Redskins by 6
Cardinals have suffered some horrible luck in the last two pre-seasons. They have a history of being destroyed by injuries in the pre-season games which carries over into the first part of the regular season. Things can only improve for them this year. What I fail to understand is how the line on this game can be Washington -6? Washington comes into 2002 with a new (untested) head coach, a new offensive system, lots of questions about the defense, and a huge void at quarterback. Redskins finished strong last season and completed the season at 8-8, but former coach Shottenheimer is now gone and the players are having to learn their third playbook in three years (actually 4th system in three years if you count the Roebke disaster as interim head coach in 2000). I think the public is grossly overestimating the Steve Spurrior hiring, thinking he will turn this team around in a couple of games. No way. If Spurrior's new system is as complex as has been reported, then it's going to take some time for the players to become comfortable. Add the bumbling trio of lame brained quarterbacks currently on the roster, and this only makes things worse for Washington. No matter how bad the Cardinals have been in recent years' early games, there's no way the Redskins should be 6-point favorites here. If the Redskins stumble through pre-season again (they were 1-4 ATS last pre-season), look for this line to drop closer to game day -- perhaps as low as -4. If the line hits -4, that's an excellent middle opportunity to catch the 4, 5, and 6. If Redskins fail to find a starting quarterback, this line could even hit -3. Great value play here with an early bet on PHX +6.
Cardinals have suffered some horrible luck in the last two pre-seasons. They have a history of being destroyed by injuries in the pre-season games which carries over into the first part of the regular season. Things can only improve for them this year. What I fail to understand is how the line on this game can be Washington -6? Washington comes into 2002 with a new (untested) head coach, a new offensive system, lots of questions about the defense, and a huge void at quarterback. Redskins finished strong last season and completed the season at 8-8, but former coach Shottenheimer is now gone and the players are having to learn their third playbook in three years (actually 4th system in three years if you count the Roebke disaster as interim head coach in 2000). I think the public is grossly overestimating the Steve Spurrior hiring, thinking he will turn this team around in a couple of games. No way. If Spurrior's new system is as complex as has been reported, then it's going to take some time for the players to become comfortable. Add the bumbling trio of lame brained quarterbacks currently on the roster, and this only makes things worse for Washington. No matter how bad the Cardinals have been in recent years' early games, there's no way the Redskins should be 6-point favorites here. If the Redskins stumble through pre-season again (they were 1-4 ATS last pre-season), look for this line to drop closer to game day -- perhaps as low as -4. If the line hits -4, that's an excellent middle opportunity to catch the 4, 5, and 6. If Redskins fail to find a starting quarterback, this line could even hit -3. Great value play here with an early bet on PHX +6.
