Packers/Giants Sunday Night Football Preview

 

New York Giants Hope to Rekindle Postseason Recipe to Jumpstart Season

     Last January, the New York Giants swiftly walked into Lambeau Field, home of the 15-1 Green Bay Packers, and strolled out four quarters later on top in impressive fashion 37-20. Eli Manning threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns, Hakeem Nicks tallied 165 yards receiving and the Giants combined to sack Aaron Rodgers four times. 

     Now, in week 12 of the season, the Giants are at a crossroads. They have lost two games in a row prior to their bye week and frankly have looked very vulnerable in their last four games. And here come the Green Bay Packers who remain on a five game win streak despite a load of injuries including stars Greg Jennings and Clay Matthews. In a stretch where the Giants need all the wins they can get if they want to hang on to their playoff berth, the Giants will need to get back to their old ways in order to defeat Green Bay. 

     For the Giants to win, Eli Manning must make plays in the passing game with Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz. Nicks and Cruz have not had the connection with Manning the past three weeks than they have had in the past, a far cry from earlier in the season when Nicks and Cruz had games when they each caught ten passes. If there is any night when the Giants will establish their passing game again, it will be tonight. In their two match-ups last year, Nicks and Cruz combined for 26 receptions, over 400 receiving yards and 4 touchdowns while Manning posted passer ratings over 100 in each game. 

    Not only will the Giants offense have to show up at MetLife Stadium tonight, their defense must slow down the Packers passing attack. Last time the Giants defense took the field, Andy Dalton looked like he was back quarterbacking TCU playing against Air Force. Going up against one of the worst pass blocking offenses in the NFL, I'll put my money on Jason Pierre-Paul and the Giants to pressure Aaron Rodgers and disrupt the Packers passing game. 

     It's deja vu for the Giants right now. This time last year, they were 6-4, coming off of back to back losses. Ironically, the Giants would go on to lose two more games in a row to drop to 6-6, yet they somehow managed to claim the NFC East and the Super Bowl title in the end. However, I doubt the Giants can continue to slide at this point in the season and manage to turn on their engines to make the playoffs once again. With Washington looming in the background, expect the Giants to recycle some old game plan from last years playoff defeat of Aaron Rodgers and the Packers to slip past Green Bay once again. New York 30-28

Colin Kaepernick to Start Over Alex Smith; Is Jim Harbaugh Making the Right Call?

     It appears that the San Francisco 49ers will be making a switch at quarterback for their game in New Orleans today. Though Alex Smith is ready to play, head coach Jim Harbaugh is very likely to "stick with the hot hand" by starting second year quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
     For the 49ers, they have a 7-2-1 record and have not shown many weaknesses's this year which begs the question whether their is a need to make a change. The answer is, there is no need to make a quarterback change. With Alex Smith under center the past two seasons, the 49ers are 20-6-1 including last years playoffs. Only three of the league's 40 starting quarterbacks the past two seasons, Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Joe Flacco, have more wins during that time. You might wonder whether the 49ers simply win in spite of Smith, but after looking at his statistics from this season, it is clear that not only is Smith a vital part to the 49ers success, he is having one of the more productive seasons at quarterback in the league. His 69.8 total quarterback rating ranks eighth in the NFL ahead of others such as Aaron Rodgers, Eli Manning and Matt Schaub. On top of that, Smith's Total QBR is over 20 points higher than what it was last year, an improvement from 21st to 8th. Not only has Smith been productive, he has improved a great deal coming off a season where he led the 49ers to a 13 win season, only one victory away from the Super Bowl. Though Colin Kaepernick looked terrific going up against a Chicago defense that is one of the best defenses in the NFL, Alex Smith has proven over enough of a sample size that he is productive enough to lead the 49ers to a Super Bowl this year.
    Even though Harbaugh's decision seems a little of knee jerk reaction, he may simply realize he has two good quarterbacks that he can utilize to keep opposing defenses off guard. Either way, starting Colin Kaepernick will not have a negative impact on the 49ers over the next few weeks. In their next four games, they face teams that rank 31st, 13th, 27th and 29th in passing defense. Whether Smith or Kaepernick is getting the majority of the reps, the 49ers will not have too much trouble moving the ball through the air in the next few games. In the mean time, Jim Harbaugh is not making the right or wrong call because on paper, it simply won't matter who is starting for San Francisco. However, it will be late in the season and in the playoffs when Harbaugh's decision will be crucial to the outcome of their season. San Francisco does not have the NFC West locked up by any means and a Week 16 matchup at Seattle, against the 3rd ranked passing defense in the NFL, will certainly test whoever is at quarterback for the 49ers. This is simply a prediction, but if Harbaugh has Kaepernick getting most of the snaps in playoff games, the 49ers will be turning to Alex Smith late in those games to resurrect the 49ers season.

NFL Week 12 Predictions

  Houston (9-1) at Detroit (4-6) (+3.5, 47.5)

Houston 27-20

Spread: Houston (400)

O/U: Under (200)

  Washington (4-6) at Dallas (5-5) (-3.5, 48.5)

Dallas 31-28

Spread: Washington (300)

O/U: Over (400)

  New England (7-3) at New York (4-6) (+6.5, 45.5)

New England 31-17

Spread: New England (500)

O/U: Over (200)

  Minnesota (6-4) at Chicago (7-3) (-3.5, 38.5)
Chicago 20-16
Spread: Chicago (400)
O/U: Under (200)

  Oakland (3-7) at Cincinnati (5-5) (-8.5, 49.5)

Cincinnati 34-21

Spread: Cincinnati (400)

O/U: Over (500)

  Pittsburgh (6-4) at Cleveland (2-8) (+1.5, 34.5)

Pittsburgh 13-9

Spread: Pittsburgh (300)

O/U: Under (500)

  Buffalo (4-6) at Indianapolis (6-4) (-3.5, 50.5)

Buffalo 34-24

Spread: Buffalo (300)

O/U: Over (300)

  Denver (7-3) at Kansas City (1-9) (+10.5, 44.5)

Denver 34-13

Spread: Denver (1000)

O/U: Over (300)

  Seattle (6-4) at Miami (4-6) (+2.5, 37.5)

Miami 20-17

Spread: Miami (400)

O/U: Under (300)

  Atlanta (9-1) at Tampa Bay (6-4) (+0.5, 51.5)

Tampa Bay 38-34

Spread: Tampa Bay (200)

O/U: Over (500)

  Tennessee (4-6) at Jacksonville (1-9) (+4.5, 44.5)

Jacksonville 28-24

Spread: Jacksonville (600)

O/U: Over (400)

  Baltimore (8-2) at San Diego (4-6) (+1.5, 46.5)

San Diego 23-21

Spread: San Diego (200)

O/U: Under (200)

  San Francisco (7-2-1) at New Orleans (5-5) (+1.5, 49.5)

San Francisco 27-23

Spread: San Francisco (300)

O/U: Over (300)

  St. Louis (3-6-1) at Arizona (4-6) (-1.5, 37.5)

St. Louis 14-10

Spread: St. Louis (400)

O/U: Under (500)

  Green Bay (7-3) at New York (6-4) (-2.5, 51.5)

New York 30-28

Spread: Green Bay (200)

O/U: Over (300)

  Carolina (2-8) at Philadelphia (3-7) (+2.5, 40.5)
Philadelphia 23-17
Spread: Philadelphia (100)
O/U: Under (200)

Week 12: 11,300

Week 11: 9.700

Week 10: 11,300

Week 9: 10,300

Week 8: 9,000

Week 7: 9,900

Week 6: 9,900

Week 5: 11,700

Week 4: 11,800

Week 3: 13,200

Week 2: 11,900 

Week 1: 14,200

Week 12: 10-6

Week 11: 11-3

Week 10: 9-4-1

Week 9: 12-2

Week 8: 8-4

Week 7: 11-2

Week 6: 3-11

Week 5: 11-3

Week 4: 7-8

Week 3: 7-9

Week 2: 11-5

Week 1: 11-5

Total: 111-62-1

Week 12: -1500

Week 11: -600

Week 10: +1500

Week 9: +4600

Week 8: +2200

Week 7: +3300

Week 6: -1900

Week 5: +3100

Week 4: +4000

Week 3: -1300

Week 2: -1000

Week 1: +200

Season Total: +10,400

NFL Week 11 Predictions

  Miami (4-5) at Buffalo (3-6) (-1.5, 40.5)

Buffalo 24-20

Spread: Buffalo (300)

O/U: Over (200)

  Arizona (4-5) at Atlanta (8-1) (-9.5, 44.5) 

Atlanta 21-13

Spread: Arizona (200)

O/U: Under (300)

  Cleveland (2-7) at Dallas (4-5) (-7.5, 43.5)

Dallas 24-14

Spread: Dallas (400)

O/U: Under (100)

  Green Bay (6-3) at Detroit (4-5) (+3.5, 51.5)

Detroit 33-30 OT

Spread: Detroit (300)

O/U: Over (200)

  Cincinnati (4-5) at Kansas City (1-8) (+3.5, 43.5)

Kansas City 20-17

Spread: Kansas City (100)

O/U: Under (200)

  New York (3-6) at St. Louis (3-5-1) (-3.5, 38.5) 

St. Louis 23-16

Spread: St. Louis (700)

O/U: Over (200)

  Philadelphia (3-6) at Washington (3-6) (-3.5, 44.5)

Washington 27-24

Spread: Philadelphia (300)

O/U: Over (400)

  Tampa Bay (5-4) at Carolina (2-7) (+1.5, 48.5)

Tampa Bay 34-17

Spread: Tampa Bay (800)

O/U: Over (200)

  Jacksonville (1-8) at Houston (8-1) (-15.5, 40.5)
Houston 24-3
Spread: Houston (500)
O/U: Under (300) 

  New Orleans (4-5) at Oakland (3-6) (+4.5, 54.5)
New Orleans 38-34
Spread: Oakland (300)
O/U: Over (300)

  San Diego (4-5) at Denver (6-3) (-7.5, 48.5)
Denver 31-17
Spread: Denver (700)
O/U: Under (200)

  Indianapolis (6-3) at New England (6-3) (-9.5, 54.5)
New England 41-21
Spread: New England (600)
O/U: Over (500)

  Baltimore (7-2) at Pittsburgh (6-3) (-3.5, 40.5)
Baltimore 13-10
Spread: Pittsburgh (100)
O/U: Under (500)

  Chicago (7-2) at San Francisco (6-2-1) (-5.5, 37.5)
San Francisco 17-7
Spread: San Francisco (500)
O/U: Under (400) 

Week 11: 9.700

Week 10: 11,300

Week 9: 10,300

Week 8: 9,000

Week 7: 9,900

Week 6: 9,900

Week 5: 11,700

Week 4: 11,800

Week 3: 13,200

Week 2: 11,900 

Week 1: 14,200

Week 11: 10-3

Week 10: 9-4-1

Week 9: 12-2

Week 8: 8-4

Week 7: 11-2

Week 6: 3-11

Week 5: 11-3

Week 4: 7-8

Week 3: 7-9

Week 2: 11-5

Week 1: 11-5

Total: 90-53-1

Week 11: -700

Week 10: +1500

Week 9: +4600

Week 8: +2200

Week 7: +3300

Week 6: -1900

Week 5: +3100

Week 4: +4000

Week 3: -1300

Week 2: -1000

Week 1: +200

Season Total: +12,500