NFC Divisional Playoff - New York Giants at Green Bay Packers

NEW YORK GIANTS @ GREEN BAY PACKERS
Vegas Line: Giants + 7.5

Rob’s Line: Giants + 8.5

Last night’s hammering of Denver handed out by New England Tom Brady taught us something heading into this one. Popular opinion had the Broncos and New York Giants taking the momentum gained from last weekend’s wild card wins on the road and advancing to next week’s Championship Games. Lest we forget that the Patriots and Green Bay Packers aren’t current NFL powerhouses for no reason.

However, to this observer the Patriots were always going to find last night easier going than the Pack will tonight. Yes, Tim Tebow and company had momentum from last week, but they didn’t finish the regular season in good form…with the Giants it’s a different story. After stinking the joint up when going down 23-10 at home to the Redskins in Week 15, they won their next two games impressively against the Jets and Cowboys before dominating Atlanta 24-2 in the wild card round.
The Big Blue are a hard team and thrive on a scrap. In addition, they’re healthy. Running back Ahmad Bradshaw looks set to play again this week, but Brandon Jacobs did a fine job helping to share the load last week, running for 92 yards on just 14 carries. Bradshaw himself had 63 yards on the same amount of carries and this against a Falcons run defense that gave up an average of only 97 rushing yards per game in the regular season.
We all know that offensively Green Bay can score points at a frightening rate and Aaron Rodgers will love facing a Giants pass defense that ranks 29th. However, balance is offered by the fact that Eli Manning will see a Packers secondary that came in dead last and he has a plethora of weapons to aim for in Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham and Jake Ballard. Throw in that Bradshaw is a nice release valve and you can see the Giants having plenty of success through the air.
Many are predicting an outright shock here and while I wouldn’t be surprised, the result in New England last night gives us a clearer perspective. There’s a myth that the bye week afforded you being a top seed in the playoffs can make a team rusty. If the Patriots were rusty last night, heaven help either Houston or Baltimore next week.
There’s no way a team as organised and classy as the Packers are going to be under prepared for these Giants and yes, Rodgers can help his team cover the spread. I’ve gone a little higher than Vegas purely because it’s Green Bay. I’m loath to bet against them, but if we bear in mind the game these two played just six weeks ago, I wouldn’t discourage anybody from taking the points on offer. The Giants ran the Pack incredibly close, going down 38-35 in what was one of the mightiest games of the season. A repeat would be spoiling us a little too much and life can never be that good, surely.
I’m taking the Giants and the points, but believe Green Bay will win it by less than seven from scratch.