Gator Report / Cajun Sports
NFL Preseason Selection:
Thursday, August 7, 2008
7:00 PM ET
1 STAR SELECTION
NY Giants @ Detroit UNDER 33 points
The Super Bowl Champion Giants will be in uniform Thursday night for the first time since last season's ultimate triumph, as Eli Manning and company visit the Lions in the 2008 preseason opener for both teams.
New York has some immediate concerns to address on the defensive side of the football. Gone are ex-starters such as defensive end Michael Strahan, safety Gibril Wilson, and linebackers Reggie Torbor, and Kawika Mitchell. Additionally, many of the Giants' highest-profile players are expected to see only limited time, including Manning, running back Brandon Jacobs, and wideouts Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer. In fact, Burress might not play at all due to a lingering ankle injury, and might be joined on the shelf by Super Bowl hero David Tyree, who has spent the early stages of training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list with a knee problem. QBs Anthony Wright and newcomers David Carr and rookie Andre Woodson will succeed Manning in the lineup at QB and see most of the action behind center for the champs.
Tom Coughlin is heartened that this post-Super Bowl training camp has been devoid of any major distractions but he is growing concerned with a number of minor but nagging injuries that have cut into the Giants New York Giants depth. The newest injury is starting right guard Chris Snee Chris Snee, who sat out with a sore shoulder and will have an MRI to see why he's experiencing discomfort. Backup guard Shane Olivea sat again and will have tests to determine the extent of the injury to his back. The receiver position has been hit hard, with Burress running on the side but that's it and others also unavailable. It looks as if rookie Mario Manningham will be out a while, as he has bleeding in his strained quad muscle.
Detroit, meanwhile, will be eager to witness the work of an offense that will take on a new look in 2008. Former coordinator Mike Martz was fired in the offseason, and has been succeeded by Jim Colletto, who is expected to take a more balanced approach to play-calling. Defensively, Detroit will be seeking strong initial returns from a revamped secondary.
There is only so much you can tell when a team is playing against itself. But a couple of things were clear from Lions camp: The defense is ahead of the offense, as it usually is at this stage, and the Lions are working hard on the running game. Detroit should have a fairly solid rotation at QB with Jon Kitna followed by backup quarterbacks Dan Orlovsky and Drew Stanton; however, we don't expect to see the ball thrown all over the lot with the team working on pounding the football.
Detroit knows that it can throw the football and that they have a couple of stud WRs, so there is no need for them to work on that part of their game. RUNNING the ball will be the gameplan here, and this is a new concept and scheme for the offensive line, so we don't expect it to be necessarily pretty. We don't expect the Giants to get much done either, being shorthanded at the receiving position, using a makeshift line, and the only good QB on their roster seeing very limited time on the field. Even Manning has not been sharp of late in camp.
Under these circumstances, we expect a low-scoring game with a lot of running plays that will burn the clock. New York has gone 3-0 UNDER in its last 3 NFLX road openers, and have seen 4 of their last 5 NFLX road openers go UNDER the total.
PROJECTED FINAL: NY GIANTS @ DETROIT UNDER 33 POINTS
NFLX 70% Super Situation:
NFLX Thursday: Play Under NFL teams where the total is between 35.5 and 42 points in the first two weeks of the pre-season, 42-16 Under last 5 seasons (72.4%)
PLAY: New Orleans / Arizona UNDER 36
NFLX Top Angles:
NFLX Thursday: New York Giants are 4-16 ATS on artificial turf since 1993.
NFLX Thursday: New York Jets are 9-1 ATS playing on the road with a total of 35 points or less since 1993.
NFLX Thursday: New England is 14-3 Under during the first two weeks of the preseason since 1993.
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