Super Bowl rematch will be tight
Football Betting Lines
01/26/2012 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Giants and Patriots have played four times over the last 10 years with each team winning twice. However, New York came through with the victory in the most important of the four, taking Super Bowl XLII, 17-14.
That low-scoring contest has been indicative of most of their meetings as three of the four match-ups have gone under the total. In fact, the last time they met on Nov. 6, the two teams combined to score 44 points despite a a 51.5 posted total.
Tom Brady has had pretty decent numbers the last three contests against the Giants, averaging 321 yards per game with a 64-percent completion percentage and five touchdowns compared to two interceptions. Nevertheless, he has won just one of those games.
On the other side, Eli Manning has been extremely consistent, throwing for 250, 251 and 255 yards in the three meetings, completing 58 percent of his tosses, three of which fell into the hands of the Patriots defense. Despite those totals, he's thrown eight touchdown passes - three more than Brady.
Most of the recent Super Bowls have favored the under, including the previous match-up between these two clubs. In fact, only two of the last seven games went over the total and both of those contests involved the Steelers.
If the Giants win Super Bowl XLVI on Feb. 5, they will have followed their own footsteps of winning three road playoff games and then the Super Bowl. Furthermore, another victory will mark the fourth time in the last seven years a wild-card representative has gone on and taken the big prize.
One thing is for certain, they will not be underestimating New England despite their recent success against coach Bill Belichick's squad. The Patriots are very capable of winning their first title since 2005 and, in fact, should be hungrier than New York since they have not won the Super Bowl in seven years.
On the other hand, the Giants beat New England this season with wide receiver Hakeem Nicks and running back Ahmad Bradshaw out of the lineup, and the addition of those two skilled players should keep this one close throughout.
Four years ago, I predicted a Giants' cover along with a possible upset in Super Bowl XLII. I am less confident about New York's chances of covering this time around, considering the line is only three points.
New England is a far better team than it showed last weekend against Baltimore, which has one of the better passing defenses in the NFL, and this time around, the Pats take on a defense that ranked 29th against the pass this season. Sure, the Giants have fared much better in this category during the postseason, but it's asking a lot to shut down Brady and his offensive arsenal after they played so poorly against Baltimore. Conversely, Manning has clearly reached "elite" status and New England's pass defense is just as bad as New York's, so this contest should be evenly matched.
THE REMATCH FAVORS THE LOSER
When two teams meet for the Super Bowl after playing each other during the regular season, the loser of the regular season game has come back to win the Super Bowl the last three times.
Ironically, it happened when these two clubs met a few seasons ago. The Giants won the Super Bowl as 12.5-point underdogs after New England prevailed in the final week of the regular season, 38-35, as a 13-point favorite.
The Patriots also were involved in comparable circumstances back in 2001. They beat the Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, 20-17, as two-touchdown underdogs after losing to St. Louis, 24-17, as eight-point dogs during the regular season.
Two years earlier, the Titans faced the Rams in Week 8, winning outright as three-point underdogs, 24-21. Still, St. Louis bounced back to win the Super Bowl, 23-16, as a seven-point favorite.
New England is faced with a scenario similar to the Rams that year. The Patriots, who were favored and lost the regular-season match-up, are now the betting choice to win the rematch.
Will New York be able to stop the streak at three or will New England continue the trend and make it four straight? The one thing going for the Giants is their ability to hold onto the football. Coach Tom Coughlin's club has committed just one turnover in three postseason games.
It is interesting to note that both squads did not have much success against playoff-bound teams during the regular season. New England was 1-2 in beating Denver and losing to Pittsburgh and the Giants. New York's lone win came against the Patriots. The Giants lost to New Orleans, Green Bay and San Francisco.
On the positive side, New York has bounced back with solid playoff performances, including victories over two of those teams, the Packers and 49ers.
I am not 100-percent confident in the Giants' ability to win this game outright or even to cover the three-point spread. However, I am convinced they are good enough to keep the game inside single digits. Additionally, I feel the final score will be similar (or slightly higher) to this season's earlier meeting when New York came away with the 24-20 victory.
When those two beliefs merged together, the best way to attack Super Bowl XLVI is to play a teaser, taking New York plus nine points along with under 61.5 points.
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 21st-ranked Saint Mary's-CA Gaels look to stay unbeaten in West Coast Conference action as they hit the road to square off with the Loyola Marymount Lions at the Gersten Pavilion. This will be the 130th
<< Cavs and Eagles meet in ACC affair
Charlottesville, VA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 19th-ranked Virginia Cavaliers will
look to bounce back from its first home loss of the season as they host the
Boston College Eagles for an Atlantic Coast Conference battle at the John Paul
Jones Aren
<< No.7 Tar Heels take on rival Wolfpack
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Instate rivals collide in ACC action in
Chapel Hill this evening, as the seventh-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels
welcome the NC State Wolfpack to the Smith Center.
The Tar Heels were handed their worst loss
<< Top-25 foes collide in Big Ten brawl
Madison, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A top-25 showdown is on tap in Madison this
evening, as the 25th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers play host to the 16th-ranked
Indiana Hoosiers in Big Ten action from the Kohl Center.
Tom Crean's Hoosiers were one of t
<< SEC action pits Gators against Rebels in Oxford
Oxford, MS (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 14th-ranked Florida Gators take their act on
the road, as they invade Oxford this evening for an SEC showdown with the Ole
Miss Rebels at the Tad Smith Coliseum.
Billy Donovan's Gators have won three straigh
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Shooting for just their second three-game winning streak of the season, the hobbled Boston Celtics will take on the Orlando Magic for the second time this week Thursday in central Florida. The Celtics defeated Orlando t
Gay, Grizzlies pay a visit to Clippers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Memphis Grizzlies leading scorer Rudy Gay was averaging
more than 20 points during his team's season-high seven-game winning streak,
but was held in check the last time out in a loss at Portland.
Gay and the Grizzl
Fielder joins Tigers with nine-year deal >>
Detroit, MI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Detroit Tigers and Prince Fielder have put
the finishing touches on a nine-year contract.
Financial terms were not disclosed, but multiple reports earlier this week
indicated the pact for the former M
Bolton acquires U.S., New York defender Ream >>
Harrison, NJ (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - English Premier League club Bolton has signed
U.S. defender Tim Ream from Red Bull New York, although the terms of the deal
were not disclosed.
Ream, 24, agreed to personal contract terms with Bolton, earned
Road to Super Bowl XLVI: Giants have been down this path before >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - While the narrator in Robert Frost's poem "The Road Not
Taken" may have decided to take the path less traveled, the New York Giants
have opted for a different approach on their route to Super Bowl XLVI.
Some of the situati
Football Betting: Defensive Rookie of the Year Awards
Oddsmakers have released the odds for the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award and Seattle Seahawks linebacker Aaron Curry has been made the opening favorite.
Seattle took Curry with the fourth overall pick in April's NFL draft and plan on inserting him into its starting lineup right away. The Hawks traded linebacker Julian Peterson in the offseason, so Curry is expected to have a significant role in Seattle's defense next year and that's one of the primary reasons he is the favorite to win the NFL ROY Award.
Oddsmakers from online sportsbook MySportsbook.com have made Curry a 5/1 favorite to win this year's NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. Given that he was the best defensive prospect in this year's draft and how he'll have plenty of opportunities to make plays in '09, Curry offers a ton of value at 5/1.
Another thing working for Curry is the position he plays. A linebacker has won the defensive ROY award six straight times and eight of the last nine years. Jerod Mayo, Patrick Willis, DeMeco Ryans, Shawne Merriman, Jonathan Vilma, Terrell Suggs, Kendrell Bell and Brian Urlacher were the most recent linebackers to take home the award.
Following Curry at 5/1 are Tyson Jackson (Chiefs) at 7/1, James Laurinaitas (Rams) at 8/1, Brian Orakpo (Redskins) at 10/1, Rey Maualuga (Bengals) at 10/1 and Jerry Peria (Falcons) at 10/1.
All the players mentioned above are expected to start for their respective teams, but Jackson and Peria are going to have a tough time being recognized on a national level given they're both defensive linemen. D-linemen rarely put up the numbers that it takes to win an individual award like the ROY.
A couple of players with some value are Clay Matthews (Packers) at 12/1 and Larry English (Chargers) at 15/1. Matthews is expected to start at outside linebacker in Green Bay's new 3-4 defense and could rack up a ton of tackles. English, who was an impressive player at Northern Illinois, is expected to be a situational pass rusher for the Chargers and could rack up a ton of sacks.
For complete odds on the 2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award, see below. And for complete odds for the 2009 AP NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award, click the link provided.
2009 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award
Robert Ayers (DEN) 12/1
Ron Brace (NE) 25/1
Everette Brown (CAR) 16/1
Darius Butler (NE) 40/1
Patrick Chung (NE) 30/1
Aaron Curry (SEA) 5/1
Brian Cushing (HOU) 12/1
Vontae Davis (MIA) 30/1
Louis Delmas (DET) 30/1
Larry English (SD) 15/1
Evander Hood (PIT) 25/1
Tyson Jackson (KC) 7/1
Malcolm Jenkins (NO) 25/1
Paul Kruger (BAL) 50/1
James Laurinaitas (STL) 8/1
Sen'Derrick Marks (TEN) 20/1
Clay Matthews (GB) 12/1
Aaron Maybin (BUF) 15/1
Rey Maualuga (CIN) 10/1
Roy Miller (TB) 20/1
Michael Mitchell (OAK) 45/1
Fili Moala (IND) 30/1
Brian Orakpo (WAS) 10/1
Jerry Peria (ATL) 10/1
B J Raji (GB) 7/1
Clint Sintim (NYG) 35/1
Alphonso Smith (DEN) 40/1
David Verkune (CLE) 20/1
Jason Williams (DAL) 30/1
Field (Any Other Player) 6/1
To visit this internet sportsbook go to MySportsbook.com for all your football betting needs.
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