Monday Night Preseason

Cleveland @ NY Giants:

I don't normally like to do totals, but I when I look at injuries, I think this game has a good shot to go under 35.5. The top 4 receivers for the Giants are out, and Braylon Edwards is out for the Browns. I really think that will affect Manning with his timing, and with the absence of Edwards, I think the Giants defense will really key on Winslow. The Giants also ran the ball very well last season and with the defensive additions Cleveland brought in, I expect that it will be a very low scoring first half. My main concern with it going over in this one is Cleveland's backups in the secondary. They got torched by the Jets scrubs late in their first preseason games, including a returned punt for a TD.

As for the spread, I would probably lean toward the Browns +1.5. I have two reasons for this. First, I already mentioned the injuries in the receiver department for the Giants and how that will affect Manning's timing. Secondly, I feel that the Browns have much better 2nd and 3rd string QBs. My main concern, just like with the under, is the backups in the Browns secondary. I expect that the problem will have been corrected, because cuts are looming large and these DBs are going to be playing for their jobs.