For us East Coast bettors, three 10:00 p.m. EDT preseason Week 4 games might be difficult to follow from the first to fourth quarters. But for everyone else, the six West Coast teams participating in the final stage of preseason play indicate the final opportunity to cash in on second and third tier squads.
Let’s take a sneak peak at all three contests just before kickoff begins on Friday.
Denver (-3) at Arizona – 10:00 p.m. EDT
The first question on everyone’s mind is will QB Matt Leinart find his groove in the National Football League, or more like when? Whether it’s the 12 interceptions that greeted him into his first year with Arizona in 2006, the constant rotation with Kurt Warner in 2007 or the season ending fractured left collarbone sustained in a contest against St. Louis last year, it’s becoming clear that patience is wearing in the state of Arizona.
Since we divulged on Leinart, it’s been announced that Warner will take opening snaps for the Cardinals in Friday’s contest. The saga continues in the desert and the light at the end of the tunnel doesn’t seem to be that bright.
What we can expect from both Arizona and Denver is a game focusing on the air attack. While Warner and the Cards will be airing it out with WRs Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald securing the big plays, the Broncos should be able to take off early on with signal caller Jay Cutler and newly acquired wide out, Brandon Stokley refining their game plan.
But the numbers don’t lie and Denver is an impressive 9-0 SU and ATS in its last nine Game 4’s in the preseason. And then there’s the Bronco’s head coach, Mike Shanahan’s career preseason record of 40-24 SU and 35-28-1 ATS!
Bodog.com has listed Arizona as a three-point home favorite, with a total of 37 installed.
San Diego (+3) at San Francisco – 10:00 p.m. EDT
Is San Francisco ready to entrust the future of the team in the hands of slinger J.T. O’Sullivan and better yet, can this organization improve on a 5-11 record from last season (San Fran is a combined 16-32 in the last three seasons)?
There’s no doubt that O’Sullivan is the No. 1 QB on the depth chart. A 60.1-percent passing percentage, 351 yards gained through the air and two TDs are all figures that have faired well during this preseason (mix in two interceptions into this report as well).
As for the numbers, off the cuff trends are tough to come by as a combined 20-27 ATS record in Game 4’s between the 49ers and Chargers points to no clear cut direction. However, it’s worth noting that San Francisco has been a scoring machine in the preseason, combining for 71 points in the last two games.
On the other end of the field, San Diego has had trouble finding the end zone with any of its squads. The Chargers have averaged just 12 points per game in the last two outings, but that’s not to say the core starters haven’t done their job. In-fact field general Philip Rivers is coming off a 143 yard passing performance (11-for-21) and backup running back Darren Sproles eclipsed the 100-yard mark on 13 carries.
With most of the San Diego starting team taking a seat for this contest, books have gone on to install the 49ers as 2 ½-point favorites with a total set at 36. It almost feels like San Francisco is playing for what the not so distant future might entail, while the Chargers are just hoping to jump into 2008 with a healthy team (anyone hear about defensive specialist Shawne Merriman’s injury?).
Overtime
-- Oakland will travel up north to Seattle in a 10:00 p.m. EDT scheduled meeting. Most books have installed the Seahawks as three-point favorites with a total sitting at 35.
-- The Raiders are 6-2 ATS when coming off a back-to-back SU loses in preseason action (24-0 loss against Arizona, 17-16 defeat in Tennessee) are 13-12 in Game 4’s but have cashed tickets with a 3-1 ATS run in the last four Game 4’s.
-- The Seahawks haven’t been all that bad in final preseason games, notching up a 14-10 ATS record in Week 4 games. Despite scoring just 17 points in a defeat in San Diego last week, Seattle’s offense has been on fire, finding the end zone and uprights for a total of 63 points in the first two preseason games.
-- Remember that this is a Seahawks club without their two top wide receivers in Bobby Engram (shoulder) and Deion Branch (knee). Both players are expected to miss significant time during the regular season.
-- Seattle has been installed as an underdog in all three preseason games played. The total has gone ‘over’ twice in the three games, with that total set anywhere from 34 to 37 ½-points.
-- Bad news for a youthful Raiders team will witness fullback Oren O’Neil (knee) and wide receiver Drew Carter (knee) possibly shutting down the season even before it takes off. Both injuries occurred in the first few minutes of the shutout loss in Arizona last week.
Joshua Jacobs can be reached at jacobs@vegasinsider.com.
