Football Betting Picks Week 1: San Fran at Arizona

San Francisco 49ers (7-9 SU, 7-8-1 ATS in 2008) at Arizona Cardinals (9-7 SU & ATS in 2008)

Sunday, September 13 - 4:15 PM ET

BetUS NFL football betting odds: ARIZONA -6.5, Total 46.5

In the BetUS NFL football betting odds, the Cardinals are listed as a 6.5-point favorite, with a posted total of 46.5 points.

Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup:

• SF has won four of its last five games SU
• SF has played four of its last five games UNDER the total
• SF has covered five of its last 15 road games
• SF has lost 11 of its last 15 road games SU
• SF has played five of its last seven road games UNDER the total
• ARIZ has covered its last five games
• ARIZ has won four of its last five games SU
• ARIZ has played six of its last seven games OVER the total
• ARIZ has covered of its last six home games
• ARIZ has won 11 of its last 14 home games SU
• ARIZ has played its last 11 of its last 12 home games OVER the total
  
  

Also...

• ARIZ has won six of the last eight meetings SU
• Eight of the last 11 meetings have gone OVER the total
• SF has covered four of the last five meetings as the road team
• ARIZ has won four of the last six meetings SU as the home team
• The last five meetings in Arizona have gone OVER the total
  
  

Considering how badly the Cardinals played on the road during the regular season, it was a bit of a surprise to those doing football betting that they were able to score a 20-point win at Charlotte in the post-season. It was also something of a surprise that a team that lost four of its last five games and finished 9-7 was able to run through three playoff games to get to the Super Bowl, and had Pittsburgh on the ropes till the very end.

Essentially the same characters are in place in the Arizona passing game, with the tremendous trio of receivers - Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston - who all gained over 1000 yards last season. Kurt Warner is back at QB, and if he stays healthy there's no reason to believe he won't have great numbers once again, to bolster this team's chances in NFL football betting action. The addition the Cards hope will make a big difference and give them balance, is Beanie Wells, the Ohio State back who brings power and speed to the table, and who made some impressive runs in his brief pre-season action.

Defensively, though, we're still a little suspicious. Arizona allowed a point for every 12.4 yards it gave up last year, and though the Cards have some outstanding players on defense, they gave up a lot of big plays to the opponent, and lost a couple of cornerbacks and a defensive end.

San Francisco, whose football betting record was 7-8-1 ATS last year, isn't going to break a lot of big plays with weak-armed Shawn Hill at quarterback, but coach Mike Singletary's "ground-and-pound" approach, which was quite a departure from Mike Martz's wide-open passing style, brought some results, as the Niners won five of their last seven games. Frank Gore is a running back of great ability, but he is often injured, and so San Francisco drafted Glen Coffee, who led all running backs in rushing yards in the pre-season.