Denver Broncos (1-0 SU, 1-0 ATS) vs. New York Giants (0-1 SU, 0-1 ATS)
Week 2 NFL
Date/Time: Sunday, September 15, 2013 at 4:25PM EST
Where: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
TV: CBS
By Loot, NFL Football Handicapper, Lootmeister.com
Point Spread: DEN -4.5/NYG +4.5
Over/Under Total: 55.5
Brothers Peyton and Eli go against each other, as the the Broncos travel to East Rutherford to face the New York Giants. Week one saw a stark contrast between these two teams. The Broncos torched the defending Super Bowl champion Ravens, 49-27, while the Giants came up short against the Cowboys, 36-31.
It’s hard to find a team that had a rougher opening week than the Giants. In the first half, they looked abysmal. Even Cowboys backers couldn’t help but feel sorry for RB David Wilson. Last year, he ended up in the doghouse for a stubborn fumbling problem. The first-rounder spent all of last season working his way back into the coach’s good graces. He cemented himself as the Giants’ starting tailback in training camp and looked to give the Giants an explosive presence at that position, something they’ve lacked for the past few years.
And in a little over a half of football, the situation got turned on its head. Wilson fumbled the ball twice, once killing a drive in the red zone and then coughing the ball up, which was brought back for a touchdown. He was benched and on Monday, the Cowboys were trying out old hand Brandon Jacobs and veteran Willis McGahee. It remains to be seen how this sense of organizational frenzy resonates with the players. After all, they lost by 5 points at Dallas, so maybe an “abandon ship” outlook is a bit premature. At the same time, it could make this team focus better and the bottom line is that no matter how good a player is, you can’t have a guy in the game if he’s going to be coughing up the rock.
So, yeah, the Giants looked bad. The pass protection was iffy. The defense would fall apart in the most untimely of situations. The front was dominated by the Dallas offensive line. Every time you looked at the screen, you saw them on their heels. The offense looked to be sleepwalking in the first half and committed 6 total turnovers. It was downright sloppy.
Now, the Giants need to regroup quickly to get ready for the Denver Broncos. If there was a team in week one that impressed most, it might be this team. We knew the Baltimore defense might need some time to congeal, but few predicted the Denver offense would go bonkers on this unit, with Manning tying an NFL record with 7 touchdown passes.
Besides an early Ravens touchdown and 4th-quarter spurt when the game was already decided, the Broncos “D” was pretty good for the most part. It’s doubtful if Champ Bailey will return for this game and now it appears Wesley Woodyard is going to be iffy, as he opened the week not on the practice field. With Von Miller still serving his 6-game suspension, this defense has some questions looming over it. You’d like to see Bailey in there, rather than corner Tony Carter, who had one start in 3 seasons coming into 2013. This secondary will really be tested. And though Shawn Phillips provided some good pass rush on Sunday, they will need to really get under Eli’s skin in this game
For all that went wrong with the Giants--the 6 turnovers, the poorly-run routes--they still almost won the game! They were in Dallas against a Cowboys team that was playing pretty well where a lot of things went wrong and Eli still had a chance to win the game when an untimely interception spoiled things. It wasn’t even Eli’s fault, as a running back on a route zigged when he should have zagged.
The Giants still lack balance on offense, especially if Wilson stays in the doghouse, but Eli has a heck of a receiving corps. Manning, who had 450 yards in the air, made meaningful connections with receivers Hakeem Nicks, Rueben Randle, and Victor Cruz (3 touchdowns) who all caught passes for over 100 yards. New tight end, Brandon Myers, had a nice debut with 7 catches. The Giants are certainly well-equipped to engage in a shootout, which this game might end up being.
If you saw the Cowboys-Giants for only about the first three quarters, the point-spread here may seem favorable to Denver. It’s just that the things that plagued the Giants are not things that can be depended on from week-to-week. Chances are they won’t cough the ball up 6 times this week, for example. Younger players won’t mis-run routes that lead to picks and kill drives. They’re in friendly confines and one should expect this Giants’ squad to show some pep. The Broncos are going to be very tough this season. This offense is the real deal and it may be hard for the Giants to keep up. Still, it’s a tough road/cross-conference matchup for Denver facing a New York squad that should be awfully fired-up for this game.
Loot's Pick to Cover the Point Spread: This game will be a shootout. Conveniently, the bookie has left himself with both the key numbers 3 and 4 with the Giants... and that is how we're going to play it as well. We're betting the Giants plus the points.
