Redskins-Giants Odds and Pick
September 2, 2008
Fresh off of one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history, the New York Giants open their season, and the NFL season, by hosting the Washington Redskins. Expectations will be high in New York this season. The Giants will be out to prove that 2007 wasn’t a fluke and to do that they will need to start 2008 with a win against an NFC East opponent. Washington will see a new face at head coach as Jim Zorn takes over for Joe Gibbs. The Redskins won four games in a row to round out their 2007 regular season, so they obviously want to use that momentum to their advantage in this season/division opener. JustBet has Thursday’s line set at the New York Giants -3 1/2 points at home.
Offensively, the Redskins have the majority of their major play-makers returning for the 2008 season. Quarterback Jason Campbell put together a respectable season before heading to the injured reserve with knee problems last season. With Campbell healed, the Redskins can take advantage of their top two wide outs, Santana Moss and Antwaan Randle El. The real success of the offense, however, will rely heavily on the shoulders of starting running back, Clinton Portis. Portis has caught a bad rap for his lack of durability, but he has gone over 1,200 yards rushing in the of the last 4 years. It will be interesting to see how a new offense works with this squad. Joe Gibbs instituted a run-first policy, but with some serious play-makers in Moss and Randle El, the West Coast style offense might be a better fit, in fact, it might open things up for Portis, who also has big-play capability.
The biggest off-season acquisition for the Redskins this year came in the form of former Miami Dolphin defensive end, Jason Taylor. Taylor is one of the best pass-rushers in the game and he will give a great boost to this already solid defense if he can get healthy. If there is a weakness on this side of the ball it’s that the Skins have had trouble with the deep-ball in the past. They’ll need to remedy that if they want to improve this year, but their rush defense is so good that most teams are forced into passing as their primary means to move the ball.
Eli Manning turned in a decent regular season in 2007 before having a spectacular post-season. In the preseason Manning seemed to have more confidence, which was one of the biggest knocks on him during the regular season last year. Despite some contract disputes, Plaxico Burress is back along with veteran wide receiver Amani Toomer. Jeremy Shockey is gone, and while it never hurts to have another good option on the field, the Giants won the Super Bowl without him, and his off-the-field remarks were nothing but a distraction for a team with a lot of good things going for it. Kevin Boss proved to be a solid filler at the TE spot last year and he will be back with the team for the 2008 campaign. The Giants also bring back a solid running game to the table with Brandon Jacobs starting and Derrick Ward coming in to give the big man a breather from time to time. This combo worked very well for the Giants last season and there’s no reason the same formula won’t work this time around.
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There are some concerns defensively for the Giants, and not without good reason. They lost Michael Strahan to retirement, which was expected, but the loss of their best returning pass-rusher, Osi Umenyiora for the entire season came as a major blow to this defensive attack. One of the major reasons the Giants were so good in the playoffs last year was the play of that defensive line, which has been almost completely retooled. The rest of the defense is intact for the most part, which is a good thing, but the real question will be how the defensive line deal with the loss of its two best players.
Head to head these teams match up very well. The Giants are brimming with the confidence that comes from a winning an NFL Championship, but they’ll have to prove they can avoid a Super Bowl hangover against a talented Washington team. Washington looked like a playoff team in the second half of the 2007 season. Hopefully, a change at head coach allows this team to move forward and not take a few steps back.
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