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Posted at 10:15 AM EST.

Carolina +120 over ARIZONA

4:25 PM EST. First overall pick Kyler Murray impressed many in the market and had those that picked the Ravens in their survivor pool sweating in their shorts after coming this close to bringing his team all the way back, as the Cardinals had the ball down six with more than enough time on the clock before coming up just short in a 23-17 loss as a 13-point pooch. Combine that "good" loss with Murray's fourth-quarter heroics against the Lions to salvage a tie and all of a sudden; these Red Birds are on the market's radar. Factor in Carolina's QB woes into this equation and the Panthers go from being the chalk to the underdog overnight. Kyle Allen and the Panthers might look like easy pickings, but do not bite, as it is the Cardinals that might be easy pickings here. 

Add the Panthers to the long list of teams to lose their starting quarterback that are undervalued here in Week 3. The Panthers, even with a clearly not right Cam Newton, were the original favorites in this game. Is an upright and healthy Kyle Allen really going to be worse than the Newton we saw last Thursday night? At 0-2, the pressure is off Allen and he clearly has the backing of his teammates with star runner Christian McCaffrey leading the charge, ''We know he's confident, there's a reason that we have him on our team and that is because we believe in him.'' As there often is, there is more to this story. Allen, who was the No. 1 ranked quarterback in America in 2014, was recruited by Texas Tech and then coach and current Cardinal bench boss Kliff Kingsbury. Allen would commit to Texas A & M, but his college career did not go as planned. During his sophomore season, Allen was replaced as the Aggies starter. He would transfer to Houston and go undrafted in 2018 before being signed to the Panthers practice roster. Who was the man to replace Allen at A&M? Kyler Murray. 

Just to recap. In Week 1, Arizona was down 24-6 in the fourth quarter to the Lions. It was at that point that the market tuned in because it was the only game playing, as everything else was final. The market watched Arizona outscore Detroit 18-0 and take the game to OT. We assure you that the Lions took their foot of the gas, thinking they were home free. Last Week, Arizona caught Baltimore sleeping a bit after the Ravens whacked Miami in Week 1 and had Kansas City up next. The Carolina Panthers looked like dog crap on Thursday’s prime time game against Tampa. What a perfect spot to fade public perception. 

Finally, we want to address something that hasn’t been addressed or exposed yet, which is the bad hiring of Kliff Kingsbury. He is not NFL caliber. Kingsbury’s Texas Tech teams were always exciting to watch — on offense. The Red Raiders worked an up-tempo air raid style (that Kingsbury learned under Mike Leach) that scored a ton of points. However, defensive shortcomings hampered the program during Kingsbury’s six seasons. Overall, he had a 35-40 (19-35 Big 12) record at TTU, including a 5-7 mark in 2018. It was the third time in his tenure that the Red Raiders failed to reach the postseason. So why would NFL teams go after a coach who was fired by his own alma mater? Offense, of course. 

Here was his record in college:

2013: 8-5 record, 88th best defense

2014: 4-8 record, 126th best defense

2015: 7-6 record, 125th best defense

2016: 5-7 record, 128th best defense

2017: 6-7 record, 98th best defense

2018: 5-7 record, 87th best defense

Texas Tech got so frustrated with the stagnation that they fired him this year. In this day and age, it takes a lot for a team to fire their media-friendly, high-scoring, home school hero, which may tell you a lot. You can absolutely make the case that Kingsbury's youth and good looks made him overrated by the media, who elevated him past the likes of fellow Air Raid coaches like Mike Leach and Dana Holgorsen, both of whom have had more experience and success in college.

It’s only a matter of time before he gets badly exposed at this level and this hungry opponent is as good a place to start as any. Carolina outright gets our call.

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