NFL Week 13 - Yee Haw! Cowboys to rustle up Cardinals

We're very nearly at the end of the regular season as we reach week 13 in the NFL & the cream has risen to the top of the respective divisions for the most part but there's still much to fight for & keeping players fit becomes key if teams are going to qualify for & progress through the playoffs. Our pre-season tip the Houston Texans are having terrible luck at quarterback first losing Matt Schaub & then backup Matt Leinart less than a half into his next start & other palyoff chasing teams are having similar problems, it gives a chink of light to the chasing teams & December should prove exciting. We've picked out our best bets as usual & will be back for the Monday night game between San Diego & Jacksonville.

(Watch out quarterbacks, Dallas' no.84 DeMarcus Ware is coming for you)

The Dallas Cowboys face an away game against the Arizona Cardinals who haven't won a game against a team with a winning record this year & Dallas fans will be wanting to avoid what they've seen so many times before with great Novembers followed by indifferent Decembers. The Cowboys have had a pretty decent season considering they weren't highly fancied at the beginning & lead the NFC East ahead of the New York Giants althought they have to face them twice before the end of the year. Dallas are ranking 12th on defense in terms of yards given up & have been pretty decent against the run which will be key to stopping the Cardinals whose key offensive weapon is running back Chris 'Beanie' Wells - he broke the teams rushing yards record last week with over 200 yards but has been struggling with injury & was reportedly sore after the game. In terms of star defensive players Dallas have just about the best in the league right now with linebacker DeMarcus Ware who has 14 sacks on the year & looks dangerous on just about every play putting opposing quarterbacks under real pressure, that is not good news for Kevin Kolb who looks set to return after 4 games out with injury. Kolb looks an average at best quarterback to us anyway, he can put a little zip on the ball but doesn't have any great arm strength or accuracy when going for long downfield passes & Dallas look to have a nice matchup for their defense this week.

(Emerging talent Laurent Robinson can continue his fine form against the Cardinals)

On the offensive side of the ball for Dallas quarterback Tony Romo has endeared himself to many with his bravery this season after getting hit in their 2nd game of the year against the 49ers, suffering a broken rib & punctured lung, yet came back into the game to lead the Cowboys to an overtime victory plus carried on playing whilst still hurting in his next games. Romo has really looked after the ball well this year with 64.5% pass completion & 21 touchdowns versus just 9 interceptions & the Cowboys rank 7th in passing yardage gained. It helps to have some of the best catchers in the league & Romo has continued to throw to his favourite target, tight end Jason Witten, plus star receiver Dez Bryant. Unfortunately wideout Miles Austin has been suffering with injury but that has allowed Laurent Robinson to emerge as one of the most dangerous players in the league right now, traded from the Rams & having his 5th season in the league surely not a lot was expected of Robinson but he's now caught 7 touchdowns in his last 5 games & looks the real deal - he'd only scored 4 TDs in his career before that! Robinson's effectiveness doesn't appear to have been rated quite high enough with the bookmakers yet & he's 9/1 to score the 1st touchdown with Paddy Power, that seems generous & should be taken. The Cowboys running game has been pretty weak for some time but rookie DeMarco Murray has been highly effective in his 1st year & has over 800 yards on the ground, he's been key in allowing the team to set up play action passes & that should cause the Cardinals problems, the Cowboys look way too strong for Arizona here & should be backed with a -4.5 point handicap.

 (Broncos linebackers Elvis Dumervil & Wesley Woodyard can cause chaos in the Vikings offense)

In the Denver Broncos against Minnesota Vikings game all that needs to be known in this one is that Adrian Peterson is out for the Vikings & without him the home side are toothless. Minnesota have been having a miserable season with just two wins & those coming against the Cardinals & Panthers, the Broncos meanwhile have really turned things around going from 2&5 to a winning record with 6&5. That Bronco turnaround has come since they installed 'alternative' quarterback Tim Tebow as the starter & employed a very run heavy offense. They've won their last 4, sometimes in dramatic late fashion, & whilst those rivals weren't great they were better than this Vikings side, the defense has played tough football & won't give Christian Ponder much time to throw & he should struggle again. One negative for the Broncos is that they will probably be without impressive young linebacker Von Miller who's been great this year but they have a good team ethic & few injury problems otherwise. We can't work out why the Broncos have been made underdogs for this game, yes the play isn't pretty but it doesn't need to be if they keep grinding out the wins, we think they can win here without too much trouble & should be backed at 11/10 with Coral.

Selections:
Dallas Cowboys to beat Arizona Cardinals with -4.5 points at Evens (Totesport & Betfred)
Laurent Robinson to score the 1st Touchdown at 9/1 (Paddy Power) in Dallas Cowboys v Arizona Cardinals game
Denver Broncos to beat Minnesota Vikings at 11/10 (Coral)