Saints Can Prolong Giants' Misery
Football Betting Lines
12/22/2006 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In football terms anyway, the New York Giants can relate.
Not that their five-losses-in-six-weeks is comparable with the off-field issues laid upon the New Orleans Saints last season, but the fallout of what's gone on in games since mid-November has left the former football kings of New Jersey reeling, albeit in a manner that admittedly falls short of that of homeless disaster victims.
Instead of advancing to the joyous swamp-side title-clinching that appeared likely for the holiday time of year as they seized control of the NFC's East Division with a 6-2 start, the Giants have devolved toward an off-season of torrential chaos that could claim coach Tom Coughlin as posthumous statistic No. 1.
The hard-bitten Parcells disciple - who had earned a reputation as a sideline tough guy during success-laden pre-New Jersey stops at Boston College and with the Jacksonville Jaguars - has more recently resembled a flustered rookie store clerk during "affluent housewife shopping day" at the nearby Short Hills Mall.
A 36-22 loss to Philadelphia last week, a game in which the visiting Eagles scored the final 15 points in menacing smash-and-grab style after New York had taken a lead with 6:59 remaining, dropped "Big Blue" to 7-7 overall and in need of myriad help to secure a postseason berth as a shiny trinket for New Year's Day parties.
Still, the company line remains positive - albeit frustrated.
"We're definitely a playoff team," said tight end Jeremy Shockey, who had eight catches for 70 yards against Philadelphia and leads the team with 64 receptions for the season. "We've got talent in this locker room. There's no doubt about it. We've just got to fix what's going wrong and move on from there."
Meanwhile, the Saints march in a might wobbly after their path to the NFC South championship was interrupted by an ugly 16-10 loss to the draft board- bound Washington Redskins last weekend at the Superdome. They won the crown anyway, however, when division foes Atlanta and Carolina lost to Dallas and Pittsburgh, respectively.
"It is not anything we didn't expect," running back Deuce McAllister said, referring to a Redskins' scheme that prompted season-lows in total yards (270) and points. "They put more pressure on (quarterback) Drew (Brees) than most teams. I know we had a couple of penalties early in the game that slowed us down, but we just didn't make enough plays."
New Orleans enters the game with a hold on the No. 2 playoff position in the NFC and the first-round bye that goes with it. They trail clinched No. 1 seed Chicago (12-2) by three games, but would win a flat-footed tie with fellow 9-5 Dallas by virtue of a convincing 42-17 defeat of the Cowboys on Dec. 10.
West leader Seattle, now 8-6, enters Week 16 as the NFC's fourth seed.
SERIES HISTORY
The Giants hold a 14-9 edge in their all-time series against the Saints, including a 11-3 record at games played in its home facility. That total includes last year's 27-10 Giants win in Week 2, which was played in East Rutherford due to the destruction to the Superdome, but was designated as a Saints home game. New Orleans has a four-game losing streak at the Giants, with the franchise's last road win against the G-Men coming in 1996. New Orleans' last win in the series was a 45-7 rout at the Superdome in 2003, and its last road victory in the series took place in 1996.
Coughlin is 2-1 in his career against the Saints, including 1-0 since coming to the Giants. New Orleans' Sean Payton who served as offensive coordinator for the Giants from 1999 to 2002, will be meeting both Coughlin and his former employer for first time.
SAINTS OFFENSE VS. GIANTS DEFENSE
Powered by the re-energized Brees and his NFL-best 4,240 passing yards, the Saints lead the league with an average of 296 yards though the air per game - which results in their total offense number of 400.6 yards per week also leading the NFL.
The former Purdue quarterback has found success with a series of targets, some of which have emerged via injury troubles.
Reggie Bush leads with 84 catches - an all-time NFL best for rookie running backs - for 706 yards and two touchdowns, while fellow first-year man Marques Colston has 66 catches for a team-high 1,001 yards and seven scores.
Colston's ankle problems opened the door for former no-names Devery Henderson and Terrence Copper, who've combined for 51 catches, 1,103 yards and eight touchdowns, while lingering groin problems have troubled veteran Joe Horn, who has nonetheless managed 37 catches and 679 yards with four TDs.
Horn was listed as questionable on Wednesday's injury report, and missed practice.
McAllister remains the workhorse ball-carrying threat, and could reach 1,000 yards for the season if he can add 51 to his 14-game total of 949 yards on 217 attempts. McAllister has nine touchdowns on the ground, while Bush has also carried 132 times for 419 yards and four scores.
Defensively, the Giants will surely be augmented by the return of pass-rushing end Michael Strahan, who'd missed six straight games since spraining his right foot against the Houston Texans on Nov. 5.
Strahan practiced Wednesday for the first time since the injury, and was listed as questionable on the team's injury report. The Giants are 52-32-1 in games in which Strahan has at least one sack.
Without Strahan, the once-fearsome pass rush had stumbled, leaving the team just 28th in the league with an average of 232.9 air yards surrendered per game. New York is 11th in the league against the run (104.7 yards) and 20th overall in total yards, at 337.7 per game.
Mammoth Wake Forest product Fred Robbins leads the team with 5.5 sacks, while seven players are even with two interceptions apiece.
Fellow linemen Osi Umenyiora and rookie Mathias Kiwanuka have contributed as well, with the former picking up two sacks in the last game with the Saints and the latter racking up four sacks, two interceptions and two forced fumbles in eight career starts.
Linebacker Carlos Emmons had an interception in his last game against the Saints, and his teams are 4-1 in games where he's had at least one.
GIANTS OFFENSE VS. SAINTS DEFENSE
The Tiki Barber retirement watch enters its second-to-last regular-season week as the Giants prepare for eventual life without the dynamic running back who has run for 1,357 yards (second in the NFC) and caught 52 passes for 429 yards.
Powerful Brandon Jacobs, who will likely pick up the slack next season, has complemented his teammate with 398 yards on 90 carries and nine rushing touchdowns. He had a crucial fumble in the loss to the Eagles, however.
Meanwhile, quarterback Eli Manning has too often lapsed into deer-in-the- headlights mode as of late, throwing a pair of interceptions in the Philadelphia loss to raise his season total to 17, against 22 touchdowns.
The 22 TD passes, to be fair, are second in the NFC.
Target-wise, Plaxico Burress had nine touchdowns in 13 games played this season, and has racked up 907 receiving yards with 60 catches overall. He had six catches for 120 yards against the Eagles.
And since entering the NFL in 2002, the always-vocal Shockey is second among all tight ends with 312 catches for 3,612 yards.
Amani Toomer and Tim Carter make up the second tier after the Big 3 threats, combining for 51 catches, 590 yards and four touchdowns.
The Giants are ninth in the league in rushing yardage (129.4), 15th in passing (207.5) and 11th in total yardage (336.9).
The New Orleans defense, meanwhile, has been overshadowed by the prodigious offense.
The Saints are a solid fifth in the league defending the pass, allowing just 184.9 yards per game that, coupled with 133.5 per game on the ground (25th in the league), places the unit a respectable 12th overall at 318.7 yards surrendered par game.
Former Ohio State defensive end Will Smith has a team-high 10.5 sacks, while four players are tied for the team's high honors with two interceptions.
Defensive end Charles Grant has recorded a sack in six games this year, contests in which the Saints are 6-0.
One area in which the team has struggled is forcing turnovers, leading to a ratio of minus-5 for the season. And injury-wise, safety Omar Stoutmire, a former Giant, is listed as questionable with an ailing knee.
OVERALL ANALYSIS
The teams were regarded at opposite ends of the spectrum when the season began.
New Orleans was seen as a mid-level squad at best, with Brees coming off a shoulder problem that had greased the skids for his departure from San Diego and McAllister recovering from a knee injury that shelved him for the back half of 2005.
Meanwhile, the Giants were coming off a playoff berth in 2005 and figured to feast on a weaker East division with the star power of Barber and the emergence of Manning carrying the load.
Obviously, the reverse has happened thus far, or at least since the New York free fall began after Week 8. That said, the talent still remains on the Giants' side of the Meadowlands this week and, with Strahan returning, this one has all the making of a circle-the-wagons type effort for a pride-laden team.
As much as anything, make it a referendum on Coughlin's future.
Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Giants 27, Saints 24
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this season's AFC title get together Sunday in Seattle, as the Seahawks
welcome the powerful San Diego Chargers to Qwest Field.
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<< Browns, Bucs, Play for Pride, Draft Position
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playoffs, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Cleveland Browns meet this Sunday in a
battle for draft positioning.
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<< Titans, Bills, Seek to Maintain Momentum
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did all the work. The Titans are likely to require more of Young's services on
Sunday, wh
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New England Patriots will become the latest team to try to solve the mystery of Alltel Stadium on Sunday, when they visit the Jacksonville Jaguars in a game rife with postseason implications. The Jaguars, who are tied
Chiefs Need Win Over Raiders, Holiday Miracle >>
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playoff dreams.
But first, the Chiefs must help themselves.
Herm Edwards' team travels
Colts Carry New-Found Momentum into Houston >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Indianapolis Colts will attempt to move one step closer
to securing a first-round playoff bye this Sunday at Reliant Stadium, where
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years.
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He wears No. 6.
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The NFC
FOOTBALL BETTING LINES
NFL Football Sports BettingTwo playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL BETTING
NCAA Football BettingMany fans thought it was the best side in the nation by the end of last season. This year, the polls have built on Georgia's momentum and granted it the No. 1 preseason ranking, followed by Ohio State and USC. (The Associated Press has the Buckeyes at No. 2; USA Today took the Trojans.)
"To have people believing we have one of the best teams in the nation going into this thing, it's exciting for us," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt told the AP. "I don't think anything is guaranteed, but we certainly have put ourselves in position where at least the college football world thinks we're pretty good."
Georgia Bulldogs - 9.5 wins
There's no question they're good, but the Bulldogs have one of the toughest 12-game schedules in the nation, mostly because they play in the powerhouse Southeastern Conference. Away games at No. 15 Arizona State, No. 7 LSU and No. 10 Auburn loom large, with contests between the hedges versus No. 24 Alabama and No. 18 Tennessee as well as the World's Largest Cocktail Party in Jacksonville versus No.5 Florida.
Ohio State Buckeyes - 10 wins
Like the Bulldogs, the Buckeyes also have a number of tough road contests in 2008. After two scrimmages dressed up as real games versus Youngstown State and Ohio, it's off to face USC. Other tough away games include No.13 Wisconsin in October and No. 20 Illinois in November. Granted, it should be pretty easy sledding at the Horseshoe. In fact, the only ranked team that travels to Columbus is No. 22 Penn State, in October.
USC Trojans - 10.5 wins
A similarly light schedule awaits the Trojans of Southern California, which is why the oddsmakers' total is one win more and the over is currently commanding -150 odds. Pete Carroll's troops only play three ranked teams in 2008, and all of those games are at home. After what should be an easy trip to Virginia to start things off on Aug. 30, the Trojans get two weeks to prepare for Ohio State in Los Angeles. Their two other ranked opponents, No. 21 Oregon and No. 15 Arizona State, visit in consecutive weeks to start the month of October. After that, the competition eases up. Of course, this is the same highly-touted school that lost to Stanford in 2007 and Oregon State in 2006. And don't discount the fact that USC plays its biggest rivals, Notre Dame and UCLA, back-to-back to close out the regular season. On paper, the Trojans are far superior, but motivation will be high for the Irish and Bruins, especially if their historic foes are in national-title contention.
Odds to Win the Heisman Trophy
Tim Tebow, Florida - 7/2
He won it last year, so it's no surprise he's the favorite to do it again, making him just the second player to go back-to-back. Ohio State's Archie Griffin turned the trick in 1974 and 1975, and Tebow's coach, Urban Meyer, is pretty sure his star quarterback can match the Buckeyes legend.
"There has never been anyone quite like him," Meyer told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "I am very lucky to be his coach."
Chris Wells, Ohio State - 5/1
The man they call "Beanie" was a star recruit out of high school, so it's not like nobody knew who the star tailback was before he rushed for 576 yards as a freshman in 2006 and 1,609 as a sophomore. But perhaps his finest moment came last year versus Michigan when he rumbled for 222 yards and two touchdowns in the Buckeyes' 14-3 victory over the hated Wolverines.
Knowshon Moreno, Georgia - 8/1
If the Bulldogs are to live up to expectations, they'll need a huge effort from their sophomore running back. This might be the last year of college ball for Moreno, who rushed for 1,334 yards and for 14 touchdowns as a freshman, while adding 253 receiving yards on 20 receptions, so expect big things for the man from Belford, N.J.
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