New York Regular Season Wins: Over 8.5 at (-155) or Under 8.5 at (+135)
The Giants have a brand new, sensory-stimulating stadium this season and are hoping that the new building can bring some great success in 2010. They had a disappointing 2009 and are hoping that despite an infusion of young talent at some positions they can rekindle their success from 2007.
9 wins will be tough to get with a tough schedule like the Giants have (7th hardest), especially with road games against tough non-division foes like the Colts, Texans, Vikings and Packers. A team needs a good running attack to be successful on the road and that is what the Giants have with Brandon Jacobs, so they should be able to hold their own in those contests.
On top of those road games, they have their usual three visits to Dallas, Washington and Philadelphia, along with a trip up to Seattle to play the Seahawks. Looking at it now, the Giants could have a tough time winning more than a couple of games on the road, but when they won the Super Bowl in ‘07, the Giants finished with a record of 10-1 on the road (including playoffs) and that was the key to their success.
The games at home are where the Giants have to take care of business this season because they get to face some weaker competition there along with their typical division match-ups. They start the year with three of the first four at home against Carolina, Tennessee and Chicago, so if the Giants are able to take care of business there, they will be well on their way to another winning season.
With the daunting road schedule New York is facing, and the juice on over 8.5 quite steep, I really don’t see much value in playing them over this total for 2010. Winning on the road is paramount in the NFL, and although they might be able to post a good ATS record in those road affairs, they will likely be dogged in most of them so that doesn’t necessarily equate to wins.
Gun to my head on this play I would take the under because of what the Giants have around them and their non-division schedule is a steep hill to climb. At +135 on the under 8.5 the value is there given what the Giants face on paper, but New York fans are hoping it is like 2007 all over again and they can be dominant on the road and reach another title.
Related posts:
