The Packers continue their quest for perfection and the Giants continue to be one of the most frustrating teams in the league on a week-to-week basis. Green Bay enters the week without a single defeat on the season, and fresh off of a long week of rest after dismantling the Lions on Thanksgiving. On the other side we have the Giants, who only seem to get up to play the Patriots, and are content with coasting through the rest of the season.
So how is it that the Packers are just 7.5 point favorites? Well let’s try to find out.
The Pack are 11-0 on the season, but they have not blown out all of their competition in the way that the Patriots did in their run for an unbeaten season. They narrowly got past the Panthers, Vikings and Bucs over the course of the season, and they seem to do the Ravens style of preparation and play down to their competition.
So will the Packers get their game face on and take down the lowly Giants? And can the Giants play up to the Pack’s level? Well, much of that could come down to the health of Ahmad Bradshaw. The Giants running back has been hampered with a broken bone in his foot since late last month, and the rushing attack for New York has been struggling mightily ever since. Brandon Jacobs and DJ Ware have offered nothing in the sense of a ground attack, and Eli’s does not have the strength to make up for it.
The Giants have covered the spread just once in their past seven games, and that was their token thrashing of the Patriots that no one is able to comprehend. On the other hand, the Pack have been rolling along lately. Aside from a little scare at the hands of the Bucs, Green Bay have been dealing with their competition in fine order.
One part of the game where the Packers have struggled is their running game. James Starks and Ryan Grant have failed to find anything resembling consistency thus far, as the air show that Aaron Rodgers puts on leaves little time for running. While A-Rod is busy passing to one of his dozen targets, the running backs spend more time in pass protection than they do with the ball in their hands.
But that might change this week, as the playoffs are fast approaching and the time to balance out an attack is around the corner. The Giants allow 130 yards per game on 4.9 yards per carry on the ground, so expect to see a bit more a balanced attack at the Meadowlands. Look for undrafted rookie Brandon Saine to get a few looks along with Starks and Grant.
Do the Giants have any chance of keeping this one close? Well Mario Manningham looks doubtful to play and Osi Umenyiora is still out with an ankle injury. Jason Pierre-Paul has picked up the slack for Osi, and Victor Cruz has helped fill the void that Manningham left. But the Giants are quite the Jeckyll & Hyde team, so for them to step up in a big fashion against a big time team is not out of the question. Will they? No.
Aaron Rodgers is simply too surgical with his attack, and despite a respectable, yet terribly overpaid, secondary, the Giants do not have the pieces needed to take down the mighty Packers. Even at home.
Pick of the week record: 7-2
