NFL Odds: Which Favorites Has Vegas Vastly Overvalued?

The return of the NFL this weekend also means the return of betting on football for many people. Ahead of this weekend people of all different kinds will be looking to scrounge out that one vital bit of information or advice that could be the difference between winning it all or losing everything.

For me, there is one team that must definitely be avoided much more than any other, and that team is the Arizona Cardinals.

The Cardinals are the favorites over the Carolina Panthers for good reason, considering the Panthers are starting a rookie quarterback and were the worst team in the league last year.

However, the fact remains that the Cardinals aren't much better off than the Panthers. In fact, the Panthers could easily be the better team for this weekend.

Offensively, both teams are quite similar, as Kevin Kolb is essentially no better than a rookie quarterback, considering he has barely gotten on the field during his years in the league. He has the added benefit of being around the NFL game and involved in practices, but his career record still stands at 11 touchdowns to 14 interceptions in seven career starts.

Kolb was also in a much more stable environment in Philadelphia, as the Eagles offensive line was better at the start of last season than the Cardinals is this year. The Eagles also had three proven receivers, rather than just Larry Fitzgerald, with a talented tight end in Brent Celek, opposed to a reliable but aging veteran in Todd Heap.

The Panthers offense is similar as they will also rely on Steve Smith to be their go-to-receiver, while veterans Jeremy Shockey and Greg Olsen will see a lot of balls going their way.

However, the Panthers have a very strong running game compared to the Cardinals, while their offensive line should protect Cam Newton better also. Expect to see a lot of DeAngelo Williams, Jonathan Stewart and Mike Goodson this weekend as the Panthers look to blast the Cardinals out of their own nest.

Newton will obviously make his mistakes, but having Olsen and Shockey as his safety valves will limit those with a strong running game. He should also be able to make plays with his feet that should prevent him from throwing interceptions under duress.

What aids Newton more than anything is the Cardinals defense across from him. He was potentially going to be facing off against Patrick Peterson and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie with Adrian Wilson in the middle.

However, Rodgers-Cromartie is now an Eagle, and Adrian Wilson is questionable to even play after tearing a bicep. Should he do so, I can't see how effective he will be.

With potentially only one proven player in the secondary—Kerry Rhodes—and a pass rush that isn't stellar, the Panthers offense should be able to make some plays through the air while dominating the time of possession with their running game.

Defensively, the Panthers will have some concern against the rush, but they are not as bad as the statistics said last season. The loss of free agent addition Ron Edwards will hurt the center of their defensive line, but Chris Wells isn't likely to expose that too much after Ryan Williams went down for the year.

Charles Johnson should be able to break into the backfield while Andre Roberts probably won't be able to do enough to prevent the coverage from keying in on Fitzgerald. With what is arguably one of the most talented linebacker trios in the whole league, the Panthers could easily win this game.

Yet for some reason, Vegas has the Arizona Cardinals spread at -7.

It's understandable why the Cardinals are the favorites, however I can make a reasonable argument that the only reason they are is because they are the home team.

Is that really worth seven points?