Is it time for the Giants to show Eli Manning the money? The quarterback thinks so but his play last week said otherwise.
The New York football Giants look to show improvement behind Peyton’s little brother when they play their preseason home opener.
ODDS
Getting their first chance to play in front of the hometown fans, the Giants opened as a 3-point favorite in their contest with Jacksonville. The total surfaced at 41.5 and with two teams working on offensive continuity, the over looks like a strong play.
QUARTERBACK ROTATION
With second-year quarterback Blake Bortles working on new mechanics and with several new players on offense, he’s likely to get as much work as he did in last week’s preseason opener against the Steelers. Bortles played nearly the entire first half completing 11 of 15 passes for 118 yards adding a touchdown on his only carry. Chad Henne was solid during his time going 9 of 10 for 87 yards with a touchdown. Stephen Morris completed 3 of 9 passes over the last two series last week and Jeff Tuel is likely to get some reps as the two battle for the third quarterback spot on the Jags’ roster.
A preseason game against Jacksonville isn’t likely to do much for Manning in his quest to be the NFL’s highest paid quarterback. But Manning and the first team offense need to play better than they did last week if he indeed wants the Giants to show him the money. Manning played four series that resulted in three punts and a missed field goal against the Bengals. He completed just 4 of 8 attempts for 22 yards before giving way to Ryan Nassib. The backup directed a touchdown drive in his first series and was 8 of 18 for 79 yards. Ricky Stanzi finished up going 3 of 7 for 34 yards as the Giants offense struggled all night.
COACHES' MOTIVATION
There’s a lot at stake this season for Tom Coughlin and his Giants. Four years removed from a Super Bowl victory, the Giants have seen their win total decrease in each of the three seasons since. And the only coach New York has had in the last 11 seasons is firmly on the hot seat. Coughlin is listed at +3490 to be the first head coach to get the axe this season. That could be a good bet if the Giants don’t show improvement over the course of the preseason. However Coughlin has been around long enough to know that season’s aren’t made or lost in August.
QUOTE TO NOTE
“We’re committed to that aspect of his game,” Jaguars coach Gus Bradley said after Bortles scrambled for a 4-yard touchdown last week. “It’s a strong suit. He has great toughness. You can do two things: you can coach him out of that or say that’s an asset, the team rallies around it and we don’t want him to change who he is. But let’s be smart.”
POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH
Bradley has said several times that the team could keep five running backs on the 53-man roster. T.J. Yeldon, Denard Robinson and Toby Gerhart are the top three backs, but Bernard Pierce is making a pretty strong push to not only earn playing time but be a main piece of the running back rotation. Pierce has had a good camp and then followed it with a strong performance in the Jags’ win over Pittsburgh last week. He ran five times for 15 yards and caught three passes for 22 yards. He also had the highlight of the night when he hurdled a potential tackler. He gives the Jags options with his versatility in a variety of different sets.
INJURIES
The Jaguars will be without safety Jonathan Cyprien and tight end Julius Thomas, who both suffered hand injuries in last week’s game. Defensive end Sen’Derrick Marks is also out as he continues to mend from a knee injury.
Prince Amukamara will likely sit as he recovers from a groin injury while safeties Nat Berhe and Landon Collins are rehabbing leg injuries. The absence of those three will leave the Giants secondary thin.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
As beat up as the Giants are on defense it’s anticipated they’ll get some weapons back on offense, which is good news for Manning. The outcome of exhibition games doesn’t matter in the big picture and nobody knows that better than Coughlin, now in his 20th season as an NFL head coach. But his team was awful last week and, while the games don’t matter, you know the coach has been on his team. That should be enough to get the G-Men going.
New York 23, Jacksonville 18
BookMaker opened the spread for this Saturday game at -3 in favor of the Giants. The NFL lines total surfaced at 41.5. Minute-by-minute spreads, totals and props are available for this game using the live betting platform at BookMaker.
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