Cassius Marsh, Andy Lee and Tramaine Brock are all former 49ers.
When the Arizona Cardinals face their opponents, almost always there are players on both teams who spent time with the other at some point in their career. This is almost the case in Week 11 as the Cardinals take on the San Francisco 49ers.
The Cardinals have three players who used to play for the Niners, but San Francisco has no former Cardinals at all on its roster.
Who are the three former 49ers?
CB Tramaine Brock
(Photo by Dan Kubus/Getty Images)
Brock played for the 49ers from 2010-2016. He played 80 games for them after making the team as an undrafted rookie out of Long Beach Senior. He started 40 games and had 11 interceptions for them. Since leaving the 49ers, he has been on three teams in three years.
Our weekly NFL underdog betting staple continues into Week 11, where Ken Pomponio features three teams likely to upset their underdog odds
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NFL Week 10 was wild, a memorable week and a surprise-filled week which featured nine of 13 underdogs covering the mid-week lines.
We weren’t on either of the big underdogs (Atlanta Falcons +11.5 in New Orleans, Miami Dolphins +9.5 in Indianapolis) who not only covered but also won outright, but we did go 3-0 to snap a run of three straight 1-2 weekly finishes and up our season record to 18-12.
Now it’s back to board to find more underdog value, utilizing, as usual, Wednesday’s posted point spreads from BetMGM.com.
Get some action on the games by betting at BetMGM. New customer offer: RISK-FREE First Bet (up to $500!) paid in free bets.
Dolphins (+6) vs. Buffalo Bills
Nov 10, 2019: Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick. Brian Spurlock – USA TODAY Sports
Don’t look now, but the Dolphins’ tanking mission is suddenly headed the wrong direction.
Behind the fearless play of veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and an energized, no-name defense, Miami is 2-0 in November and has covered in five straight outings after a brutal 0-4 against-the-spread start in which the Dolphins were outscored 163-26.
The Bills, meanwhile, have gone 2-2 after a 4-1 start, including a tighter-than-it-looks 31-21 home win over the Dolphins in Week 7.
Keep riding with Fitzpatrick and Co. here as the oddsmakers have been slow to adjust to the new-and-improved Dolphins. They’re playing hard for a first-year coach in Brian Flores, who clearly doesn’t include “tanking” among his best career interests.
Philadelphia Eagles (+3½) vs. New England Patriots
Feb 4, 2018: Eagles coach Doug Pederson (left) and Patriots coach Bill Belichick reunite Sunday. Matthew Emmons – USA TODAY Sports
It hasn’t proven to be wise wagering against Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and Co., who are 10-3 in their last 13 games ATS dating back to Week 17 of last season — and coming off the bye in this one.
But the host Eagles are coming off their bye, as well, and they are 4-2 after starting off 1-2.
Philly is sure to be fired up for the teams’ first meeting since Super Bowl LII in Minneapolis, and while the Pats are sure to be focused coming off their first loss followed by the bye, we’ll take a solid team getting a field goal and the always-tempting half-point hook at home.
Arizona Cardinals (+11½) at San Francisco 49ers
Oct 31, 2019: Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray faces the 49ers again. Mark J. Rebilas – USA TODAY Sports
If it seems like we just saw this NFC West matchup, it’s because we did, two weeks ago in the desert as the visiting Niners prevailed in a much-tougher-than-expected 28-25 contest on Halloween.
In between, San Fran suffered its first loss, falling to the visiting Seattle Seahawks 27-24 in an overtime duel Monday night that arguably has been the best NFL game this season.
The 49ers also continue to battle the health bug with tight end George Kittle and receiver Emmanuel Sanders likely to be game-time decisions. And quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is battling some obvious shakiness after completing only 24 of 46 passes Monday for 248 yards, a touchdown and an interception, along with two lost fumbles.
Rookie QB Kyle Murray and the Cards, meanwhile, are 3-6-1 straight up but have been one of the league’s best ATS squads at 7-3, including five covers in their last six outings.
We were on Arizona last week in Tampa, and we’ll go with the Cards again here Sunday afternoon in San Fran where the home team is simply giving too many points.
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The 49ers injury report is still quite lengthy on Thursday.
The San Francisco 49ers, whom the Arizona Cardinals play this weekend on the road in Week 11, released their second injury report of the week on Thursday. Already dealing with a number of injuries, they had three changes to the report, adding one injury.
Running back Tevin Coleman sat out of practice Thursday but he was not injured. He simply got the day off. However, receiver Dante Pettis suffered a back injury and was limited in practice Thursday after not appearing on the injury report on Wednesday.
Six players other than Coleman sat out Thursday with injuries.
RB Matt Breida (ankle)
K Robbie Gould (quad)
DT D.J. Jones (groin)
TE George Kittle (ankle, knee)
WR Emmanuel Sanders (ribs)
LT Joe Staley (finger)
Jones and Staley have already been ruled out. Kittle is unlikely. The rest are considered day-to-day.
Limited
LB Azeez Al-Shaair (concussion)
TE Garrett Celek (back)
DE Dee Ford (quad)
RB Raheem Mostert (knee)
WR Dante Pettis (back)
TE Levine Toilolo (groin)
CB Ahkello Witherspoon (foot, quad)
Al-Shaair was upgraded after missing Wednesday, while Pettis was a new addition to the injury report. That could be problematic if he has to miss the game and Sanders, too, in addition to Kittle at tight end. The 49ers might be very shorthanded on offense on Sunday.
Three sit out and two were upgraded to limited on Thursday.
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The Arizona Cardinals released their second injury report of the week on Thursday. They had several improvements.
Only three players were unable to practice on Thursday after seven sat out Wednesday.
Did not practice
DL Jonathan Bullard (foot)
RB Chase Edmonds (hamstring)
LB Terrell Suggs (back, hamstring)
Edmonds isn’t expected to play this week. Bullard’s injury is probably what prompted the Cardinals to place Zach Allen on injured reserve and promote Miles Brown. Suggs has practiced minimally this season but has not missed any games so far.
Limited
DL Zach Kerr (knee)
TE Maxx Williams (illness)
CB Tramaine Brock (hamstring)
DL Rodney Gunter (calf)
OL Justin Murray (knee)
CB Patrick Peterson (calf)
Kerr and Williams were upgraded on Thursday. Both sat out on Wednesday, which suggests they should be able to play on Sunday, provided there are no setbacks on Friday. Brock remains day-to-day with his hamstring, as does Peterson with his calf, although defensive coordinator Vance Joseph believes Peterson will be ready to go on Sunday. He has never missed a game because of injury in his career. Murray is also day-to-day.
OL Lamont Gaillard (thumb) and LB Dennis Gardeck (ankle) were full participants Thursday after being limited Wednesday, while WR Larry Fitzgerald and LB Chandler Jones returned fully after days off on Wednesday.
Safety Deionte Thompson (knee) was a full participant for the second day in a row after missing Sunday’s game.
Every Week 11 picked and predicted against the spread.
Getting Thursday night picks right apparently mean having terrible afternoons. That’s two weeks in a row where the afternoon games sunk a great week. Back to the .500 mark though.
These teams are having this weird Freaky Friday season where the Steelers have the record the Browns should have, and the Browns have the record the Steelers should have. There’s an off chance this is Freddie Kitchens’ final game as the Browns’ head coach.
Pick: Browns (-2.5)
New Orleans (-5.5) vs. TAMPA BAY
The Saints lost to the Falcons last week, which either means they’re not very good, or they’re due to bounce back in a big way in Tampa.
Pick: Saints (-5.5)
CAROLINA (-5.5) vs. Atlanta
PREDICTION: Christian McCaffrey goes off and we really ramp up the “McCaffrey for MVP” conversation where everyone jumps back on the ‘running backs are valuable again’ train way too fast.
Pick: Panthers (-5.5)
INDIANAPOLIS (-3.5) vs. Jacksonville
This game is the Nick Foles of NFL games.
Pick: Jags (+3.5)
MINNESOTA (-10.5) vs. Denver
There’s a really strong chance John Elway vastly overpays Kirk Cousins sometime in the very near future.
Pick: Vikings (-10.5)
WASHINGTON (-1.5) vs. New York Jets
Do you know who’s going to be the loser in this game? Everyone who watches it.
Pick: Jets (+1.5)
Buffalo (-5.5) vs. MIAMI
The combined winning percentage of teams the Bills have beaten is .214. That is the lowest mark in the AFC by a pretty substantial margin.
Pick: Dolphins (+5.5)
BALTIMORE (-4.5) vs. Houston
There’s not a more fun matchup all year than Lamar Jackson vs. Deshaun Watson. Two young, exciting quarterbacks playing at MVP-caliber levels. Sign me up.
Pick: Ravens (-4.5)
SAN FRANCISCO (-11.5) vs. Arizona
11.5 points is a lot for a team as beat up as the 49ers are, especially since they only beat the Cardinals by three two weeks ago.
Pick: Cardinals (+11.5)
New England (-3.5) vs. PHILADELPHIA
If the Eagles are going to make a Super Bowl run, it’ll have to start Sunday against the Patriots.
Pick: Patriots (-3.5)
OAKLAND (-10.5) vs. Cincinnati
THE RAIDERS ARE FAVORED BY 10.5 POINTS!
Pick: Raiders (-10.5)
LOS ANGELES RAMS (-6.5) vs. Chicago
Mitchell Trubisky has to face a defense with Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey. Hopefully he can turn the TVs off at halftime.
Pick: Rams (-6.5)
KANSAS CITY (-4.5) vs. Los Angeles Chargers
There is not a more confusing team in the league than the Chargers, who are either terrible or a Super Bowl contender.
The 49ers’ fall from the top of the NFL Wire power rankings wasn’t bad after they suffered their first loss of the year.
The 49ers were a 47-yard field goal away from beating the Seahawks on Monday night and maintaining an undefeated record. Instead, Chase McLaughlin’s kick hooked wide left (and then some), and the 49ers eventually lost to the Seahawks. The loss was enough to drop San Francisco one spot to No. 2 in the NFL Wire power rankings.
It’s not a surprise the 49ers finally dropped out of the top spot in Doug Farrar’s rankings. He’s had them there since they downed the Rams 20-7 in Week 6. Baltimore also had a dominant win over the Patriots, followed by a dominant win over the Bengals. There’s not a team playing better football than the Ravens going into Week 11.
The key for San Francisco is not letting losses pile up. Monday night was a heartbreaker, but a game they could have (should have?) won even without their two best pass catchers, George Kittle and Emmanuel Sanders.
Farrar explained why the loss isn’t as bad as it seemed:
San Francisco’s drop from the undefeated isn’t that big a deal in the grand scheme of things — they lost to a very good team playing at its best (especially on defense) and did so seriously shorthanded. Kyle Shanahan’s team will try to get things back together against the Cardinals next week.
This is where things get more tough for the 49ers though. They face Arizona in Week 11, Green Bay (No. 5 in the rankings) in Week 12, and then Baltimore (No. 1) and New Orleans (No. 4) in back-to-back road games. Then they’re home for the Rams and Falcons before wrapping up the season in Seattle (No. 6).
With injuries piling up and the schedule getting tougher, it’s going to be an uphill climb for the 49ers to keep themselves ranked among the team’s elite. However, they’ll have ample opportunities to prove themselves worthy, and if things go right the rest of the way, they’ll have a real claim to be the NFL’s best team at the end of the 2019 season.
11 teams have committed to being at the Colin Kaepernick workout. The 49ers aren’t among them, but they will be soon per Matt Maiocco.
Former 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick will work out for NFL teams Thursday in Atlanta. All 32 clubs were invited to attend the session, which was orchestrated by the league. Kaepernick had two hours to accept the non-negotiable terms of the workout.
Kaepernick hasn’t played in the NFL since he and the 49ers parted ways prior to the 2017 season. The second-round pick in 2011 played in 69 games and started 58 for San Francisco, including two NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl. He completed 59.8 percent of his throws for 12,271 yards, 72 touchdowns and 30 interceptions. Kaepernick also added 2,300 yards and 13 touchdowns on the ground, and averaged 6.1 yards per carry.
It’s hard to imagine San Francisco re-signing their former signal caller at this point. They already have three quarterbacks on the roster, and if they thought Kaepernick was a better option than either CJ Beathard or Nick Mullens to back up Jimmy Garoppolo, they likely would have aimed to acquire him already.
However, due diligence is important, especially with quarterback evaluations, so it makes sense the 49ers would want someone in attendance to ensure there’s not something they’ve missed in their evaluation.
The 49ers had 14 players out or limited in practice Thursday.
The 49ers list of injured players is long. It may be so long that they can’t suit up 46 players Sunday against the Cardinals.
14 players were either out of practice or limited Thursday, including tight end George Kittle and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders. They were both out of practice for the second consecutive day.
The NFL season becomes a war of attrition through the final half of the year, and the 49ers are in a fierce battle now. Kittle hasn’t been officially ruled out, but Staley will miss a couple weeks, and DJ Jones is out at least for the Cardinals game. Robbie Gould hasn’t practiced since straining his quad early last week, and Matt Breida re-aggravated an ankle injury Monday night against Seattle.
Here’s Thursday’s practice report released by the team:
Did not participate
RB Matt Breida (ankle)
RB Tevin Coleman (not injury related)
K Robbie Gould (quad)
DT D.J. Jones (groin)
TE George Kittle (knee, ankle)
WR Emmanuel Sanders (ribs)
OT Joe Staley (finger)
Limited participation
LB Azeez Al-Shaair (concussion)
TE Garrett Celek (back)
DE Dee Ford (quad)
RB Raheem Mostert (knee)
WR Dante Pettis (back)
TE Levine Toilolo (groin)
CB Ahkello Witherspoon (foot, quad)
Injuries didn’t stop the 49ers from giving double-digit points against the Cardinals on Sunday.
The 49ers’ first matchup with the Arizona Cardinals this season was a struggle. San Francisco prevailed 28-25 in the desert, and were holding on for dear life when the clock finally ran out.
Since that game two weeks ago, the 49ers have sustained key injuries, and their task at home Sunday against the Cardinals seems much more daunting than it did prior to their first meeting. None of that played a big role in the betting line though, which started at 13.5, but is down to 11.5 according to BetMGM.
That 11.5 number is still massive, but the quick two-point dip indicates there’s a lot of money coming in on the Cardinals.
It looks like the 49ers won’t have George Kittle again, and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders is dealing with a rib injury. Left tackle Joe Staley will miss the game, and running back Matt Breida is also expected to sit out.
Given how well the Cardinals played the last time these teams matched up, it’s hard to rule them out of this game early. 11.5 points feels like way too many. San Francisco is undoubtedly the better team, but the slew of injuries to starters handicaps them some against a division rival.
It wouldn’t be a surprise to see those 11.5 points come down even further Friday once injuries are officially announced.
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