Warner faces Giant obstacle

A one-year stopover in New York was hardly the highlight of Kurt Warner's career. When he left the Giants, Warner was almost written off as a quality starting quarterback in the NFL.

He returns to face the Giants today with plans of getting the Arizona Cardinals' season on track.

Eli Manning and the Giants are 5-1 but looking to rebound after getting routed last week by the New Orleans Saints. The Giants, 7-point home favorites, are the choice of handicapper Andy Iskoe.

"I look for the Giants to respond favorably following that loss, and bounce back and win by 10 to 14 points," said Iskoe (thelogicalapproach.com).

"Warner has not played well in the Meadowlands, either with the Giants or against the Giants or Jets."

Warner started nine games for the Giants in 2004, throwing just six touchdown passes. After a slow start to this season, he has passed for 1,441 yards and eight touchdowns for the Cardinals (3-2).

But he can expect to be harassed by a Giants defense that barely brushed a hand on Saints quarterback Drew Brees.

The biggest disparity in the teams is with their rushing offenses -- the Giants rank fifth in the league at 147.7 yards per game, and the Cardinals are tied for last at 57.6 yards per game.

"I think the Giants will have success running the ball," Iskoe said. "Unlike the Saints, Arizona does not run the ball, so New York can put pressure on Warner and create some turnovers. The lack of Arizona's balance on offense should allow the Giants to do some things on defense."

Iskoe said the Giants own "significant edges" over the Cardinals in yards per pass attempt (8.0 to 6.6) and yards per pass completion (13.2 to 9.7), proving New York has the more efficient and productive offense.

Iskoe, who finished tied for eighth in the Las Vegas Hilton SuperContest last year, used Indianapolis, Green Bay, Pittsburgh and Atlanta as his other Hilton selections this week.

Iskoe analyzes the rest of today's Week 7 schedule:

• San Diego (-5) at Kansas City: I'm inclined to like the Chiefs in this game. At this point, I want nothing to do with the Chargers. With two weeks to prepare for Denver, San Diego looked totally unprepared, and that's because of coach Norv Turner. In the two meetings last year, the Chargers beat the Chiefs 20-19 and 22-21. Contrary to popular belief, Kansas City's offense is actually outgaining San Diego on the ground by 40 yards per game -- 98 yards per game to 58. My score projection has the Chargers winning by two points. I don't know if I'll play the game, but the only way I would play it is the Chiefs.

• Indianapolis (-14) at St. Louis: If the line is under two touchdowns, I would favor the Colts. The Rams were outgained by 230 yards in their loss at Jacksonville last week. The St. Louis defense allows 252 passing yards per game to rank 27th in the league. Indianapolis ranks No. 1 in pass offense at 326 yards per game. The Colts rank No. 1 in yards per pass attempt at 9.0, compared with 5.3 for the Rams, and the league average is 6.6. What's really impressive is the Indianapolis defense allows 4.9 yards per pass attempt.

It's always tricky laying points in this range on the road, but every week we usually see about three games decided by 21 points or more. Twenty of 90 games (22 percent) have been decided by 21 points or more this season, and this game is a good candidate for a blowout. I would look at the Colts.

• Chicago at Cincinnati (-1): I thought Jay Cutler would be a good quarterback for the Bears. If I were to rate quarterbacks by A, B and C, he might be a B or B-plus. I don't think I'm going to play this game, but I lean a little toward Chicago and the under (421/2).

• Green Bay (-9) at Cleveland: It's really hard to make a case for Cleveland, so I'm not going to try. I've got to go with the road favorite. The Browns' offense ranks 31st, and they rank last in defense by allowing 407 yards per game. Cleveland loses 2.7 turnovers per game, and the Green Bay defense forces 2.6 per game, so you've got a highly turnover-prone offense facing a defense that creates turnovers.

• Minnesota at Pittsburgh (-6): It's a good spot for the Steelers, who are starting to put up good numbers during a three-game win streak. Pittsburgh's offense ranks fifth in total yards and its defense ranks third. The Minnesota defense is not as good as a lot of people thought, allowing more yards per pass attempt and more yards per completion than the league average. The Vikings are unbeaten, but they easily could have two losses.

• New England (-141/2) vs. Tampa Bay: At London, it's hard not to like the Patriots because they have so many edges across the board. If New England gets in front and forces the Buccaneers to play from behind, Tampa Bay has a weak passing game. The Patriots outgain the Buccaneers by 127 yards per game and allow 77 fewer yards per game. I'm not sure I'll play it, but I could only play New England.

• San Francisco at Houston (-3): I look for a good bounce-back effort from the 49ers, after a bye week and following a 45-10 loss to Atlanta. This could be a nice upset spot for San Francisco and coach Mike Singletary, who was none too pleased about the game against the Falcons. The Texans are back to 3-3, but I'm not sold on them yet. Houston's inability to run is a concern. San Francisco has a solid defense and probably will force the Texans to run.

• New York Jets (-6) at Oakland: The Jets are on a three-game losing streak that should have them focused. The key will be the Jets' ability to run and the Raiders' ability to stop the run. Oakland does not have much offensively, ranking last at 214 yards per game. There are some ugly numbers for the Raiders on both sides of the ball. I would look at the Jets, and I could see something like a 23-10 or 23-14 game.

• Buffalo at Carolina (-7): I lean a little to the Panthers, mainly because I don't like Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. He was totally inept last year backing up Carson Palmer in Cincinnati. Carolina's ability to run may give it the edge. I lean under the total (37) because I don't trust either offense.

• New Orleans (-61/2) at Miami: I probably like this over the total (47). If the line gets bet up to seven, I will look to take Miami. There's not much negative you can say about the Saints, but this could be a bit of a flat spot after their big win against the Giants. It wouldn't surprise me if New Orleans won and covered, but it's a good situational spot for the Dolphins. At some point, you expect the Saints to be tested. Miami is off a bye, and I expect its Wildcat offense to give New Orleans some problems.

• Atlanta at Dallas (-41/2): There's not much I like about the Cowboys right now. I think you could argue the talent difference between these teams is not that great, and the coaching difference is quite great. Dallas coach Wade Phillips has never impressed me. He doesn't seem to have control of that team. I like the presence of tight end Tony Gonzalez for the Falcons. I wouldn't be surprised if Atlanta wins the game.

Compiled by Las Vegas Review-Journal sports writer Matt Youmans.