orioles

San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals

Well, a weekend in Vegas stag party of sport (flicking between football and kicking the Aussies around the Gabba at 3am ... really?) ends with someone finding a turd in the punch bowl. And there it is, floating among the fruit, the 49ers at the Cards. Horrible.

The complete absence of quarterbacking means that, if you must take an interest, go with the 49ers, simply because they have the edge with skill players who can match up better. Arizona is nice out wide, but Anderson has to get it there and he couldn't hit a wide open barn door from a yard out. Also, although inconsistent, SF does have a pass rush to speak of. The 49ers are tough against the run, but Wells and Hightower are broken and below par respectively, so it doesn't really matter.

Frank Gore should be the key to this game; he's put up good numbers against the Cardinals before and should do so tonight against the league's 29th ranked run defense. If Smith needs to change it up, he can do it against a passing defense that is almost as awful as the run D (Arizona have given up the most yards through the air in the NFL in their last 3) again though, he'll need to get it there - Smith does at least have the arm for it.

These teams are unpredictable and home dogs on MNF are traditionally bankroll killers, so keep stakes to an absolute minimum.

Pick: SF -2 (1pt)

Pick: Anytime TD SF Defense 4/1 (1pt)