NFL Props - Steelers and Cardinals Regular Season Wins Matchup

BetUs has plenty of football proposition bets on the board and among their plethora of regular season team versus team matchups, there is some value matching up the two teams who played in the Super Bowl.

The Arizona Cardinas and Pittsburgh Steelers, the two respective 2008 Conference Champions, head into the 2009 on different notes.

On one hand, the Arizona Cardinals look like a team that is barely keeping it together at this point.

The Steelers are the Super Bowl Champions but they have had a much quieter offseason than they had last time they won the Super Bowl.

Last time, back in 2004, the Steelers lost head coach Bill Cowher, team leader Jerome Bettis and starting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was involved in a serious motorcycle crash.

They also lost their offensive coordinator, Ken Whisenhunt, who left to take over the Arizona Cardinals.

The Steelers have had a much smoother offseason this year as they haven’t lost any key foundational members off their roster or coaching staff. On top of that, they’ll get first-round pick Rashard Mendenhall back, who played in only four games as a rookie.

As a whole, the Steelers offense could be much stronger this year. The offensive line last year was undergoing a big makeover and a lot of players were either first time starters or were in new positions for their first time. Now there is more consistency. Factor in the growth of young players like Santonio Holmes, Heath Milller and Limas Sweed, and the Steelers should be more productive this year.

The team that lost the Super Bowl, the Cardinals, are having a tough transition from last year’s winning squad.

They lost several members off of their coaching staff, including both offensive and defensive coordinators and quarterbacks coach Todd Haley. They also lost a number of players and have a few key players that are still there aren’t happy with their contracts (Anquan Boldin and Darnell Dockett).

It’s a lot of change for a team that was mediocre to begin with. Before the Cardinals got hot in the playoffs, they were just 9-7 and they won six of those games in their division. This year, the NFC West will be much tougher as each team has improved in the offseason except for the Cardinals.

In the AFC North, the Steelers competition is much weaker as the Baltimore Ravens stood pat on offense and lost key members on defense (coordinator Rex Ryan, linebacker Bart Scott), the Cleveland Browns will be among the worst in the NFL.

Last year, the Steelers won three more games than the Cardinals and while the Pittsburgh remains just as strong, the Cardinals have an plethora of questions marks on an already questionable team.

The Sportsbook has the Steelers -2 for regular season wins over the Cardinals and they should easily cover that line. They’ll get to double-digit wins and contend for another AFC Championship while the Cardinals will struggle to get to .500 as they walk around with a big NFC bulls-eye on their back.