The Arizona Cardinals went 0-5 on the Atlantic coast last season, allowing 202 points and scoring 102. Despite those grotesque numbers, they still won the NFC West - what does that say about the division in 2008?
Then Arizona won a home playoff game, meaning a trip to Charlotte, which happens to be in North Carolina, which happens to be in the Eastern time zone. Bad news for the Cardinals.
Well, not quite. They demolished the Panthers 33-13, went back home with a rocket-booster of confidence, and beat Philadelphia to get to the Super Bowl.
That meant another trip east, to Tampa, where the Cardinals acquitted themselves superbly in a last-minute 27-23 loss to Pittsburgh for the NFL title.
Now, following a mediocre opener in which they lost at home to San Francisco, the Cardinals go to Jacksonville, where they are 4 1/2-point underdogs to a Jaguars team that looked decent, especially on defense, in a loss at Indianapolis.
Losing again would drop the Cardinals two games back of either Seattle or San Francisco in the division, barring a tie at Candlestick. So which Cardinals will show up? Will it be the group that can protect Kurt Warner so he can connect with Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and the rest of his targets? And will Arizona bring a defense that can negate the Jaguars' main weapon, running back Maurice Jones-Drew?
We think so.
CARDINALS, 21-17
Pittsburgh (minus 3) at Chicago
BEST BET: The Steelers are well-rested, even if they're missing star safety Troy Polamalu. The Bears will miss linebacker Brian Urlacher a whole lot more.
STEELERS, 20-10
Baltimore (plus 3 1/2) at San Diego
UPSET SPECIAL: Baltimore's usually stingy defense sprung a few leaks last week, but the Ravens can score now. And LaDainian Tomlinson might be hobbled.
RAVENS, 21-17
Oakland (plus 3) at Kansas City
Both teams had decent 2008 debuts. They also both lost to quality opponents.
CHIEFS, 14-13
Houston (plus 7) at Tennessee
The former Houston franchise is 11-3 against the current one. Make that 12-3 ...
TITANS, 24-14
New England (minus 4 1/2) at NY Jets
Last time Jets beat Patriots in Meadowlands, Al Groh was their coach. Should be close.
PATRIOTS, 20-17
Cincinnati (plus 9) at Green Bay
Pack won't need a last-second deflection to go 2-0.
PACKERS, 27-14
Minnesota (minus 9 1/2) at Detroit
Another exam that Favre and Peterson and the Williams Wall should easily pass.
VIKINGS, 24-10
Carolina (plus 6 1/2) at Atlanta
Jake Delhomme can't possibly go for a horrendous hat trick. Can he?
FALCONS, 23-13
St. Louis (plus 9 1/2) at Washington
New Rams coach Steve Spagnuolo knows the Redskins well. Not well enough for a major upset, though.
REDSKINS, 20-10
Seattle (plus 1) at San Francisco
The winner leads the NFC West at 2-0 and gets big dose of confidence.
49ERS, 17-14
Tampa Bay (plus 4) at Buffalo
If the Bills lead by five in the final minutes, does Leodis McKelvin field a kick in the end zone?
BILLS, 21-16
Cleveland (plus 3) at Denver
Hard to imagine Broncos at 2-0. Then again, they're playing Bengals and Browns, not Buckeyes. So go for the Ohio sweep.
BRONCOS, 13-3
New Orleans (plus 1) at Philadelphia
Tough one to call with Donovan McNabb's cracked rib making him so uncertain. If he plays, Eagles should win. He probably won't, so ...
SAINTS 21-20
NY Giants (plus 2 1/2) at Dallas
Would Jerry Jones let his Cowboys flop in the first regular-season game at their billion-dollar palace?
COWBOYS, 24-23
Indianapolis (minus 3) at Miami
Last time Peyton Manning was in the Dolphins' ballpark, he won a Super Bowl. Less at stake now, and different result.
DOLPHINS, 20-17
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RECORD:
Versus spread, 8-7-1; Straight up, 13-3
Best Bet: 0-1
Upset Special: 1-0Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
