Big names are out of the lineup for the New York Giants for Week 1 of the preseason, which could create a nice opportunity to bet on the host Cincinnati Bengals.
ODDS ANALYSIS
If you asked any oddsmakers to come up with the average betting line for a Week 1 preseason game, he'd tell you that the home team would be favored by a field goal with a total of 37. That's exactly what we have to deal with here in Cincinnati on Friday night.
QUARTERBACK ROTATION
Ryan Nassib is expected to take some leaps forward this year, and the Giants are very likely to count on him a lot in this game. Eli Manning will of course get the start, but he almost certainly won't play more than one drive. Ricky Stanzi will be third in line for the G-Men.
History will tell you that Marvin Lewis will give Andy Dalton one, maybe two possessions just to get him a half dozen throws or so before pulling him out. It would do the team a lot more to let A.J. McCarron get some extra reps, perhaps even some with the first team.
Josh Johnson and Keith Wenning are both fighting for roster spots, and they should split second half duties.
COACHES' MOTIVATION
We've got two grizzled coaches in this one in Marvin Lewis and Tom Coughlin, so the book on these two guys is probably just about set in stone. Neither guy is going to go out of his way to try to win this one, as neither really has anything to prove.
It should be noted though, that New York did go 5-0 SU and 4-0-1 ATS last preseason.
QUOTE TO NOTE
"We're going to open Pandora's box more. We tickled it a little bit last year. We're going to open it up a little bit more this year and be who I think we can be." – Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis on his offense and trick plays
POSITION BATTLE TO WATCH
If the Bengals are going to open things up just a bit with their offense as we suspect they might, the Giants are going to need to play well at safety.
Here's the problem. They've really only got unproven players back there. Cooper Taylor is nothing special at free safety, and aside from that, there are four rookies and last year's fifth round draft choice, Nat Berhe fighting for roster spots.
INJURIES
The Giants figure to not have Will Beatty until at least November with a torn pectoral muscle, while Jason Pierre-Paul is out for goodness knows how long after his fireworks accident on the Fourth of July. Victor Cruz is still getting over his knee problems from last season.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
The Bengals are probably going to show a few little tricks, and against some awfully young corners and safeties, there might be a couple cheap scores in this one.
When you're talking about totals which are so darn low, it's easy to get to the over when you've got a few really long plays waiting to happen. These offenses might not always be the most efficient, but there will be multiple 30+ yard plays which lead to points. The over is the best play in this one.
Cincinnati 31, New York 24
BookMaker put out the first point spread for this Friday game at the Cincinnati Bengals -3 and a total of 37. Now you can wager in-game while the action unfolds with BookMaker's live betting option.
Access live betting lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on your television with BookMaker's live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here, so start betting with BookMaker today! Week 1 of the preseason continues with the encounter between the New York Giants and the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, OH on Friday, August 14, 2015. This 7:30 p.m. ET duel can be viewed live on CBS 12 and WNBC 4.
