JEFF ALLEN GAME PREVIEW: ARIZONA at SAN FRANCISCO
Two desperate 1-3 NFC West teams are featured on Thursday night’s NFL Week V opener as the
Arizona Cardinals travel to Levi Stadium in Santa Clara to take on the San Francisco 49ers. The
Cardinals are off to unexpected 1-3 start and after just four weeks find themselves two games back
of Seattle and having lost the H2H to the Rams at home last Sunday are now three back of Los
Angeles in the NFC West. A division loss here to the 49ers could could put the Cardinals in a hole
it will be near impossible to climb out of. San Francisco has lost three straight after squandering a
14-0 early lead at home to Dallas in a 24-17 loss. The 49ers are approaching the most manageable
part of their schedule so a win here would go a long way into salvaging a pretty much lost season.
The line of this game opened at Arizona -3 and the total 43. With the status of Carson Palmer unsure,
there has been little to no action on this game. The juice has moved to Arizona -3 (-.20, -25) in many
outs and the total is down a half point to 42 1/2. Weather is expected to be perfect for the 8:30 PM EST
kick on CBS.
It’s panic time in the desert for the Arizona Cardinals. Quarterback Carson Palmer is expected to play
but as of this writing, he’s not cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol. Drew Stanton would get the start
if Palmer is not cleared but the ex-Michigan State Spartan is just 5-15 for 48 yards and two picks which
will not inspire confidence to an already reeling offense. RB Chris Johnson is dinged and questionable.
Larry Fitzgerald and David Johnson are both having nice years but turnovers have been killers. With the
No.7 ranked offense and the No.8 ranked defense, the Cards would appear to better than a 1-3 team.
The 49ers problems are too many to list here. Chip Kelly inherited a wasteland in regards to talent and
now injuries have started to claim San Francisco’s best players. Strangely enough, Blaine Gabbert has
not been awful calling the shots for the league’s No.30 ranked offense (last in passing). The No.26th
ranked defense has not been able to get off the field thanks in the most part to not being able to stop
the (32nd, 141 ypg.) run.
World Champion handicapper Jeff Allen is off a 9-1 week in combined football after cashing the Giants/
Vikings Under last night. There will be no play on this game until the Carson Palmer situation is sorted
out. Get all Jeff Allen plays in all sports on his home site at www.vegasscoresandodds.com.