<TABLE class=data><TBODY><TR><TD class=datacell>EXPERT: Ted Sevransky</TD></TR><TR><TD class=datacell>TITLE: Teddy's Tremendous Trifecta</TD></TR><TR><TD class=datacell>REASON FOR PICK:
We haven’t seen the Giants installed as underdogs since their incredible playoff run last year, when they were undervalued by bettors in each one of their four postseason victories. Frankly, I don’t believe that New York is priced properly in this ballgame either. We’re talking about a team that is 12-1 SU in their last 13 games away from home. The G-men are 8-1 ATS in their last nine tries as underdogs, reeling off seven outright upset victories during that span. And the Giants are primed to bring their ‘A’ game this week after relatively lethargic showings in each of their last two ballgames.
Clearly, the Giants had more than their fair share of trouble getting motivated for their last few games, an awful showing on Monday Night Football at Cleveland and a lethargic showing last week at home against the 49ers. Head coach Tom Coughlin: “I think we’re capable of playing a whole lot better than we did (against San Fran), but as I told the players, the objective was to win.” And the Giants did just that, winning and covering despite suffering one of the worst pointspread plays in football, the dreaded ‘blocked field goal returned for a touchdown’, a ten point swing. Take that single play out of the mix and we’re looking at a 32-10 Giants victory, a result that probably would have caused this pointspread to be much closer to ‘pick ‘em than it is.
The Giants match up extremely well with Pittsburgh on both sides of the football. We’ve seen the Steelers offense struggle twice so far this year, despite the fact that they’ve yet to beat a single team with a winning record in ’08. When the Steelers banged up OL (still missing guard Kendall Simmons and tackle Marvel Smith) faced the pressure defenses of Philadelphia and Baltimore, they simply couldn’t handle it. Ben Roethlisberger was sacked a whopping nine times in the 15-6 loss at Philly, as the Steelers managed just 180 total yards of offense.
Against the Ravens, the Steelers escaped with a three point win, but the offense gained just 208 yards and produced only 13 points in regulation. With Willie Parker expected to miss the game again this week and Rashard Mendenhall languishing on injured reserve, expect the Steelers to find rushing yards much harder for Mewelde Moore to gain this week than they were last week against the Bengals porous defense. And don’t expect Roethlisberger to be able to handle the steady diet of blitzes that Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is sure to call – the Giants defense resembles Philadelphia’s more than any other team in the NFL.
The Giants, on the other hand, have the #1 rushing offense in the NFL, gaining 170 yards per game on the ground, averaging 5.6 yards per carry, by far the best in the league. Brandon Jacobs has 516 rushing yards and six touchdowns despite averaging only 16 rushing attempts per game. Derrick Ward has averaged 7.2 yards per carry for his eight rushing attempts. And the G-men’s offensive line has protected Eli Manning extremely well, allowing only six sacks all year on a QB who averages 31 passing attempts per game. There’s no reason to think that the Steelers suspect offense will be able to trade points with the Giants elite level attack. Wrong team favored here. Big Ticket: 6* Take the Giants.
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
