{"id":17790,"date":"2010-01-08T10:51:21","date_gmt":"2010-01-08T15:51:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.capperspicks.com\/blog\/?p=17790"},"modified":"2010-01-08T13:21:39","modified_gmt":"2010-01-08T18:21:39","slug":"green-bay-packers-vs-arizona-cardinals-free-pick-lines-80110","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/nfl\/green-bay-packers-vs-arizona-cardinals-free-pick-lines-80110\/","title":{"rendered":"2010 NFC Wild Card Lines: Packers Cardinals Free Predictions"},"content":{"rendered":"

NFL Wildcard Playoff Betting \u2013 Packers vs Cardinals Preview & Pick<\/strong><\/p>\n

The last playoff game of the week completes the Week 17-rematch trifecta. Few teams finished 2009 hotter than the Green Bay Packers, who won seven of their final eight games. After they kept their foot on the gas in an excessive beating of Arizona last week, however, did they poke a sleeping bear? <\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO VIEW OUR TOP CAPPERS’ PREMIUM PICKS FOR NFL BETTING —–><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

When the playoffs start Sunday, we\u2019ll see what New England has left. Will it surprise us or go out with a whimper?<\/p>\n

Green Bay Packers @ Arizona Cardinals<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sunday, January 10, 4:30 p.m. ET
\nSportsbook favorite: Cardinals -1 <\/p>\n

If you checked the spread for this game on Monday, you\u2019ll remember that it opened at 2.5 points. As more and more bettors pile on the Packers, that number keeps shrinking. It\u2019s hard to blame anyone who feels confident in Green Bay right now. <\/p>\n

Thanks to general manager Ted Thompson\u2019s blend of clever drafting and smart signings, the Pack\u2019s defense is as good as any now. The No. 2 overall unit in the NFL, it was tops against the run and fifth against the pass. Green Bay\u2019s pass rush vastly improved, adding 10 sacks to its 2008 total. That bodes well against a statuesque Kurt Warner who notoriously holds onto the ball too long. Corner Charles Woodson is no spring chicken but he enjoyed the best season of his career and may take home Defensive Player of the Year honors. He\u2019ll cover Larry Fitzgerald and, since Anquan Boldin (ankle) may not play, may get some help for double teams. <\/p>\n

All that and we haven\u2019t even mentioned Green Bay\u2019s true engine \u2013 Aaron Rodgers. The first quarterback in NFL history to pass for 4,000 yards in his first two seasons as a starter, Rodgers has a chance to be the next decade\u2019s biggest star. His 103.3 passer rating was higher than any of Brett Favre\u2019s ratings in 16 seasons as a Packer. With a strong, accurate arm and great mobility \u2013 he led all NFC quarterbacks in rushing yards this season \u2013 he\u2019s a nightmare for Arizona\u2019s 23rd-ranked pass defense.<\/p>\n

The Cardinals counter with a passing attack that\u2019s almost as good, even without Boldin (they went 5-1 without him this year). Kurt Warner and Larry Fitzgerald showed last postseason that they\u2019re almost unstoppable when they\u2019re \u201con.\u201d The Pack stifled many good passing attacks this year but Brett Favre\u2019s success against them suggests that they\u2019re still beatable against pocket passers with accurate arms.\"\"<\/a> Many pundits want to remind us of last year\u2019s dream Cardinals run and bill this matchup as a close game; I just don\u2019t see it. The Packers have a better passing attack, better running game, better pass defense, better run defense. <\/p>\n

They\u2019re better everywhere. Their 5-3 road record even beats Arizona\u2019s 4-4 home record. Did I mention that Cardinals Pro-Bowl corner Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie is also hobbled with a bruised kneecap? <\/p>\n

The Cards certainly have a fighting chance; they\u2019ll be angry after the Pack walloped them last week. They also had the league\u2019s sixth-best pass rush and the key to beating Green Bay all season is penetrating its offensive line and pounding Rodgers. The problem: pass protection isn\u2019t even a problem for Green Bay anymore. <\/p>\n

Rodgers took a ridiculous 37 sacks in the first eight games of the season; he took 13 in the final eight. <\/p>\n

In my mind, this is the easiest pick of the week. Green Bay is better than Arizona everywhere. Pick the Pack and hope Rodgers doesn\u2019t get playoff jitters. <\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t seem like the type. <\/p>\n

Gambling Trends:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Green Bay is 5-0 ATS in its last 5 games
\nGreen Bay is 7-1 SU in its last 8 games
\nGreen Bay is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing Arizona
\nGreen Bay is 5-1 ATS in its last 6 games on the road
\nThe total has gone UNDER in 6 of Arizona’s last 7 games
\nThe total has gone UNDER in 4 of Arizona’s last 5 games when playing Green Bay
\nThe total has gone UNDER in 6 of Arizona’s last 8 games at home
\nArizona is 9-4 SU in its last 13 games <\/p>\n

Pick: Packers +1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bookmaker Sportsbook is your football betting headquarters for Wild Card Weekend, so OPEN AN ACCOUNT FOR FREE today!<\/a><\/h3>\n
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<\/strong>
\nShea Matthews lives and breathes sports. He made the transition from athlete to sports journalist at a young age, writing in TV & national newspapers. He now applies his knowledge to sports betting and handicapping every day, and shares his winning picks with the world. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Shea Matthews weighs in with his pick and preview for the 2010 NFC wild card playoff matchup on tap for the Green Bay Packers vs. Arizona Cardinals. Oddsmakers currently have the Packers listed as 1\u00bd-point favorites versus the Cardinals, while the game’s total is sitting at 47.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[10330,22007,22080,1766,22089,22088,1550,22167,22164,22165,22291,22292,22163,22293,22294,22090,12965,22081,7361],"class_list":["post-17790","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nfl","tag-10330","tag-2010-nfl-playoffs","tag-2010-nfl-wild-card-odds","tag-arizona-cardinals","tag-free-wild-card-predictions","tag-free-wildcard-playoff-picks","tag-green-bay-packers","tag-green-bay-packers-vs-arizona-cardinals","tag-green-bay-vs-arizona","tag-packers-cardinals-odds","tag-packers-cardinals-picks","tag-packers-cardinals-predictions","tag-packers-vs-cardinals","tag-packers-vs-cardinals-free-pick","tag-packers-vs-cardinals-free-predictions","tag-playoff-gambling-trends","tag-playoff-predictions","tag-wild-card-nfl-games","tag-wildcard-weekend"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17790"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17790\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17904,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17790\/revisions\/17904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/capperspicks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}