At 10:00 p.m. ET, tune in for live television coverage of this Preseason Week 1 game on Friday, August 12, 2016 at University of Phoenix Stadium.
NFL Odds at BookMaker.eu
Oakland Raiders +3
Arizona Cardinals -3
Over/Under 37.5
ODDS ANALYSIS
The one consensus in terms of the betting lines in this game is the fact that bettors love the over. The total of 37.5 feels like a number which is going to be rising as this week wears on, and we wouldn't be surprised to see a number right around 40 by the end of the week.
Without much information to go off of in terms of quarterback rotation, the oddsmakers have lined this game at Arizona -3, giving the Cardinals the advantage of home field advantage, nothing more or less.
QUARTERBACK ROTATION
Jack Del Rio didn't throw much caution to the wind early in the preseason last year when he asked Derek Carr to run a couple drives in each of Oakland's first two exhibitions. Whether he does that again this year remains to be seen, though his history from his time in Jacksonville suggests that backups should be playing sooner rather than later.
For the most part, the rest of the reps went to Matt McGloin last season, and that could be the case again this year. Fans will be interested to see what Connor Cook can do as a third-stringer, knowing that he was a fourth round pick which many believed could have easily been a second rounder.
Carson Palmer threw just 33 passes in the preseason last year, and 22 of those came in the team's third preseason game which happened to come against these Cardinals. It wouldn't be overly surprising if Palmer didn't even get onto the field in this game, but if he does, his time in will surely be short. Bruce Arians probably won't let backup Drew Stanton play long either, and that means that much of this game will come down to Matt Barkley and Jake Coker, names which don't exactly excite bettors.
COACHING HISTORY
Del Rio is known for making games ugly in the preseason. His old Jaguars teams used to play these 12-10 preseason games all the time which give the NFL exhibition season a bad name. Last year with Oakland wasn't much of an exception early on, as Oakland's first two games featured a total of just 21 and 32 points. Del Rio though, is a profitable 21-17-2 ATS as a head coach in this league, and that shouldn't be lost in the fact that he is probably going to make this game as short as possible.
The story with Bruce Arians is the complete opposite. The Cardinals pushed all four of their games over the total in the preseason last year. Do note though, that last season was a bit of an anomaly. Prior to that, Arians was 6-2 for under backers in the preseason.
All told, Arians sports a 7-4-1 ATS mark through three years with the Cards.
QUICK PICK
Even though Arians seems to get the best out of his men in the preseason and Del Rio just wants to get this game over with, we like the setup in Oakland for this preseason. Cook isn't your average rookie just taking snaps to get his feet wet, and though he might not have the goods to be a legit starter in the NFL, he's a heady guy who should pick up the pro game pretty quickly, something which is vitally important for the preseason.
Throw in the fact that this defense is young and hungry to prove itself along with having some key depth chart battles, particularly at the linebacker spot, and we've got a team we can certainly get behind even early in the preseason. Take the points.
NFL Odds: Raiders 21, Cardinals 16
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