GIANTS VS RAVENS(-4)

On August 28th the New York football Giants head into M & T bank stadium to face off against the Baltimore Ravens. Kickoff occurs at 7:30PM est. As of right now the line is Ravens -4 (-110). Take the Ravens.

The first question to ask when evaluating a NFL preseason game is how long will the starters play. According to the Ravens website they plan to play some starters into the third quarter. Especially the offensive line. While the quarterback and others will at least play a half. This is good considering the strongest point the Giants have are their defensive line front four. How long the giants play will be another question all together. A lot of Giants starters are just coming off injuries. Their two starting guards are just coming off injuries. Manning is healing from a 3 inch gash he received two weeks ago. Manning is quoted in ESPN saying he will play but he just isn't sure for how long. I think it's safe to say that some of the important pieces of the Giants offensive unit will not be playing the standard amount of time compared to most NFL teams in a third preseason game. Another notable injury for the Giants is corner Arron Ross, he will also be out. It is also important to note the back ups. The edge goes to the Ravens. The difference between Marc Bulger and Troy Smith compared Sorgi and Bomar is huge. Bulger behind the Ravens offensive line facing the Giants second team will be more than effective.

Defensively at this moment the only risk the Ravens show at this point are their defensive backs. With Foxworth and Reed out it exposes a problem for them. Will Manning be able to take advantage of this? Yes, he will. The question is, how long will Manning play? I speculate not long. The ravens like to blitz. As shown when they played the Redskins, they send quite a few exotic blitzes during the preseason. Does Tom Coughlin want to risk his season on this game? I don't think so. Once Manning leaves the game Sorgi and Bomar won't be able to take advantage of this issue. They we will knocked down and hassled all game.

Will the Giants defense be able to stop the Ravens? I don't think so. In the Giants first game they allowed 16 points versus the Jets. The Jets do not have an effective offense. Clemens and O'Connell were pretty successful against the Giants D despite having two turnovers. They led the Jets to 3 field goals. It is safe to say Bulger and Smith will do better. Not to mention the Ravens offense is pretty dynamic with Ray Rice and the new additions of Anquan Bolden and Donte Stallworth. Joe Flacco should thrive in the first half.

Last thing one should consider before making a judgment on a game is the weather. Will the weather affect the outcome of the game? I don't think so. Tomorrow it should be nice and warm with clear skies. Great football weather.

Consider tomorrow a Ravens win. After the final gun the Ravens should take out the Giants by a reasonable amount. Make the bet gentleman and collect the cash.