Well, one NFL game down and I’m already off to a nice start. Not the greatest starting sample size, one game, but my handicapping work has already paid dividends. I had Under the Total of 37 points in the Hall of Fame Game, which worked out well for myself and my clients. With David Wilson hurt, many thought that would cause the Giants to air the ball out a bit more. Not so much, considering they have last year’s leading rusher in college football, Andre Williams (who combined for 48 yards on seven carries). Both teams have a ton of young players (rookies!!!) that were sure to get playing time.
Eli Manning played three series and made sure to work in a fumble. Afterall, if he’s not going to throw a pick, the least he could do was cough it up and ad some excitement and drama to the game. He had 18 touchdowns and 27 interceptions last year; needless to say the spotlight will be on him this year in an effort to see if last year was simply a fluke or if his career is truly in a downward spiral. One thing is for sure – if the Giants can’t run the ball efficiently this year, Eli is going to struggle again in 2014.
The Bills invested heavily rookie Sammie Watkins in the draft; they’re going to need to keep him healthy if they want to have any shot at competing in the AFC this year. EJ Manuel is a stud, hence, the reason why he was the only quarterback taken last year in the first round of the draft. All of that said, he’s a 2nd year quarterback and 2nd year quarterbacks don’t have a great track-record of doing well in the NFL. New head coach Doug Marrone is going to have his hands full making this Bills team into a winner, and that’s saying it nicely. I expect both teams to be under-performers to some degree this year, though on the bright side – neither is stuck in a super tough division.