Al DeMarco
Monday's Pick
10 Dime - Giants
Cleveland's offensive problems this season can be traced to the preseason meeting between these two clubs when New York KO'd Derek Anderson, leaving the Browns quarterback with a concussion that forced him to miss the rest of the exhibition season. Anderson's absence - combined with injuries to Cleveland's receiver corps - left the Browns offense out of synch. So, it's no surprise they've scored a total of 46 points in four games. True, three of the contests were against good defensive clubs - Dallas, Pittsburgh and Baltimore - but New York might be better and more balanced defensively than any member of that trio. And the Giants have registered 14 sacks in the past three games so Anderson will be feeling the heat again tonight.
New York's prowess on the road has been well-documented: 13 consecutive straight-up wins, regular and postseason combined, and a 12-1 ATS record with the only failure coming in the rain and muck in London last year versus Miami. But the Giants, and especially Eli Manning, have kicked it into high gear offensively of late, averaging 37 points in winning their last three games. Manning will be facing a Cleveland secondary decimated by injuries and hampered by the inexperience that comes with youth. Yet a huge effort from New York's signal-caller might not be a prerequisite tonight; the Giants must feel they can use their punishing ground game (181 ypg; 5.8 ypc) to control the clock and scoreboard against Cleveland's 3-4 defense (4.1 ypc yield).
The Browns lone win came in their last game at Cincinnati when they beat the Carson Palmer-less Bengals 20-12. They previously lost by margins of 18 at home to Dallas and at Baltimore. I discount their 10-6 loss to Pittsburgh because of the dreadful weather conditions. But if they can lose by 18 on the road to the offensively challenged Ravens and by the same margin at home to the Cowboys, who dominated that contest by a far greater extent than the final score indicated, than they can lose easily by two touchdowns tonight.
Paid
