Expect Favre, Jets to rebound

Since joining the New York Jets, veteran quarterback Brett Favre has had good and bad days. What he has yet to do is win a game in his new home, and that could change today.

The Jets, who have lost two in a row after a season-opening victory at Miami, are 1-point home favorites over the Arizona Cardinals.

In recent years, the Cardinals have been one of the NFL's worst road teams, and handicapper Andy Iskoe is banking on that trend continuing with a bet on the Jets.

"I think this is a good spot for the Jets," said Iskoe (the logicalapproach.com). "I'm not sure I feel comfortable backing the Cardinals on the road. It's really a very poor road history for the franchise with much of the same personnel they had the past few years."

The Cardinals are 8-34 straight up on the road the past six seasons, with only two nondivision road wins, at Cincinnati and Miami.

Arizona is 1-1 away this season, with a win at San Francisco and a 24-17 loss at Washington last week. Seeking better road results, the Cardinals stayed on the East Coast all week to limit travel adjustments.

A potentially explosive offense is Arizona's strength, with quarterback Kurt Warner and big-play receivers Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald leading the way.

The New York defense allows 3.1 yards per rush, which ranks third in the league, so Iskoe said he expects Cardinals running back Edgerrin James to be contained.

Early money this past week showed on Arizona. Favre was listed as questionable Friday with a sore left ankle, but he is expected to start, as always.

"I prefer to be on the Jets," Iskoe said. "I think there's more upside with the Jets because of the continued improvement of the offense as Favre continues to assimilate himself into the playbook."

Iskoe analyzes the rest of today's Week 4 schedule:

• DENVER (-91/2) AT KANSAS CITY: The Broncos are unbeaten largely because of their offense. In the last two games, their defense was unable to protect large early leads. The Chiefs clearly are one of the league's worst teams, and they're making another quarterback change by going back to Damon Huard. Kansas City has defeated Denver in seven of the past nine games at Arrowhead Stadium. As badly as Kansas City has played, I'm not sure Denver deserves to be nearly a double-digit favorite on the road. The Broncos could be 1-2 as easily as they are 3-0. I would take the points with the Chiefs.

• CLEVELAND AT CINCINNATI (-31/2): There seems to be a quarterback controversy with Derek Anderson and Brady Quinn in Cleveland, and that's not unexpected. I had the Browns under eight regular-season wins as my strongest under play of the year. I figured it would be a rough start for Cleveland because of its schedule. The Bengals are the more talented team. If the line drops to 3, I would play Cincinnati.

It's a key game for the Bengals because they have a rough stretch ahead with games against Dallas, the New York Jets and Pittsburgh. So this is the most favorable spot for Cincinnati to get a win. I would play over the total (441/2) because I'm not impressed with either defense.

• HOUSTON AT JACKSONVILLE (-7): The Texans showed signs of the distractions following Hurricane Ike with a 31-12 loss at Tennessee last week. Houston has covered three of the past four in this series. The Jaguars are off a big win at Indianapolis, and they were a little fortunate in that game. Jacksonville quarterback David Garrard, who threw three interceptions all of last season, has been intercepted in each of the last three games. The Texans have been disappointing, but I would prefer to take the points. Houston is desperate for a win.

• SAN FRANCISCO AT NEW ORLEANS (-41/2): The 49ers have won two in a row, and the Saints dropped their last two games. San Francisco's offense seems improved under coordinator Mike Martz, and New Orleans has defensive deficiencies. But the Saints are dropping in class here after playing three potential playoff teams in Tampa Bay, Washington and Denver. New Orleans has the more mature offense despite injuries to tight end Jeremy Shockey and wideout Marques Colston. The line is going down, and I prefer to lay the points with the Saints, who should outshoot the 49ers.

• ATLANTA AT CAROLINA (-7): It has been a nice start for the Falcons, who are in a season of rebuilding. But they struggled at Tampa Bay, and the Panthers are a legitimate playoff team. Carolina should be focused after losing to Atlanta at home in each of the past two years. The Falcons ran the ball well against two weak teams, Detroit and Kansas City. The Panthers are one of the league's better teams and should be able to win by a wide margin, something like 27-14.

• MINNESOTA AT TENNESSEE (-3): The quarterback transition from injured and erratic Vince Young to veteran Kerry Collins has gone well for the Titans. Both defenses have been solid. The line is about right, so I would prefer to play this under the total (36).

• GREEN BAY AT TAMPA BAY (-1): Brian Griese threw 67 passes in the Bucs' overtime win at Chicago. The Packers failed to play well against the NFC's top team, Dallas. Six of seven meetings between these teams since 2000 went under the total, and only once did the teams combine for more than 33 points. Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers is going on the road again. He did win at Detroit, but that was the Lions. Rodgers is an untested quarterback going against a team known to be tough defensively.

Surprisingly, neither team has done well defensively, but intrinsically they are good defensive teams that just have not played to those numbers yet. I don't have a real strong feel for the game, but I prefer to play under the total (43) based on history.

• BUFFALO (-8) AT ST. LOUIS: Rams coach Scott Linehan might be losing the team right now. There is a lot of internal dissension, and that makes this a key game for St. Louis. The Bills are 3-0, but each win has been tougher to come by. I don't think they should be laying a touchdown on the road. I look for the Rams to put forth a good effort at home.

• SAN DIEGO (-71/2) AT OAKLAND: The Raiders must be somewhat dejected after failing to hold a late lead at Buffalo. Oakland coach Lane Kiffin has been the subject of controversy, so that has to affect preparation for this game. The Chargers clearly are the better team, and at 1-2 they need to get back on track. San Diego has won nine straight in the series, and eight of those wins were by a touchdown or more. The Chargers should win easily.

• WASHINGTON AT DALLAS (-11): The Redskins have fared well in this rivalry lately, covering five of the past six. This is only the third time in the last decade there has been a double-digit point spread in this series, and the underdog has covered the past two. Dallas' defense has concerns, and I see Washington's offense showing slow but steady improvement. Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell is playing as though he has more confidence each week. Washington can keep this in single digits and get the cover.

• PHILADELPHIA (-3) AT CHICAGO: Injuries to quarterback Donovan McNabb and running back Brian Westbrook are issues for the Eagles. Westbrook's status is a game-time decision, which is not encouraging. The Bears have played better than I expected. This should be a low-scoring game because of the problems with the Philadelphia offense. Both teams are solid defensively. I like this under the total (40), and I might take a look at Chicago.

Compiled by Review-Journal sportswriter Matt Youmans.