NFL Betting - NFL Week 6 Game of the Week: Giants versus Saints
Oct 17th, 2009 by admin
So for now, it all comes down to this: Week 6 is giving us a great preview of what could happen in the not-so distant future NFC division playoffs - a colossal clash between the epic New Orleans Saints and New York Giants. Hands down, this is probably the best game of the weekend, and so far, the sportsbooks are offering spreads of -3/+3 Saints/Giants respectively. Are the Saints really better than the Giants? Well, we’ll know for sure come Sunday afternoon.
First off, someone will walk away defeated for the first time this season when this game comes to a close. The Giants have a commanding 5-0 record, which of course leads the NFC East. Meanwhile, the bootstrapping Saints boast a 4-0 record, which makes them the front runner of the NFC South. The Eagles lag behind the Giants up north, while the Falcons are second best to the Saints.
This game will have the sports pundits pontificating for hours, and all the arm chair experts will be offering their own thoughts on this BIG matchup. Truth be told, these two teams are EXTREMELY close in terms of offensive power. Looking at the stats, The Giants 417.4 yards per game, against the Saints’ 414.2 yards per game. In terms of passing, Eli Manning has 257.0 yards, just edging out Drew Brees, who currently sports a 248.0 yard record. Finally, rushing is fairly close as well. The Giants have mustered 160.4 yards, with the Saints bumping ahead of them by 6 yards, for a total of 166.2 yards. Could it get any closer?
Let’s have a look at the quarterbacks, the jockeys of these two behemoth teams:
Eli Manning
- Completions: 87
- Attempted: 135
- Yards: 1212
- Touch Downs: 10
Drew Brees
- Completions: 87
- Attempted: 129
- Yards: 1031
- Touch Downs: 9
At first, it may look like Eli has the edge, but remember, they’ve played one more game than the Saints. There’s no discounting the arm of Brees, which has helped the Saints pummel opponents.
If we dig into the Rushing/Receiving stats, things begin to differentiate a bit, with Giants looking stronger scoring on passing, compared to the Saints whose Rushing and Receiving units have each made 4 Touch downs this season.
Rushing: Giants vs. Saints
- Giants: A. Bradshaw: 58 Carries, 375 Yards, 6.5 Average, 2 Touch Downs
- Giants: B. Jacobs: 100 Carries, 355 Yards, 3.6 Average, 1 Touch Down
- Saints: P. Thomas: 33 Carries, 212 Yards, 6.4 Average, 3 Touch Downs
- Saints: M. Bell: 45 Carries, 229 Yards, 5.1 Average, 1 Touch Down
Passing: Giants vs. Saints
- Giants: S. Smith: 37 Receptions, 481 Yards, 13 Average, 4 Touch Downs
- Giants: M. Manningham: 20 Receptions, 342 Yards, 17.1 Average, 3 Touch Downs
- Saints: D. Henderson: 14 Receptions, 235 Yards, 16.8 Average, 1 Touch Down
- Saints: M. Colston: 17 Receptions, 228 Yards, 13.4 Average, 3 Touch Downs
So the Giants’ receivers have put on a good show this year, while Brees and his offensive squad have a balanced approach, featuring good rushing and receiving.
What does all this mean? It comes down to defense. The Saints can’t let Eli Manning have a catch with his teammates. Also, the Saints can’t ignore the Giants’ running game, although it is not as successful as their passing game. For the Giants, they have to be on guard against Brees long bombs down the field. If passing doesn’t work out for Brees, however, he’s not up the creek: his rushing squad isn’t half bad either, and could more than compensate for a strong backfield Giants defense.
Over at the sportsbooks, the spread is +3/-3 Gaints/Saints respectively as of the time of this article, while the money line is +160/-190 Gaints/Saints respectively. What’s the safer bet? In our opinion, go with the straight up bet, and hope the game isn’t a runaway victory for the winner. Otherwise, this should be a dual to the very end, probably going point for point. Let’s see if the bookmakers have this one correct.
In any event, if you can’t watch this game, we also think the bash between the Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens won’t be a disappointment either. Also, it will be interesting to see if the Cincinnati Bengals can hold of the Texans for yet another win, which would make them 5-1, a pleasant surprise for Bengals’ fans in the AFC North. Now, if we could only see them against the Colts? 
Good luck NFL Betting this Weekend from Bet-on-the-NFL.com!