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Carolina Panthers vs. Arizona Cardinals
Point spread: Arizona -7
Over/Under: 36.5
The Carolina Panthers led by rookie quarterback Cam Newton kick-off the 2011 regular season against Kevin Kolb and the Arizona Cardinals this Sunday afternoon at the University of Phoenix Stadium. Game time is set for 4:15 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast regionally on FOX.
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Carolina is coming off a dreadful 2-14 campaign where the only good thing to come from the effort was the first overall pick in the college draft. The Panthers chose Heisman Trophy quarterback Cam Newton, who just finished leading the Auburn Tigers to a national title. He will now try and lead Carolina to its first road win since December of 2009.
Newton will rely heavily on a running game that still features two quality backs in Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams. When he does have to throw the ball, look for tight ends Greg Olsen and Jeremy Shockey along with wide receiver Steve Smith to be his primary targets.
Arizona is another team that is looking to turn things around after dropping to last in the NFC West last season with an overall record of 5-11. This is a team that went to the Super Bowl in 2008 and won the division in 2009, so the fall has been hard and fast since quarterback Kurt Warner decided to retire.
The Cardinals are hoping that Kevin Kolb, who makes his first regular season start for the team since coming over from Philadelphia in a trade, will be the answer to replacing Warner at quarterback. Kolb opened last season as the Eagles starter, but relinquished the job to Michael Vick after getting knocked out of opener with a concussion. He will be looking to establish an early connection with All-Pro wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald as his go-to guy. He will also have wide receiver Steven Williams and tight end Todd Heap in the passing game and Beanie Wells running the ball out of the backfield.
These two teams met late in the season last year with the Panthers coming away with a 19-12 victory as a 2.5-point home favorite. The total stayed ‘under’ the 37.5-point line. Carolina has won seven of the last eight meetings straight-up and is 5-3 against the spread. The total has stayed ‘under’ in three of the last five meetings.
This is shaping up as another low scoring affair as both these offenses try and work out the early season kinks. Newton makes a few plays but not enough to pull off the upset as the Cardinals prevail in a close one.
The odds makers have the Arizona Cardinals as a -7 point favorite with an over/under of 36.5.
The Pick: Arizona 16 Carolina 10
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Carolina Panthers Betting Trends:
- Carolina is 1-4 ATS in its last 5 games
- The total has gone UNDER in 15 of Carolina’s last 23 games
- Carolina is 1-9 SU in its last 10 games
- Carolina is 1-5 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
Arizona Cardinals Betting Trends:
- The total has gone OVER in 10 of Arizona’s last 15 games
- Arizona is 2-9 SU in its last 11 games
- Arizona is 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games
- The total has gone OVER in 7 of Arizona’s last 9 games at home
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