PREMIUM
GAME OF THE WEEK (Rogers' 10* NFLX) >> TOP WEEK 2 Play!
(NFL) NY Giants vs. Cleveland,
Point Spread: 1.50 | -110.00 Cleveland (Home)
Result: Win
Point Spread: 1.50 | -110.00 Cleveland (Home)
Result: Win
The set-up: It's Monday Night Football on ESPN at FirstEnergy Stadium, as the 0-1 New York Giants and the 1-0 Cleveland Browns wrap up NFL Week 2 preseason action. The Giants ended a four-year playoff drought in 2016 by finishing 11-5 and earning wild card berth. However, the team's postseason hopes were dashed in a 38-13 loss at Green Bay. The postseason has eluded the Browns for 14 straight years, after they finished 1-15 in 2016. Cleveland has had 13 losing season in that span and hit rock bottom with last year's franchise-worst record.
NY Giants: Eli Manning was held out of New York's first game and the offense consistently stalled against the Steelers, getting held to four FGs. Geno Smith has come over from the Jets but threw for a modest 114 yards against Pittsburgh with one INT. He has thrown 28 TDs but also 36 INTs so far in his checkered NFL career. 3rd round pick Davis Webb is in the mix (8 of 16 for 67 yards) and Josh Johnson (5 of 10 for 31 yards) also played against the Steelers. However, Manning will be back under center for the Giants on Monday and second-year head coach Ben McAdoo said the plan is to have Manning play into the second quarter in the team's second preseason game.
Cleveland: I watched ESPN's E:60 on Sunday morning and one of the segments was on Cleveland's All-Pro tackle, Joe Thomas. He's protected 18 different starting QBs in his 10-year career and it's possible that Brock Osweiler and DeShone Kizer could raise that total to 20 by the end of 2017. Osweiler was just 6 of 14 for 42 yards in getting the start last week but it was Kizer who delivered the much better showing (11 of 18 for 184 yards, along with the game-winning 45-yard TD pass). The offense HAS to improve, after finishing 30th in the league in total yards (311.0 per) and 31st in the league in scoring (16.5 PPG) last year. The same can be said of the defense which ranked 31st in yards allowed (392.4 per) and 30th in points allowed (28.2 per).
The pick: Eli playing into the second quarter is good news for New York fans (bettors) but not that the Giants were 25th in the league in total offense (330.7 YPG) and 26th in scoring, putting up just 19.4 PPG. The team has NO running game. The Browns own a real QB 'battle,' with Kessler (eight starts in 2016), Osweiler and the current front-runner, Kizer, which I believe will be the difference-maker. Make the Browns a 10*
NY Giants: Eli Manning was held out of New York's first game and the offense consistently stalled against the Steelers, getting held to four FGs. Geno Smith has come over from the Jets but threw for a modest 114 yards against Pittsburgh with one INT. He has thrown 28 TDs but also 36 INTs so far in his checkered NFL career. 3rd round pick Davis Webb is in the mix (8 of 16 for 67 yards) and Josh Johnson (5 of 10 for 31 yards) also played against the Steelers. However, Manning will be back under center for the Giants on Monday and second-year head coach Ben McAdoo said the plan is to have Manning play into the second quarter in the team's second preseason game.
Cleveland: I watched ESPN's E:60 on Sunday morning and one of the segments was on Cleveland's All-Pro tackle, Joe Thomas. He's protected 18 different starting QBs in his 10-year career and it's possible that Brock Osweiler and DeShone Kizer could raise that total to 20 by the end of 2017. Osweiler was just 6 of 14 for 42 yards in getting the start last week but it was Kizer who delivered the much better showing (11 of 18 for 184 yards, along with the game-winning 45-yard TD pass). The offense HAS to improve, after finishing 30th in the league in total yards (311.0 per) and 31st in the league in scoring (16.5 PPG) last year. The same can be said of the defense which ranked 31st in yards allowed (392.4 per) and 30th in points allowed (28.2 per).
The pick: Eli playing into the second quarter is good news for New York fans (bettors) but not that the Giants were 25th in the league in total offense (330.7 YPG) and 26th in scoring, putting up just 19.4 PPG. The team has NO running game. The Browns own a real QB 'battle,' with Kessler (eight starts in 2016), Osweiler and the current front-runner, Kizer, which I believe will be the difference-maker. Make the Browns a 10*
