Texans Cardinals Betting – Leinart Era Begins Again
The Arizona Cardinals will play host to the AFC South’s Houston Texans, as the two young teams will begin the preseason on August 14th. The Texans are once again a sexy pick as a sleeper playoff team and to possibly upset the Colts to win the AFC South division. The Cardinals, on the other hand, are expected to see some troubles in wake of the loss of Kurt Warner to retirement and Anquan Boldin to the Baltimore Ravens. Week 1 of the preseason will provide the first look into where these teams are headed for the upcoming season.
NFL Betting: Houston Texans @ Arizona Cardinals
Why To Bet On The Texans
The Texans are a team on the rise, as their dynamic offense has drawn rave reviews and bring high hopes for the upcoming season. There are some issues to be sorted out that they will get right into on the first week of the preseason. Most notably, the battle for starting running back is expected to be a three man race. Steve Slaton was the incumbent, but finds himself behind Arian Foster on the depth chart. Rookie 2nd rounder Ben Tate also figures into the battle as well, although he fell behind in the offseason program due to an injury. While the issue needs to sort itself out before the real games begin, having three running backs looking to take one job means that there is some serious talent that will be competing hard in the preseason.
As funny as it may seem, the game could actually come down to a field goal battle, and the Texans have employed two players on their preseason roster, Kris Brown and Neil Rackers. Both kickers have strong legs but have had problems with misses in recent years. However, if the game comes down to the last second and a kick needs to be made, Houston has two players that are looking to win a starting spot, a clear advantage.
Why To Bet on the Cardinals
The Cardinals have ushered out the Kurt Warner era and look to begin the Matt Leinart era. Leinart himself is a main reason why the Cardinals could win this game. He is without Anquan Boldin anymore, and will need a lot of reps to develop with his receiving corps. If there is one team in the NFL who may play their starters a bit more than usual for the first preseason game, it may very well be an Arizona team who is going to be doing some searching, perhaps into the regular season, as to what their identity is.
While that may spell doom for the team in the regular season, in a preseason game, the fact that the majority of Arizona’s starters could play a full quarter and perhaps even a half will give them an advantage over a Texans team who’s starting lineup has already gelled together, and is all set.
How the Game Will Play Out
While the Texans are the better overall team, this game is going to go to the Cardinals. Houston is going to play their starters for perhaps one series and Arizona is going to have their people in for a bit longer. While Houston is going to be searching for a running back, the Cardinals are searching for an identity, which gives them an advantage in the preseason’s first week.
