Rookie QBs Featured in Cardinals-Broncos Tilt

Football Betting Lines

12/15/2006 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The spotlight will be on two of the top 11 picks in the 2006 Draft on Sunday afternoon, when Matt Leinart and the Arizona Cardinals play host to Jay Cutler and the Denver Broncos at University of Phoenix Stadium.

Leinart, who was chosen 10th out of USC this past April, will be looking to build upon a stretch that has seen him win three of his past four starts. The signal-caller may have put together the finest performance of his young career last Sunday, when he completed 21-of-34 passes for 232 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 27-21 win over the defending NFC Champion Seahawks.

The victory gave the Cardinals hope of pulling out of an NFC West cellar to which they were exiled after a 1-8 start. Arizona (4-9) is just a game back of second-place co-occupants San Francisco and St. Louis as Week 15 begins.

Cutler, meanwhile, is still seeking his first taste of success at the NFL level. The Vanderbilt product and No. 11 selection in the '06 Draft is 0-2 since taking over for the inconsistent Jake Plummer prior to Week 13, with last week's 48-20 loss at San Diego extending the misery for the inexperienced gun-slinger.

Recording win number one on Sunday would be a significant development not only for Cutler, but also for the Broncos' playoff chances. After starting the year 7-2, Denver's four-game losing streak has dropped it a game back of current Wild Card leaders Cincinnati and Jacksonville. A victory on Sunday would strengthen the Broncos' position in advance of what could be a monumental home contest with the Bengals on Christmas Eve.

SERIES HISTORY

The Broncos lead the all-time series with the Cardinals, 6-0-1, winning six straight since the series began with a 17-17 tie in St. Louis in 1973. Denver was a 37-7 home winner when the teams last met, in 2002, and claimed a 38-17 decision in its last trip to Arizona, in 2001.

Cardinals head coach Dennis Green is 2-1 in his career against the Broncos, with all three of the meetings dating back to his tenure in Minnesota (1992-2001). The Broncos' Mike Shanahan is 3-0 in his career against Arizona, but is just 1-1 head-to-head against Green.

BRONCOS OFFENSE VS. CARDINALS DEFENSE

Cutler (331 passing yards, 4 TD, 2 INT) may not have managed a win in his first two starts, but his solid passer rating of 83.0 through two games is nearly 13 points better than that of his predecessor Plummer. The rookie appeared close to turning the corner last Sunday, when he completed 17-of-30 passes for 188 yards and a pair of touchdowns, also losing a late fumble in the loss to the Chargers. Cutler gave Denver hope in the second half, when he threw back-to-back touchdown passes to rookie tight end Tony Scheffler (10 receptions, 2 TD) in a span of 48 seconds and orchestrated a subsequent 78- yard field goal drive that cut San Diego's lead to 28-20. Scheffler led the way with three receptions for 66 yards in the loss, with No. 1 wideout Javon Walker (57 receptions, 6 TD) posting four catches for 52 yards and veteran Rod Smith (42 receptions, 2 TD) chipping in with three catches for 20 yards. The Broncos line needs to do a better job of protecting Cutler, who was sacked four times last Sunday.

Cutler and the passing game should be able to make some hay against Arizona defense that ranks just 30th in the NFL against the pass (234.3 yards per game). The Cardinals allowed 243 passing yards and three touchdowns from Seattle's Matt Hasselbeck last week, but did get a big play from its safety tandem of Adrian Wilson (70 tackles, 4 sacks, 4 INT) and Robert Griffith (58 tackles, 2 INT). Griffith caused a first-quarter Shaun Alexander fumble that was recovered by Wilson to set up an early Cardinal touchdown. Cornerbacks Antrel Rolle (70 tackles) and David Macklin (30 tackles, 1 INT), who combined for six stops against the Seahawks, will have primary responsibility in stopping Walker and Smith this week. The pass rush has actually done a good job in the absence of defensive end Bertrand Berry (triceps), totaling seven sacks in its last two games combined. End Chike Okeafor (35 tackles, 5.5 sacks) has three-and-a-half sacks over that stretch, and fellow DE Antonio Smith (19 tackles, 2.5 sacks) has one-and-a-half.

The Broncos' 0-2 mark during the Cutler era hasn't come due to a lack of production from the running game, which has supported the youngster well through its efforts over the last two weeks. Starter Tatum Bell (898 rushing yards, 2 TD, 19 receptions) has rebounded nicely from a double case of turf toe, following up a 133-yard effort against the Seahawks with last week's 17- carry, 116-yard game in San Diego. Bell is still seeking his first touchdown since Week 7, however. Backup Mike Bell (481 rushing yards, 5 TD, 16 receptions) spelled his namesake with 10 carries for 46 yards last week, his most productive day in four games. Denver enters Week 15 ranked fifth in the league in rushing offense (138.8 yards per game), and is averaging a healthy 4.6 yards per carry.

The Cardinals rank a middle-of-the-road 19th in the league against the run (121 yards per game), but have held the Rams' Steven Jackson and Seahawks' Shaun Alexander under the 100-yard mark in their back-to-back wins. Fueling last week's effort were defensive tackles Darnell Dockett (46 tackles, 2 sacks, 1 INT) and Gabe Watson (13 tackles, 1 sack), with Dockett finishing his day with seven tackles, a forced fumble, and a sack, and Watson notching a recovery of the fumble Dockett forced. Karlos Dansby (57 tackles, 5 sacks) and Gerald Hayes (85 tackles, 3 INT, 1 sack) have been the leaders of the linebacking corps this season. Dansby had a game-high 10 tackles and a forced fumble last week, and Hayes chipped in with three stops to up his team-leading total in that category.

CARDINALS OFFENSE VS. BRONCOS DEFENSE

Leinart (2171 passing yards, 10 TD, 10 INT) has clearly gotten into a good rhythm with his standout receiving corps, as Larry Fitzgerald (56 receptions, 4 TD), Anquan Boldin (70 receptions, 4 TD), and Bryant Johnson (31 receptions 4 TD) all had a hand in last week's victory over the Seahawks. Fitzgerald hauled in a game-high seven passes totaling 79 yards and his second touchdown in as many weeks; Boldin upped his team leads in receptions and receiving yards (967) with a four-catch, 47-yard game; and Johnson had three catches for 81 yards and opened the scoring with a 56-yard catch in the first quarter. In all, Leinart completed passes to eight different target last Sunday. The Cardinal line has done a good job protecting the youngster of late, allowing a total of four sacks in the team's last five games.

A Broncos team that ranks just 23rd in the league against the pass (219.2 yards per game) and is near the bottom of the NFL in sacks (26) will have to prove that it can both contain Boldin and Fitzgerald and place pressure on Leinart. Matching up with the wideouts will be Denver corners Champ Bailey (71 tackles, 6 INT) and Darrent Williams (79 tackles, 3 INT), with safeties John Lynch (63 tackles) and Domonique Foxworth (39 tackles, 1 INT) lending support. Williams had one of two Denver sacks against the Chargers' Philip Rivers last week, and Lynch posted a team-high 10 tackles. Rookie end Elvis Dumervil (12 tackles, 7 sacks) and fellow DE Kenard Lang (28 tackles, 6 sacks) are 1-2 on the Broncos in sacks, but the duo has combined for just one sack during Denver's four-game losing streak. Backup end Patrick Chukwurah (15 tackles, 3.5 sacks) was the only member of the Broncos front seven to manage a sack of Rivers last Sunday.

Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of the Cardinals' recent winning run has been the play of running back Edgerrin James (925 rushing yards, 4 TD, 35 receptions), who carries back-to-back 100-yard performances into the Denver game. James has identical stat lines of 26 rushes for 115 yards in each of his last two contests, and added his first touchdown since Week 8 in last Sunday's victory over Seattle. James now needs just 75 yards to become Arizona's first 1,000-yard rusher since Adrian Murrell in 1998. Marcel Shipp (28 rushing yards, 3 TD) followed up his three-touchdown game against the Rams by carrying just twice for one yard last week. Shipp (ribs) is doubtful for Sunday. Despite their recent renaissance, the Cardinals continue to rank 31st in NFL rushing offense (78.2 yards per game) and dead last in yards per carry (3.0).

James could have some trouble notching a third consecutive 100-yard game against a Denver defense that ranks 12th in the NFL against the run (105.8 yards per game). The Broncos have allowed a 100-yard rusher three times during their four-game losing streak, but two of those efforts were by probable NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson and the third was by likely Pro Bowler Larry Johnson. Seeking to stop the run up front will be a tackle rotation including Gerard Warren (26 tackles), Ebenezer Ekuban (47 tackles, 4.5 sacks), and Michael Myers (44 tackles, 2 sacks), with linebackers Al Wilson (91 tackles, 1 sack), D.J. Williams (65 tackles), and Ian Gold (69 tackles) making plays behind them. Wilson played last Sunday, one week after sustaining a scary neck injury late in a loss to the Seahawks. Wilson had six tackles against the Chargers, and Ekuban led the defensive linemen with four stops.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

Cutler has an excellent chance of notching his first win as an NFL starter this week, as the Arizona defense has major flaws that can be exposed by both the aerial attack and a still-potent Denver running game. The Broncos are going to need a significant amount of help from the defense, which should be able to hold James in check but will have to avoid the big play from Fitzgerald and/or Boldin. The Cardinals are not the same team they were during their 1-8 start, and the Broncos aren't the unit that began the year 7-2. But things haven't changed quite enough to suggest that Arizona is ready to win a game like this one, which means Denver should head back home having snapped its losing skid.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Broncos 17, Cardinals 16