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Listen Now! NEW YORK GIANTS +3 OVER NEW ENGLAND (54) – Well, the day is here and even though I thought I was ready for this two weeks ago, well..I’m not quite there with 20 hours left before the game. First of all, I thought that the line was off by about 5-6 points. I thought the Giants should be the favorites in the game. The fact that the Giants have been bet up a bit and the majority of the money is on the Giants, I’m not convinced that this is what is going to happen. First of all, I’m a conspiracy theorist. I am afraid of the ghost of Myra Kraft. I think that it would make a GREAT present for owner Robert Kraft and indeed would make for a “good feeling” kind of win for the Pats. Also, the Pats haven’t won a Super Bowl in quite a while. Belichick is due. Brady is due. The Giants are on a big roll but so are the Pats. The Patriots have won 10 in a row, the Giants just 6. The Giants are extremely healthy. But so are the Pats. I’m still not sure if Tom Brady has a completely healthy throwing shoulder. Gronkowski has a high ankle sprain but there’s no doubt he’ll be in the game tomorrow. He’s a fast healer anyway. That is documented. The total is 54 points. Most people would probably take the over here because it is the Super Bowl and scoring is a good thing, right? Both offenses are strong and have great receivers and a great quarterbacks. However, I think that both of the defenses will be playing better than usual because the offenses haven’t been on the field in two weeks. Personally, I’m taking the under. Is it smart? Who knows? But one thing is for sure. The more tackles and better the defense, the better I’ll feel late in the game if I have the under. I really do feel that both defenses are on top of their games right now. The Pats didn’t look all that good two weeks ago in a game they should have lost to the Ravens. The Giants looked late in the game like they might not even get a chance to win the game their last several possessions as the 49ers defense was putting a lot of pressure on Eli and stopping the G-men dead in their tracks. Only the turnover in overtime saved the Giants and put them on a plane to Indianapolis. This being said, how would a low scoring game come to pass? How would it play out? The game is indoors and that doesn’t play well for the Giants. They’ve played two games inside all season long. A 49-24 thrashing at the hands of Offensive Player of the Year Drew Brees in the Superdome. They came back and beat the Cowboys in Dallas in the spaceship, but it was a very close game. Now they look to keep a string of victories in tact with a win Sunday. This game is such a close game to handicap, it’s almost impossible. Some would say it’s a flip of the coin. Personally, I think that Giants are the value here with the +3, but it seems that all the “experts” are picking the G-men, yours truly included. That SCARES THE HELL OUT OF ME! Sunday, I’ll share everything with all my listeners. HOT TOPICS FOR SUPER BOWL SUNDAY GRONKOWSKI – Gonna play 80% of the time the Pats O lines up in double tight end formation. He was walking today without a limp. Not a good sign for the G-men. Also, EVERYONE is healthy on both sides. For those of you out there that think two weeks is too long, this is the one GREAT benefit (besides fans booking rooms and hotels) of waiting two weeks. Always loved two weeks. One week almost killed me. (story there) BREAKDOWN OF GIANTS AND PATS SEASONS – Pats more consistent, always seemed to be searching for defense with injuries and missing parts. Best job of bouncing practice players in and out in the league. Typical Belichick season. Also, use of TE’s sets a new NFL record by far for receiving yards by TE’s. Giants 4 losses in the middle of the season not a hiccup. 4 TOUGH GAMES!! Came back with great veteran awareness of the situation and starting WINNING games. COUGHLIN HAVING A MVP YEAR AS A COACH. ELI HAVING AN ALL-TIME BEST YEAR. GIANTS DEFENSE COMING ON STRONG LATE IN THE SEASON. GIANTS STOPPED TURNING THE BALL OVER LATER IN THE SEASON. IMPROVED DEFENSE WITH HEALTH AND MORE MAN TO MAN DEFENSE. RUSHING 4 DEFENDERS IS HOW THE GIANTS WIN BALL GAMES. GREAT STORIES ABOUT DEVIN THOMAS, FORMER REDSKINS 3RD ROUND PICK NOW A “GUNNER” FOR THE GIANTS ON SPECIAL TEAMS. MADE TWO BIG PLAYS AGAINST 49ERS THAT GAVE THEM THE WIN. STARRING IN TV SIT-COMS AND BET SPECIALS. GOOD FOR HIM. VICTOR CRUZ’S LINE OF CLOTHING IS HITTING IT BIG TIME. HE’LL PROBABLY NEED TO TAKE ON INVESTORS SO HE CAN EXPAND HIS LINE AND BE ABLE TO KEEP UP WITH THE DEMAND OF BUYERS. BRANDON JACOBS SAYS THAT PLAXICO BURRESS HAS SAID HE WISHED HE HAD SIGNED WITH THE GIANTS INSTEAD OF THE JETS. YA THINK??? PLAX LOOKING AND SAYING ALL THE RIGHT THINGS, INCLUDING NOT BASHING ELI. WES WELKER STORY. HARD TO BELIEVE HE WAS NOT DRAFTED BY ANYONE. KYLE ARRINGTON, THEIR TOP CB WASN’T DRAFTED. PRO BROWL OL BRIAN WATERS WASN’T DRAFTED AND WAS CUT BY K.C. IN 2010. ANTREL ROLLLE – TOO MUCH TALK? GOOD THING TO TALK ABOUT. GIANTS MAY BE TALKING JUST ENOUGH OR TOO MUCH. GREAT CONVERSATION PIECE FOR SURE. ROLLE DEFINITELY PLAYING WELL AND CONFIDENT. AHMAD BRADSHAW’S FOOT – IS HE GOING TO BE OK FOR THIS GAME? WILL AN EARLY GAME INJURY TO HIS FOOT BE ENOUGH TO THROW OFF THE GIANTS OFFENSIVE GAME PLAN. CAN THEY RECOVER? HARD TO SAY. OSI YUMENIORA’S 20K FINE – DISTRACTION OR JUST A BIG MISTAKE. OSI SAYS IT WAS BECAUSE HE WAS PICKING UP FAMILLY AT AIRPORT. WHAT DO YOU THINK? THE REAL BILL BELICHICK – EARLY STORIES OF HIS LACROSSE PLAYING AT WESLEYAN COLLEGE IN CONNECTICUT SAYS A LOT ABOUT THE MAN. COLST IRSAY-MANNING SOAP OPERA – WHEN WILL IT EVER END? SOON PEYTON HOPES. PERRY FEWELL DC OF THE GIANTS AND A LOOK AT HIM AND HIS PAST AND FUTURE. WHAT DID FEWELL DO TO TURN AROUND THIS GIANTS DEFENSE? HE’S A 25 YEARS COACHING VETERAN WITH 13 YEARS BEING AN NFL COACH. COACHED DB’S FOR COUGHLIN IN JACKSONVILLE. WAS INTERIM COACH IN BUFFALO IN 2009-2010 BEFORE LOSING HIS JOB. BEST THING THAT EVER HAPPENED TO THE GIANTS. NEW ENGLAND RUNNING GAME – IS IT UNDERRATED? PROBABLY AND IN MY OPINION WILL BE THE KEY TO THE ENTIRE GAME, NOT THE PASSING GAME. GIANTS RUNNING GAME THE SAME. WE KNOW THEY’LL BE ABLE TO MOVE THE FOOTBALL IN THE AIR, WHAT ABOUT THE RUN? THE NFL AND THE OFFICIATING – WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON SUNDAY? OFFICIALS CAN’T AFFORD TO HAVE A BAD GAME. IF THEY DO, IT WILL OPEN UP SPECULATION BY CONSPIRACY THEORISTS. HEY…..LET THEM PLAY. BENJARVUS GREEN-ELLIS (LAW FIRM) – IS THE FIRM THE KEY TO THE GAME? I THINK SO…AND I THINK THE GIANTS DEFENSE KNOWS THIS TOO. FEWELL HAS HAD A LOT OF SUCCESS LIMITING YARDS THROUGH THE AIR, BUT HE KNOWS HIS WEAK SPOT IS STOPPING THE RUN WITH THAT FRONT 4. CAM NEWTON NFL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR – COMMENTS, WHO HE BEAT OUT? WHO WILL BE NEXT YEAR’S ROY????
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Listen Now! NEW ENGLAND (14-3) -9 OVER BALTIMORE (13-4)(50) – Last week the Ravens barely held on to NEW YORK GIANTS (11-7) +3 OVER SAN FRANCISCO (14-3)(50.5) – This is the game of the day HAS the number 2 defense in the league. They are number 2 also in scoring defense. This is going
Listen Now! BonusListen to Bruce and Roy record a promo and fail miserably! SATURDAY GAMESSAN FRANCISCO (13-3) +3.5 OVER NEW ORLEANS (14-3)(47.5) – Right now I think that the Saints are the best team in the NFL. I really do. The Packers have some terrible things going on with their team right now when it comes to being able to continue to play playoff football effectively, in my opinion. First of all, they rested Aaron Rodgers the last regular season game at home against the Detroit Lions, along with several starters but won the game anyway with one hell of a performance by the team and backup QB Matt Flynn. They had a bye the following week, so this week is the first real practice and action that Rodgers has had in some time. A horrible thing happened this week when Packers offensive coordinator Joe Philbin losing his son to a bizarre death when his body was found in the Oshkosh River, having fallen through the ice. He has taken a leave of absence which will affect the Packers for sure. I’m sure that they’ll circle the wagons and play hard for Jerry and his family, but it has to be a distraction, and a very sad one also. Both teams will be ready for this game. The 49ers are getting points at home where they were 7-1 this season. SUNDAY GAMESBALTIMORE (12-4) -7.5 OVER HOUSTON (11-6)(36) – The Ravens are undefeated at home this year including an early season 29-14 victory in Baltimore. The crowd and the team seem to play much better at home. Baltimore QB Joe Flacco definitely plays better at home. They lost away to Tennessee, Jacksonville, Seattle, and San Diego, teams with a combined record of 28-36. But as long as they play at M&T, they’ll be very competitive. The strength of both teams is in their defense. Last week against a flat Cincinnati team, the Texans put it all together with a great running game featuring Arian Foster and a short passing game using backup rookie QB T.J. Yates. No turnovers was the key for Houston. The Bengals QB Andy Dalton threw 3 interceptions which was the difference in the game. Against Baltimore, it will be quite a bit harder for the Texans to dominate the line of scrimmage and the scoreboard. Just as important as Arian Foster is to the Texans, Ray Rice is to the Ravens. Rice may be the best all purpose running back in the league. When Ravens OC Cam Cameron does not get Rice the ball at least 20 times a game, they struggle. Expect him to get the ball this weekend. Houston is a good football team, but they’ve been hit or miss especially towards the end of the season. There’s a reason that the Ravens are undefeated at home. I’M GOING TO TAKE THE RAVENS MINUST THE POINTS TO STAY UNDEFEATED AT HOME AND COVER THE SPREAD. 4 STARS HERE. NEW YORK GIANTS (10-7) +8 AT GREEN BAY (15-1)(52) – This is probably going to be one of the most exciting games to watch on the weekend. It features two of the best quarterbacks in football and several of the best receivers in the game. The Giants have shown the past three weeks that they have worked out their problems this year in being able to run the football and now Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw are running on a full tank. That has opened up the passing lanes for Eli Manning who is absolutely proving this year he is one of the elite QB’s in the game. Many of the Packers’ starters haven’t played the past three weeks and with the sudden death of the son of Green Bay offensive coordinator Joe Philbin, it’s been a tough time for the Packers family. Add to that, the movement of Director of Pro Personnel Reggie McKenzie who got the GM job in Oakland and you can see there are plenty of distractions in Green Bay. The Giants have been working hard trying to keep their starters healthy. The Giants defense has improved immensely the past several weeks since getting blown out in New Orleans a few weeks back. The return of LB Michael Boley has made all the difference. Last week the Atlanta Falcons offense didn’t put up one point on the scoreboard against the Giants. The Packers, on the other hand, have been playing great all year long. Their defense actually gave up more yardage on defense than they collected on offense, but Aaron Rodgers has had an MVP season. Their running game has been up and down as has been the health of both of their running backs. You have to wonder when the Giants great play is going to stop. They were up and down all season long. The Packers were more than consistent, going 15-1 with their only loss in Kansas City. It’s tough to beat the Packers in Lambeau, especially when so much is on the line, but I’M GOING TO TAKE THE GIANTS PLUS THE POINTS FOR 3 STARS ANYWAY. No QB in the NFL is playing any better than Eli Manning and I think they have something to prove this weekend. Tom Coughlin and his players have it going on right now.
Listen Now! 4:30 SATURDAY IN HOUTON HOUSTON (10-6) -3 OVER CINCINNATI (9-7)(38.5) –The Bengals play in the toughest division in football in “my opinion”. The AFC North. Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and an occasionally tough game from the Browns. I love their rookie QB Andy Dalton. Having played his college football right down the road at TCU, he’s played a few games as a high school player and a college player in Reliant Stadium. Whether this turns out to be an advantage for him we’ll see, but personally, I doubt it will be. Houston gets back their real MVP for the second week in a row, defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, fresh from surgery which removed a volleyball size tumor from his midsection. The outcome of this game is going to depend on which defense can get off the field the most times. Houston has an excellent running game with Arian Foster and Ben Tate. Their OL is a good one. T.J. Yates will get the start after injuring his shoulder last week. Newly signed backup QB and Super Bowl veteran Jake Delhomme will back him up. He did a decent job last week in relief. Andy Dalton had food poisoning early in the week and just got to practice on Thursday. This shouldn’t matter much, but everything matters when you have a game on Saturday and practice times are moved up a day. If you compare the two teams on paper and on their performance of this past season, Houston is the better team. However, they’ve lost their last 3 games in a row after locking up the division title. They have a fairly healthy Andre Johnson back this week and how the Bengals elect to defend Johnson will determine whether Yates can hit his other receivers down the field. If they run the ball effectively, they should have a problem. Earlier this season the Texans came from behind to defeat the Bengals 20-19. THAT WAS THEIR LAST WIN. I’M GOING TO PASS ON THIS GAME BECAUSE I THINK DALTON MIGHT BE THE DIFFERENCE IN THIS GAME. 4:30 SUNDAY IN DENVER PITTSBURGH (12-4) -9 OVER DENVER (8-8)(35) – You would think this game would be a piece of cake to pick because of the way that Tebow and the Broncos backed in with three straight losses and in a way..it is. But Pittsburgh hasn’t exactly looked like world beaters with Big Ben nursing a very sore ankle that affects his throwing motion and losing a guy like Ryan Clark because of his near death experience last time he played in a game in Mile High Stadium. In the two games since injuring his ankle, Ben has thrown no touchdown passes and has a 57.1 QB rating. Rashard Mendenhall, the Steelers best running back is out for the season with an knee injury. Isaac Redman replaces Mendenhall but he has a problem hanging on to the football. The Steelers, even though their record is 12-4 are the visiting team here because somehow Denver won the weak AFC West Division with an 8-8 record. Personally, I’d love to just take the Steelers here and give the points. If they were at Heinz Field it would make sense. But they’re not. And I think that even with all the experience in the world, 9 or 10 points is far too many points to give this young Denver team. Hey, take Tebow and the points doesn’t sound all that bad does it? Besides, last week the Steelers killed me with their lack of covering an easy point spread. I’M GOING TO PASS ON THIS GAME AND WATCH IT. 1 P.M. SUNDAY IN NEW JERSEY NEW YORK GIANTS (9-7) -3 OVER ATLANTA (10-6)(47) – This is the game I can’t wait to see this weekend. Both teams will be sky high for this one. Atlanta, Mike Smith, and QB Matt Ryan are 0-2 in the playoffs so far. The last meeting between these two teams was in 2009 and the Giants won 34-31 in overtime after allowing the Falcons to rally and come back from 14 points down. Even though the Giants defense bends quite a bit especially in the passing game, they’ve looked very good at times this season, especially when their pass rushers get off on the ball. They beat New England in Foxboro 24-20. Their last two games they’ve given up just two touchdowns each game for a total of 28 points. But now a slightly better team comes to the Meadowlands. The Falcons have a vast array of weapons both throwing and running the football. Michael Turner may be one of the toughest backs in the NFL. He averaged 4.5 yards per carry this year and scored 11 TD’s. QB Matt Ryan is a solid NFL QB and has receivers like Roddy White, Julio Jones, and future Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez to help him move the chains. To me, this looks like a track meet waiting to happen. Eli Manning is having without a doubt his best year ever in the NFL. My sources tell me Peyton has spent more time than usual talking and working with his little brother now that he has some extra time on his hands. I figure Peyton will be a great OC one day anyway. He’ll be throwing to Hakeem Nix, Mario Manningham, and new superstar free agent receiver Victor Cruz who will be making life much easier for the rest of the receiving corps. Even though their running game has been stagnant most of the year, they still have two excellent ball runners in Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. The bottom line is that it really didn’t take too much to win the NFC East this season, but now that the Giants are there, they want what they got four years ago.. The Lombardi Trophy. Who’s to say they can’t get it? Not me! I like the G-Men’s chances to go deep into the playoffs. But this Falcon team is hungry and they do have a good squad this season. If they let this one get away, it could be a while before they return for another chance. I’M TAKING THE OVER 47 POINTS HERE FOR 5 STARS. TRACK MEET THIS WEEKEND EAST RUTHERFORD! 4:30 SUNDAY IN DENVER NEW ORLEANS (13-3) -11 OVER DETROIT (10-6)(58) – After the Lions let a Packers team last weekend beat them with about a half dozen starters out of the lineup in a game that really meant nothing, I should never even consider Detroit to be able to win or cover this game. But that’s what makes handicapping the NFL so challenging. New Orleans has the most potent offense in the history of the NFL. Drew Brees broke Dan Marino’s record and his team broke all the records. He has SO many weapons on offense that It makes it extremely hard for a defensive coordinator to come up with a game plan to beat them. The only thing that Detroit can do is make sure that they cash in on all of their possessions with touchdowns and keep Brees and his offense off the field. If Detroit can control the ball for 30 minutes or more during this game they’ll have a chance. If not , it’s going to be a New Orleans track meet and the score will get ugly early. Earlier this season Brees jumped to an early 24-7 lead and held on to win 31-17. Not many defenses have held the Lions to 17 points this season and definitely not lately. However, Greg Williams has experience playing against a high powered offense every week in practice so maybe handling Detroit isn’t so far-fetched. Detroit’s pass defense is absolutely horrible even though they may get back one of their best defensive backs this week. The Saints only allow one sack every 26.9 passes. The Saints have scored over 30 points in 4 consecutive playoff games. This is the first time and maybe last time two NFL QBs who have thrown for over 5,000 yards in a season have faced each other. It may be the last. Break out the popcorn and don’t go to the bathroom. You might miss something. Of course, that’s what TIVO is for, right?? I’M TAKING THE OVER FOR 5 STARS AND THE NEW ORLEANS SAINTS TO COVER THE BIG NUMBER. IT MAY BE TOO MANY POINTS, BUT IT’S MY GUT FEELING. |
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