Carolina +3 1/2 over NY GIANTS
Carolina vs. NY GIANTS UNDER 35
The New York Giants will take the field for their preseason home opener Friday night, when they take on the Carolina Panthers and former Giants defensive coordinator John Fox at Giants Stadium. New York had a forgettable opener, dropping a 26-6 decision to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium last Thursday. Meanwhile, Carolina began its preseason with an impressive 20-0 blanking of the Washington Redskins at Ericsson Stadium.
Fox did a nice job to get the Panthers to a 7-9 record last season and it appears the team has simply gotten better, especially in the rushing department. Ex-Redskin Stephen Davis rushed for 74 yards against his former team in last Saturday's win. Skip Hicks and Rod Smart also saw time in the backfield for Carolina, each posting a rushing touchdown. This week they may add Deshaun Foster into the mix for a very deep RB rotation. As for the quarterbacks, Fox was pleased with the play of all four of his quarterbacks the victory over Washington as they completed 16 of 30 passes for 169 yards. Chris Weinke, No. 3 on the depth chart, was the most impressive statistically, completing 8 of 11 passes for 69 yards, and was on the field for the Panthers' two touchdown drives. We look for the QB rotation to remain the same for this contest, but with the starters playing longer than just one quarter.
New York will counter with Kerry Collins (first half), Jessie Palmer (3rd Q), and Jason Garrett (4th Q). Ryan Van Dyke may see some mop up time as well. One major problem for the Giants is their offensive line which was just plain offensive against New England, allowing 7 sacks. Now they'll be facing the fierce front line of the Panthers so matters may not improve for the G-men signal callers. New York also has the distraction of Jeremy Shockey's derogatory comments directed towards ex-Giant coach Bill Parcells that they've had to deal with all week.
Carolina figures to be the more focused team here. John Fox is especially looking forward to it, as he'll be returning to face some old friends. He would love nothing more than to beat his old boss, Jim Fassell. Additionally, we note that the New Yorkers are an awful 1-11 ATS as preseason home favorites, and 4-13 ATS in their last 17 home preseason games overall. Carolina is a solid 6-1 ATS versus conference opponents in the preseason. Finally, pre-season underdogs off a shutout victory are a 70% winning proposition. Look for another fine defensive performance here from the Panthers as we expect them to pull out a late SU victory in a low-scoring contest.
Carolina vs. NY GIANTS UNDER 35
The New York Giants will take the field for their preseason home opener Friday night, when they take on the Carolina Panthers and former Giants defensive coordinator John Fox at Giants Stadium. New York had a forgettable opener, dropping a 26-6 decision to the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium last Thursday. Meanwhile, Carolina began its preseason with an impressive 20-0 blanking of the Washington Redskins at Ericsson Stadium.
Fox did a nice job to get the Panthers to a 7-9 record last season and it appears the team has simply gotten better, especially in the rushing department. Ex-Redskin Stephen Davis rushed for 74 yards against his former team in last Saturday's win. Skip Hicks and Rod Smart also saw time in the backfield for Carolina, each posting a rushing touchdown. This week they may add Deshaun Foster into the mix for a very deep RB rotation. As for the quarterbacks, Fox was pleased with the play of all four of his quarterbacks the victory over Washington as they completed 16 of 30 passes for 169 yards. Chris Weinke, No. 3 on the depth chart, was the most impressive statistically, completing 8 of 11 passes for 69 yards, and was on the field for the Panthers' two touchdown drives. We look for the QB rotation to remain the same for this contest, but with the starters playing longer than just one quarter.
New York will counter with Kerry Collins (first half), Jessie Palmer (3rd Q), and Jason Garrett (4th Q). Ryan Van Dyke may see some mop up time as well. One major problem for the Giants is their offensive line which was just plain offensive against New England, allowing 7 sacks. Now they'll be facing the fierce front line of the Panthers so matters may not improve for the G-men signal callers. New York also has the distraction of Jeremy Shockey's derogatory comments directed towards ex-Giant coach Bill Parcells that they've had to deal with all week.
Carolina figures to be the more focused team here. John Fox is especially looking forward to it, as he'll be returning to face some old friends. He would love nothing more than to beat his old boss, Jim Fassell. Additionally, we note that the New Yorkers are an awful 1-11 ATS as preseason home favorites, and 4-13 ATS in their last 17 home preseason games overall. Carolina is a solid 6-1 ATS versus conference opponents in the preseason. Finally, pre-season underdogs off a shutout victory are a 70% winning proposition. Look for another fine defensive performance here from the Panthers as we expect them to pull out a late SU victory in a low-scoring contest.
