Arizona Cardinals vs. Tennessee Titans Spread at -3
Carrie Stroup here with your Arizona Cardinals vs. Tennessee Titans spread courtesy of our friends at Sportsbook.
Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: Tennessee -3 (-120) & 42.5
Opening Line & Total: Titans -4 & 40.5
Two teams getting closer to resolving quarterback controversies clash on Thursday night when the Cardinals visit the Titans.
Arizona has yet to decide whether Kevin Kolb or John Skelton will be its starting quarterback when the regular season begins, but Tennessee head coach Mike Munchak already announced that second-year pro Jake Locker would start in Week 1 instead of veteran Matt Hasselbeck, who took the opening snap in all 16 games last season for the Titans. The Cardinals have struggled so far in the preseason (0-3 ATS), especially on defense where they have allowed 54 points and 640 total yards in the past two contests. Meanwhile, Tennessee is coming off a huge road win, throttling the Buccaneers 30-7 thanks to a defense that allowed just 81 total yards (-1 net passing yards). The Titans are historically a tremendous preseason team, winning 15 of their past 22 contests (68%), while the Cardinals are just 6-9 in the preseason since 2009.
Thursday marks the sixth preseason meeting all-time between these clubs. After splitting the first four matchups, the Cardinals beat the Titans 24-10 on the road in 2010. Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt will start Skelton on Thursday and let him play at least the first half. So far in the preseason, Skelton is 10-of-15 for 90 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT, which is considerably better than Kolb, who is just 5-for-15 for 47 yards, 0 TD and 1 INT with four sacks (15.1 QB rating). Allowing sacks will continue to be a major concern for Arizona after losing starting LT Levi Brown for at least three months with a torn triceps. But the injury news isn’t all bad for Arizona, as both RB Beanie Wells (knee) and TE Jeff King (quadriceps) will make their preseason debuts on Thursday. WR Andre Roberts (neck) is also expected to return to action after missing last week’s game, and RB Ryan Williams should see a greater workload after carrying the ball five times for 25 yards in his first action of 2012 last week. Williams missed all of his rookie season with a torn right patellar tendon.
Locker will play the entire first two quarters and then manage one or two drives to open the second half before giving way to Hasselbeck. Locker’s promotion has been a bit surprising considering how poor he’d played in the preseason. He’s completed just 11-of-24 passes (45.8%) for 101 yards (4.2 YPA), 0 TD and 1 INT in the two games. Hasselbeck has connected on 9-of-14 throws (64.3%) for 74 yards, but has tossed two interceptions and zero touchdowns. No. 3 QB Rusty Smith has been the team’s most efficient signal caller, going 12-for-19 for 162 yards (8.5 YPA), 1 TD and 0 INT. Although top wideout Kenny Britt is still recovering from last year’s torn ACL, Tennessee’s star player, RB Chris Johnson, has looked strong. Johnson has rushed for 54 yards on 15 carries (3.6 YPC) and two touchdowns, helping his team rumble for 301 yards on 5.0 YPC in the two preseason games.
- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter
