Sportsbook website handicappers were caught off guard when the Arizona Cardinals decided to go with Derek Anderson as their starting quarterback over Matt Leinart
Heir Apparent-ly Not
Leinart was the Cardinals top draft pick in 2006 and slated to be the starting quarterback for 2010 after serving as Kurt Warner’s understudy before the future hall of famer retired. Leinart bombed out in his first tour of duty as the starter and lost the job to the veteran castoff Warner, who led the Cardinals to the 2008 NFC Championship. Leinart always came off to his teammates and to handicappers at SBG as a player with a sense of entitlement that was unwilling to pay the full price. While Anderson also bombed out as a starter with the Cleveland Browns he impressed Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt and Cardinal team mates with his work ethic and he literally ripped the job away from Leinart, who was cut and ended up with the Houston Texans.
A Tough Transition
Regardless of who was to be the starting quarterback for Arizona this year they would have a tough time replacing the highly productive, popular, and respected Warner. Arizona is somehow getting by with a record of 2-1 straight up and 1-2 against the spread as they rank 25th in the NFL for total offense and passing. The Cardinals scored one of the luckiest wins you could see at a sportsbook company as in last week’s 24-23 win over Oakland they escaped with victory as the Raiders missed a 32 yard field goal at the gun.
Weak Numbers
Anderson’s play has been inconsistent and has reminded sportsbook website handicappers why the Browns let him go after last season. Anderson has completed just 52% of his passes for a weak 5.9 yards per attempt and a 3/3 touchdown/interception ratio. Whisenhunt said that Anderson must improve to keep his job although with Leinart gone all that is behind Anderson is rookie Max Hall unless the Cards can manufacture a deal with another team or find a free agent.
Tough Repeat Effort
Arizona will be looking to repeat as NFC West champions and make their third consecutive playoff appearance. The NFC West is considered to be the weakest NFL division by sportsbook company handicappers so there is a decent shot for them to make it despite the weak quarterbacking.