trouncing them by a 38-8 count and holding them under 200 yards in total offense.
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Naturally Green Bay has some more confidence after beating the Washington Redskins last weekend, and they like to think they have their offense going in a better direction. Of course, Arizona goes into this post-season with one of the better quarterbacks in the National Football League.
Palmer has certainly had a season worthy of Most Valuable Player consideration. He has thrown for 4671 yards and 35 touchdowns, averaging 8.7 yards per attempt. That is two yards more than Aaron Rodgers’ average. And this team has put some effective parts around him. There was a key signing toward the end of training camp, as Arizona picked up Chris Johnson, the former NFL rushing champion that 2006 yards in 2009, and he proved his value once again with 814 yards before getting injured about seven weeks ago. He can return to action if this team reaches the Super Bowl, but in the meantime, rookie David Johnson (out of Northern Iowa) has really picked up the slack, registering 581 yards on a 4.6-yard average. So it has been a matter of “plug and play” in the Arizona running game, which is something they didn’t have all of last year.
There are two 1000-yard receivers for Palmer to reach out to – Larry Fitzgerald, who had 109 receptions, and John Brown, who averaged 15.4 yards per catch. They can also put Michael Floyd out there, and he had 100 or more yards five different times this season on hsi way to a 16.3 yard average. So Vietbet patrons know that this is a team about as dangerous through the air as any team in the NFL.
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Defensively, this was a club that was tough on opposing passers, but toward season’s end they suffered a big blow, as Tyrann Mathieu, one of two Arizona quarterbacks named All-Pro, was lost for the season with a torn ACL. Fortunately, Patrick Peterson is at the other corner, and he will likely deal with either Randall Cobb or James Jones on the Green Bay side, depending on the situation. He is fully capable of taking wither one of them out of the game. The Cardinals hope to get a fierce pass rush going, and one of the people who was very scary for Rodgers to deal with in the first meeting was former Colt (and possible future Hall of Famer) Dwight Freeney, another of Bruce Arians’ reclamation projects, who had three sacks.
In only four games this season did the opposition average as much as four yards per carry against the Cardinals’ defense, so this becomes something of a challenge for Green Bay, which hopes to balance its offense by using the combination of Eddie Lacy and James Starks to their advantage. Could this be the Cardinals’ season? Maybe, if Palmer stays healthy. But in the meantime, he’ll be happy to register his first playoff win ever.
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