New York Giants vs. New England Patriots -12 O/U 54
Super Bowl XLII is shaping up to be the
biggest NFL game of all time. We have a New York team in the Giants, from the biggest city in the US. We have New England, the best franchise in this millennium, making their 4th visit to the Super Bowl in 7 years. We'll have superstars QB's
Eli Manning vs.
Tom Brady, WR's
Plaxico Burress vs.
Randy Moss, and on defense
Osi Umenyiora and
Michael Strahan vs.
Teddy Bruschi and
Mike Vrabel. The star power and the popularity of these teams will create the most watched game in
NFL history.
The Giants are coming off 3
impressive playoff road wins, going through Tampa Bay, Dallas and Green Bay. In fact, the Giants had to beat the #1, #2 and #4 seeds in the NFC to get to the
Super Bowl. The
key to the Giants success, only 1 turnover in their 3 playoff wins. They are taking care of the ball and not giving teams any
easy opportunities. QB Eli Manning is playing the best football of his career. In his last 4 games, including the week 17 loss to the Patriots, Manning has 110.1 passing rating, has thrown 8 TD's, and has only 1 interception. To put his passing rating into
perspective, his rating in his last 4 games would be only second in the NFL to MVP Tom Brady's 117.2 And remember, he did that against the Patriots, Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers defensives, who rank 2nd, 4th, 9th and 11th on defense respectively. Bottom line, Manning is playing
great football and will need to continue for his team to have a chance. On defense, the Giants have a
great defensive line which is crucial against this Patriot offense. The Giants lead the NFL in sacks with 53 on the year. Of those 53 sacks, 40.5 sacks came from their front four. That's
very impressive and will need to continue for them to have a chance against the Patriots..
As for the Patriots, everyone knows about their 18 game win season and their chance of
perfection. But this team has been
brutal against the spread of late. They have not covered in 5 games and are 2-8 ATS in their last 10. While they're winning games, they're simply not
blowing teams out like they were to start the season. A lot of that can be blamed on the weather and the conditions they've been playing in. Of their last 10 games, only their game vs. the Colts was played in ideal conditions for this team, being played in Indianapolis in the RCA Dome. Their remaining 9 games all came outdoors in
cold and difficult conditions. That won't be the case in their Super Bowl matchup, which will be played in a dome on a nice
fast track in Arizona. WR Randy Moss has been held to just 2 receptions in the playoffs, look for him
to go off against an undermanned Giants secondary. The Giants will have a
very difficult time matching up with the Patriots 4 wide receiver set, led by Wes Welker, who led the NFL with 112 receptions.
With the Patriots
struggling vs. the spread and the Giants riding a 5 game win streak vs. the number, so far we've seen nothing but Giants money in this game. This game opened 13 and was bet
quickly to 12. Bettors are still backing the Giants at the current number and I would not be
surprised if this line closed 11. But this is the Super Bowl, so there is plenty of
opportunity to bet this game other than vs. the spread.
Belmont.com will have more props and ways to bet this game than any other book in the world. There will be over a thousand different betting options for this game so make sure to check back daily for more fun ways to bet what should be a
very exciting Super Bowl.
Saturday, Jan 10th, 2009
How about the Giants playoff?
Giants vs Eagles
The Eagles don't have a major deep downfield receiving threat, and the Giants are without their Pro Bowl star, Plaxico Burress. So it's going to be a running attack built around short passing and concentration on the TE as a major receiver. /Cool widgets at statbeast.Check it.
