Cards poised to keep sinking

A trade for quarterback Kevin Kolb was supposed to point the Arizona Cardinals in the right direction. Instead, Kolb has been steering the Cardinals into one wrong turn after another.

Arizona is 1-5 and on a five-game losing streak, putting the heat on coach Ken Whisenhunt. It was Whisenhunt's idea to deal for Kolb, who got a new five-year, $63 million contract, $21 million of it guaranteed. But Kolb's addition has not guaranteed success.

"The Cardinals look like a mess," said Bruce Marshall, executive editor of The Gold Sheet and a DonBest.com handicapper. "Whisenhunt might be in trouble. He's going to sink or swim with Kolb, and it looks like he's going to sink."

Marshall (goldsheet.com) recommends a play on the Baltimore Ravens as 12½-point home favorites over Arizona today. The Cardinals have been a bet-against team on the road, where they are 2-11 against the spread in their past 13 games.

Baltimore ranks No. 1 in the NFL in total defense and No. 4 against the pass. It appears to be a poor spot for Kolb to turn around his fortunes. Kolb has seven touchdown passes and seven interceptions, and he has been sacked 18 times. He has struggled to adjust to Arizona's offense since being acquired from Philadelphia.

In Kolb's career, he has attempted 525 passes and thrown 21 interceptions, lost eight fumbles and been sacked 39 times. When Kolb drops back to pass, Marshall said, "something bad often happens."

Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco has had his own problems. Flacco has completed just 52.1 percent of his passes, and his play was lethargic Monday in a 12-7 loss at Jacksonville.

"The Ravens stunk it up Monday night. But I don't think it was all Flacco's fault. The Jaguars did a good job of blanketing the receivers," Marshall said. "Flacco scares me, but sometimes the Baltimore defense can compensate. Unless Flacco melts down, which is always a possibility, this has got 31-10 or a score like that written all over it."

The Ravens are 3-0 ATS at home with victories over Pittsburgh (35-7), the New York Jets (34-17) and Houston (29-14).

"The Ravens blew out playoff-caliber teams at home," said Marshall, who scouts the rest of today's Week 8 schedule:

■ Indianapolis at Tennessee (-8½): The Titans' inability to generate anything consistent on the ground is hampering the team. Running back Chris Johnson might as well have continued his holdout. Johnson is averaging 2.9 yards per carry, Tennessee is averaging 64 rushing yards per game, and Matt Hasselbeck is showing he has limitations as a quarterback. There are questions about laying points with the Titans. My gut feeling is Tennessee is a flawed favorite. This is a reluctant vote for the Colts.

■ Jacksonville at Houston (-9½): With a defense that is playing well, the Jaguars are showing fight and hanging in games. But their offense is punchless, averaging 12.0 points per game, and they can't play in catch-up mode if they fall behind. The Texans still are missing wide receiver Andre Johnson, who has a hamstring injury. But I lean to Houston, and this could go under the total (40½).

■ Minnesota at Carolina (-3½): It was only one game, but Vikings rookie quarterback Christian Ponder looked better than Donovan McNabb. But now Ponder gets his first start on the road. Indications suggest that we have to take Carolina seriously. The Panthers can run the ball, Cam Newton has found a rhythm with his receivers, and the offense is lively. I didn't think Newton would be this good. The pace of the game could be accelerated, so I'll go with Carolina and the over (46½). The Panthers have covered five of six, so they have provided value, and I don't want to keep underrating these guys.

■ New Orleans (-13½) at St. Louis: It's hard to make a case for the 'dog unless you want to make a psychological case against the Saints, who could come in flat after beating the Colts 62-7. We know what Drew Brees can do, but I don't expect the Saints to be that sharp again this week. The Rams, averaging 9.3 points, are scoring about as much as the St. Louis Blues. Sam Bradford is injured, so veteran A.J. Feeley is in at quarterback. St. Louis' season started to unravel when Steven Jackson went down on his second carry in the first game. Until the Rams cover a game, I'm not going to take them.

■ Miami at New York Giants (-9½): The Dolphins had been a good road team under coach Tony Sparano until this year. Now, it's where do they end up in the race for the top draft pick? Does keeping Sparano help the team lose? The Giants have been unreliable at home, and quarterback Eli Manning is erratic, but Brandon Jacobs is back to help the running game. Miami has too many negatives.

■ Washington vs. Buffalo (-5) at Toronto: Redskins coach Mike Shanahan is paying the price for believing he could win with Rex Grossman or John Beck at quarterback. Beck gives them a little better chance because he can run more, but he's still near the bottom of the NFL quarterback pyramid. The Bills are not getting a consistent pass rush, and now linebacker Shawne Merriman is out for the year. I'm reluctant to lay it with Buffalo. The Bills are 0-3 straight up and 0-2-1 ATS the past three years in Toronto, where they don't get a great home-field edge because the atmosphere is not the same. Buffalo coach Chan Gailey is 1-4 ATS as a favorite. I'll go with Washington.

■ Detroit (-3) at Denver: It's uncertain if the Lions will have Matthew Stafford at quarterback, but Stafford has tailed off, so I'm not sure how much they lose with Shaun Hill. Detroit's defense suddenly is not stopping the run, and the team has lost momentum, so this is a crucial game. The Broncos are better with Tim Tebow in there. He has a feel for the game, and he motivates the team. Things might be slipping away from the Lions. I'll lean to Denver as a home underdog.

■ New England (-2½) at Pittsburgh: I'm going to make more of a case for the total. Quarterback Tom Brady has given the Patriots a big advantage in this series. Brady has a quick release that negates Pittsburgh's pass rush and zone blitzing, and he has averaged 373 yards passing in his past three games against the Steelers. The "over" is 7-1 in the past eight in the series, and New England is 20-5 "over" in its past 25 games. Brady puts so much pressure on the opposition, the tempo gets faster. But Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger can trade points, so this has the look of a game that goes back and forth. The Patriots beat Pittsburgh 39-26 last year. It's an enhanced total (52), but I'll say it goes over.

■ Cleveland at San Francisco (-9): The Browns border on unwatchable. I can't believe they have won three games. Running back Peyton Hillis does not appear ready to play. I don't want to pick a spot to bet against the 49ers. Jim Harbaugh is coaching the inconsistency out of quarterback Alex Smith, and the offense is picking it up. San Francisco has a playoff-caliber defense. Cleveland has covered only twice in its past 14 games.

■ Cincinnati (-2½) at Seattle: Last week we found out why Seahawks coach Pete Carroll wants to stick with Tarvaris Jackson at quarterback instead of Charlie Whitehurst, who has gone 11 straight drives without a touchdown. It looks as if Jackson will start, and at least he can get out of the pocket and make plays. Bengals running back Cedric Benson is suspended, and rookie quarterback Andy Dalton is going into a tough place that rattles even veteran QBs. I'm not sure Cincinnati should be laying points on the road. Carroll is 8-3 ATS at home. We can feel more comfortable siding with Seattle.

■ Dallas at Philadelphia (-3): Cowboys coach Jason Garrett is 6-0 ATS as a 'dog since taking over for Wade Phillips. Dallas has been in a lot of close games and is a few plays from being 5-1 or 6-0. Eagles coach Andy Reid is 12-0 off a bye, but he has more issues with this team. I don't think Philadelphia's win at Washington was a buy signal because Grossman melted down for the Redskins. The Eagles look like flawed favorites, and their defense is a negative. The Cowboys' offensive line is getting better, they seem to have found a runner in DeMarco Murray, and quarterback Tony Romo is gaining confidence. I'll take the underdog.

COMPILED BY MATT YOUMANS/REVIEW-JOURNAL