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Posted Friday at 2:30 PM EST.

4:05 PM EST. The Cardinals didn’t play last week, which is as sweet as can be because the market has forgotten how bad they truly are. Even if Carson Palmer were playing this week, which he is not, San Francisco would be the play based solely on the mental state of each team. In that regard, the 49ers are in great spirits because they’re gearing up for a massive improvement while the Cardinals are on a one way road to hell.

Prior to its bye, Arizona lost 33-0 to the Rams. They allowed the stuck in neutral offense of the Bucs to score 33 points the week prior. They’ve allowed 33 points or more in three straight. The Cardinals have also played four road games and has one victory over that span, a very fortunate 16-13 OT win in Indianapolis. Arizona’s three other road games resulted in losses of 35-23, 34-7 and 33-0 to Detroit, Philadelphia and the Rams respectively but the loss to the Rams was overseas so the opposition wasn’t at home either.

Carson Palmer landed on injured reserve with a broken left arm. Drew Stanton takes the reins after four years of being the Arizona backup. The 33-year-old Stanton has started just one game since 2014. That one start was last year against San Francisco in which he threw for 124 yards. In recapping, The Cardinals have been outscored 66-7 over their last six quarters. Our mantra is never to buy low but for some reason this market has not adjusted to how awful the Cardinals are and have been. Arizona has one worthless road win this season. The Cardinals sit in third place in their division at 3-4, just got demolished by division-leading Los Angeles, and stand virtually no chance of competing with Drew Stanton at the helm. Now they’re favored on the road?! Physically, the Cardinals are horrible. Mentally, one has to wonder how difficult it will be to prepare for the rest of the games this year.

The Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers took different paths to close out the first half of their season with records of 0-8. Cleveland actually held a 16-15 lead over Minnesota in London before the Vikings hit the switch and put the boots to Cleveland. The 49ers, on the heels of getting slapped around 40-10 by Dallas, fell behind 20-0 midway through the third quarter on their way to a 33-10 slapping from the Eagles. To recap, the 49ers are 0-8 and have lost its last two games by a combined 73-20 but unlike Arizona, the 49ers are headed in the right direction, as they are well-coached and the players are very aware that good things are on the horizon. Kyle Shanahan is a great coach and general manager John Lynch is outstanding.

The 49ers released Brian Hoyer and traded for Jimmy Garoppolo from the Patriots in exchange for a 2018 second-round pick. A trade like that raises everyone’s spirit. You may think that Garoppolo can’t be that good if Bill Belichick let him go but that’s just Belichick taking care of his friends (Mike and Kyle Shanahan) on his way out. When Tom Brady retires, so, too, will Belichick. Belichick did the same thing with Jacoby Brissett to the Colts. We’re not sure if Garoppolo will play this week but wouldn’t be surprised if he did. He comes over well-schooled and ready to go. The 49ers just landed their QB. They have a ton of cap space and they are now the first team out of the blocks in the search for a franchise QB. The 49ers had a great 2017 draft too. Their top three picks, a defensive lineman, linebacker and cornerback are all starting and playing well. They have four picks in the first three rounds next year and now they have the ability to trade that #1 or #2 pick for another handful of picks. Last week’s 33-10 loss to the Eagles was a misleading score. Philadelphia’s offense had nothing but misery in trying to move the sticks but a bizarre series of events at the end of the first half turned a 3-0 lead with under 2½ minutes to go into a 17-0 lead. The 49ers have also played Seattle, the Rams, Washington, Dallas and Carolina and just missed against the Seahawks, Washington and the Rams. This is a battle tested team that does not deserve to be 0-8. They are a .500 football team and will probably be damn close to a playoff team next season. Spirits are high in that 49ers locker room and now they’ve never been more ready to know what it feels like to win a football game at this level. That “next step” happens right here. Arizona favored on the road here with Drew Stanton going is preposterous and it’s only because the 49ers are 0-8. We’ll take advantage of that and you should too. Keep the points. San Francisco outright gets the call.  

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