Coaching makes all the difference in the NFL preseason, and live bettors should be salivating at the idea of backing the Arizona Cardinals against the Kansas City Chiefs as a result.
QUARTERBACK ROTATION
In terms of skill level, there isn't a lot separating these two teams. In both cases, we have a veteran who will start and play sparingly in Carson Palmer and Alex Smith. Both have a proven veteran and a project of a youngster playing behind these starters. Arizona will count on Drew Stanton then Logan Thomas and perhaps rookie Phillip Sims. KC will go with Chase Daniel and Aaron Murray.
The difference is going to be how these quarterbacks are used. You can bet that Andy Reid is going to be asking his pivots to do more running the ball and throwing the ball short than Arians, who has no problems throwing the ball deep with any of his quarterbacks to any of his wide receivers.
WHEN ARIZONA HAS THE BALL
Aggression. That's what Arians teaches on a weekly basis. The grizzled veteran coordinator turned head coach isn't afraid to let any of his quarterbacks regularly toss the ball down the field. When he was the OC in Indianapolis, Andrew Luck threw more passes 20+ yards down the field in the air than any other quarterback in the league as a rookie.
Now, we're not saying that Logan Thomas is Andrew Luck, but if you remember back to last year when the Cards had a bunch of boards with angry faces playing quarterback, Arians still took his shots.
What does that mean to you? When Arizona has the ball, live betting against it is very dangerous. Sure, there are going to be 3-and-outs all the time, especially in the second halves of games, but keep in mind that one 30-yard play can create points in a hurry, and every point is valuable in a preseason game.
WHEN KANSAS CITY HAS THE BALL
The Cardinals have 11 rookies on the defensive side of the ball, which makes betting the over a relatively live proposition when the Chiefs are out there on offense.
Over the course of his career in the preseason, Daniel has proven that he can throw the football, and he isn't afraid to unleash some long shots.
The Chiefs made it a point this year to try to get faster and more athletic at wide out, and it wouldn't be stunning to see someone like a Dontatella Luckett streaking down the field for a 70-yard touchdown from Daniel at some point late in this game.
TREND TO TRACK
All of this big time passing in the preseason is a little abnormal, but it has worked for Arians and the Cardinals. They scored 60 points combined in their first two preseason games last year, and they covered both of those duels.
Arians is now 5-2-1 ATS thus far in the preseason in his career, and his team is rightfully favored in this one.
What really makes Arizona dangerous here in the first couple weeks of the preseason is the fact that there are just so many rookies here in camp. We've already spoken about the 11 rookies on defense, but there are eight more on offense as well. Arians ends up creating a lot of competition for his players before giving veterans the chance to get things together in the last week or two of the preseason. The end result for you is a team which plays hard on the field. Live bettors know that far more than half the battle in the preseason is which team wants to win more. Arians will make sure that his Cardinals always have the edge in that category.
The NFL betting lines and props for this Saturday game were first available at BookMaker Sportsbook. The Arizona Cardinals were lined at -XX alongside a total of XXX. Live wagering during commercials offers adjusted moneylines, totals and spreads. Log in and start gambling during the game now!
BookMaker offers play-by-play betting odds for live sporting events every day! The user-friendly wagering interface on your smartphone provides an easy way to place bets on the go. Mobile betting lines are updated by the minute, so click here to start gambling on thrilling live action at BookMaker Sportsbook! The duel between the Arizona Cardinals and Kansas City Chiefs will go down Saturday, August 15, 2015 at 9:00 p.m. ET at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, AZ. The game will be televised live on ABC 15 and KCTV 5.
