Sky Sports, Christmas Eve, 6pm
I praise Eli Manning ... and then he performs like he’s only
just met the pigskin, and the Giants are beaten by my Redskins. Bizarre.
He was his old bad self, often looking hurried and making
bad decisions to get picked three times. That makes things dangerous today,
because the Jets can pressure him (13 sacks L4) and the coverage downfield may
see him forcing the ball in. There’s no Ballard underneath, and the Giants’
running game isn’t sufficiently reliable to routinely relieve the pressure on
their QB, so there’s a distinct risk that the G-Men could get bogged down on
offense.
Or ...
Last week was an aberration and Manning and his team will
bounce back with the post-season on the line. The Giants must win the NFC East
to progress and the formidable Jets secondary is missing Jim Leonhard - the
safeties can be attacked. Ahmad Bradshaw’s value this week may not be so much
running, as replacing Ballard as that safety valve, catching out of the
backfield. Nicks will likely find himself on Revis island and Manningham is
limited by injury, but I like Victor Cruz today. The Giants rank third ypg
passing and with the Jets keying on stopping the pass, Bradshaw and Jacobs may
also find some room.
The Jets will have to deal with Jason Pierre-Paul and Justin
Tuck and protect Sanchez, who has been sacked seven times in the last two
games, but really they should leave it to their running game to open up the
Giants, whose front seven has struggled to contain the run all season. The only
option for Perry Fewell is to pack the box and give Sanchez no option but to
air it out and then rely upon the pressure up front to force him into mistakes.
Or ...
Shonn Green goes hog wild and as he tramples the Giants’
front, eating up the clock and keeping Manning off the field, while opening up
the pass for Sanche, who hits Burress, Holmes and Keller; they put the points
up, and the Jets’ D does the rest as the G-Men play catch up.
This will be a close, ill-tempered affair after all the
trash talking and with so much on the line for both teams. Consistency has been
a problem for both sides, but my suspicion is that Manning and the Giants are
slightly more clutch than Sanchez and the Jets, so I’ll take the points.
Pick: Giants +3 @ 1.91; -110; 10/11
Pick: 1st TD Victor Cruz @ 10; 900; 9/1
Pick: Anytime TD Dustin Keller @ 2.75; 175; 7/4
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