NFL Betting Preview: Carolina Panthers at New York Giants

Added on Sep 11, 2010 by Jack Thurman in

NFL

The first Sunday of the NFL football betting season is upon us, and we’ll be looking at several strong positions before kickoff time. In this post, we’ll head to the newly remodeled Meadowlands where the New York Giants are hosting the Carolina Panthers. The Giants are hoping to rebound after a disappointing 2009 season while the Panthers are entering into a new era without longtime quarterback Jake Delhomme at the controls.

Carolina Panthers at New York Giants
September 12, 2010—10:00 AM Pacific

A common mistake in handicapping the early part of the NFL regular season is focusing too much on a team’s preseason performance. Based on that, the Carolina Panthers might be well served to not bother with their trip to the New York City area and save everyone the trouble. Carolina looked downright hopeless during the exhibition campaign and especially on offense. We’re of the opinion, however, that they’ll be much more competitive when the games start to count.

Some analysts are making a big deal about this being a big ‘revenge’ game for New York. It would work well with the storyline of the first regular season game played in the new Meadowlands since the Panthers ripped the Giants 41-9 in the last game played at the old facility. Were this loss an isolated incident we might be into that logic, however the Giants were simply putrid down the stretch in 2009 losing 8 of their final 11 games. And while we’re on the subject of preseason performance, Eli Manning and the New York offense didn’t look particularly sharp either. That’s a bigger concern for a team with a veteran established quarterback than it is for a team like Carolina turning the keys over to a new starter in Matt Moore.

And speaking of Moore, he looked pretty good in the five games he started in 2009 as he led the Panthers to a 4-1 SU record. A lot of the Panthers’ preseason struggles were due more to injuries and the decision to keep key starters out of action rather than risk them in meaningless games and not due to any inherent problem with Moore under center. Wide receiver Steve Smith will be back for this game, and combined with a solid running game featuring DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart have a very balanced offensive attack.

The Panthers’ defense may not be the ferocious unit it once was, but it’s pretty solid. They allowed an average of 11.6 PPG in the first three preseason contests and with the starters in for the entire game and greater contribution from their offense they could be the surprise defense of the season much like the Jets were in 2009. Julius Peppers is gone and while the team may not have a game changer like that his position has been capably filled by Everette Brown. Even if the Giants’ offense quickly regains form, they’re not going to be moving the ball at will on the rapidly improving Carolina stop unit.

A combination of a run oriented offense and solid defense makes it hard for teams to drop big margins on the Panthers even if they can pull off the outright win. Carolina is currently on a 6-1 ATS run as an underdog of six or more, and we’re taking a ‘wait and see’ attitude with this Giants team. We’ll go out on a limb here and call for the outright upset, though we’re getting a nice margin of error at this price.

Bet Carolina +6’ over New York Giants