ATS Sports Blog

The defending NFC Champion Arizona Cardinals open the 2009 season at home against NFC West division rival San Francisco. Scheduled for Sunday, September 13th at 4:15 P.M. (EST), this will be one of three late games to be played on opening day. The Cardinals are currently a 6.5 point favorite and the over/under line is set at 47. These teams have actually faced each the past three years on opening day with Arizona winning two out of three. The Cardinals have been somewhat dominant in this series lately winning six out the last eight games they have played.

Arizona was the story in the NFC last year as they went on a playoff run that took them all the way to the Super Bowl. Led by veteran QB Kurt Warner, the Cardinals had one of the most potent offensives in the league last season and with WR Anquan Bolden staying in Arizona, all the pieces are in place for them to make another run. They averaged 26.7 points per game and 365 yards per game ending up ranked 4th in total offense. After a 2-5 start San Francisco decided to make a coaching change, firing Mike Nolan and elevating assistant head coach/defense, Mike Singletary to the top spot. With his no nonsense attitude and instilling a new level of toughness he led the 49ers to a 5-4 record that included a 4-1 run down the stretch. While there are still a number of question marks with this team, especially at quarterback, Singletary has this team pointed in the right direction heading into the 2009 season.

In the last eight games these two teams have played against each other the average points per game was 46.7 so there is no wonder that the over/under sits right at 47. Arizona will go primarily with an aerial attack while the San Francisco 49ers will try and grind it out on the ground. Both defenses are good but not great, so I still expect a lot of points to go up on the board which has me leaning toward the over even though it is set so high. The 49ers desperately need to get off to a good start, and Arizona may still be feeling the effects of losing the Super Bowl which all points to a very winnable game for San Francisco on the road.

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