SPORTS N STUFF

When head coach Jim Harbaugh took over the San Francisco 49ers prior to this season, the most underrated aspect of his style heading in to his first year had to have been his ability to motivate his troops and get them to believe that they could get the job done. There was a lot of skepticism prior to the opening kickoff about whether or not Harbaugh, who is known for his offensive genius at Stanford, had enough time to have his 49ers ready for the NFL season. But Harbaugh has preached all year the value of taking things one game at a time, and the result so far is the second-best record in the NFC heading in to this Sundays game against the Arizona Cardinals.

San Francisco 49ers @ Arizona Cardinals
Sunday December 11, 2011 4:05 PM ET
University of Phoenix, Phoenix, Arizona
NFL Betting Lines: San Francisco 49ers 4

The 49ers scratched off the first goal on their list by clinching a division title, and now look for another as they can move one step closer to sealing a first round bye and home field advantage for the postseason. Arizona was no match for San Francisco in their first meeting, but that was the Cardinals only loss in their past five games.

Betting on 49ers Cardinals Preview: San Francisco 49ers

Harbaugh has preached patience from the outset and instilled confidence in every one of his players, and part of the equation has been his ability to get his team to rise to the occasion in every game. San Francisco has a wealth of talent but it was not being used to its full potential before Harbaugh, and we are seeing that now in the emergence of quarterback Alex Smith among others. The 49ers will continue to pound the rock with the leagues seventh-ranked rushing attack spearheaded by running back Frank Gore, and their ability to stop the run as well with the leagues top-ranked rush defense helps set the tone for a winning formula that has led to them putting up solid sports betting results.

Betting on 49ers Cardinals Preview: Arizona Cardinals

The Cardinals have gotten healthier with the return of Kevin Kolb, and that has been among the keys to them turning their season around, with their franchise quarterback throwing for 247 yards and a touchdown in the win over the Dallas Cowboys last weekend. While Arizona hasnt overwhelmed any of their opponents, they have found ways to win close games, particularly at home where they have strung together consecutive wins. The 49ers represent the first of two games the Cardinals will play against teams with records better than .500 the rest of the way, and it will be interesting to see how they respond.

Betting on 49ers Cardinals Preview: Outlook & Pick

While Arizona has shown improvement over the past five weeks, they still did lose by 16 in their only loss, which just happened to be against the 49ers. San Francisco has the weapons on both sides of the ball to make the Cardinals pay, and as long as they continue to approach their schedule with the mindset of one win at a time, they should continue to have success, as 3.5 points is too small of a number for the online betting sites to list.

Betting on 49ers Cardinals Pick: San Francisco 49ers