NFL Football
2008-10-13 - New York Giants at Cleveland Browns
A Sports Betting Pick by FirstDown
Cleveland Browns
Cleveland come off their bye week and will be hoping to get their season back on track after an extremely disappointing start to their campaign. They entered the bye week after securing their first win of the season which leaves them with a 1-3 record, 2.5 games behind the AFC North leaders Pittsburgh.
To increase their hard start to the season, Cleveland have already lost 2 Divisional games in their opening 4 games, and had only managed to score 26 points in their opening 3 games. Cleveland have only reached 20 points on 1 occasion this season but their defence has given them some hope in games. They have twice limited teams to 12 points or less although short fields killed them in other games when they allowed 28 points.
Kellen Winslow is a big miss for Cleveland with an undisclosed illness putting him in hospital for 4 days. However, the bye week has given them some times to clear up some injuries, with Dante Stallworth cleared to come into the line up. Willie McGinest is also set to come back into the defence.
New York Giants
New York have picked up exactly where they left off last season and have won 4 out of 4 to top the tough NFC East. They currently lead by 2.5 games ahead of Washington and Dallas but have played 3 out of 4 games at home.
The Giants have looked impressive in games this season and look like one of the most balanced teams in the NFL. They have won games using a solid defence (Washington at home) or by using a firing offence (Seattle at home). They have twice broken the 40 point mark in their 4 games this season and their defence has limited their opponents to 13 points or less in 3 of their 4 games this year.
Plaxico Burress is back after missing last week's game thanks to his enforced team suspension.
Head to Head
Cleveland and New York have not met each other in a few years now.
The Browns are giving up a lot of yardage in both the air and on the ground and this will cause big problems against this Giants offence. They will need to ensure that they do not allow short fields to be given or they could find themselves in a deep hole.
The Giants do not give up a huge amount on the ground but they can be got at in the air and it will be up to Derek Anderson to perform here if they are to keep the game close.
Against the Spread
Cleveland are 2-2 ATS this season, 1-1 at home. New York are 3-1 ATS, but are 1-0 on the road. Cleveland have won 2 of their last 3 ATS.
The Giants have cleared some big spreads this season, winning ATS when giving up 7 and 9 points. However, their 1 defeat ATS was when they gave up 13 points against Cincinnati.
Prediction
I think the Giants are more than rightly the favourites for this match but I also think that the Browns will be able to give it a really good effort after coming off a bye week.
Cleveland will hope to get their sputtering offense working as soon as possible in this game as if they find themselves in a hole early, it could be a blowout. I feel the week off will have given them time to work on their routes and they should be more productive.
The Giants are a very very good football team, probably the best in the NFL so far this season and they will be tough to handle. However, this is a tough road game and I think it could be closer than the bookies think.
I will take Cleveland with the points.
The Pick :
Cleveland Browns 24-28 New York Giants
Gooner’s Statistical Value Bet
Cleveland Browns + 7.5 points
