Eli Manning is expected to grab a lot of pine in the preseason finale.
The New York Giants are hosting the New England Patriots Thursday night, but don’t expect to see much of Tom Brady and Eli Manning. More like Rhett Bomar versus Brian Hoyer as the two teams close out their preseason schedule.
Both the Giants and Patriots have problems, but aren’t expected to risk their starters. That means a lot of playing time for backup quarterbacks Bomar and Hoyer.
Jim Sorgi, the Giants’ No. 2 quarterback, was put on injured reserve this past Tuesday ending his season. Sorgi has a shoulder injury. Hoyer is New England’s second-string quarterback.
Each team is off a bad loss. The Patriots were nipped, 36-35, by St. Louis last Thursday as eight-point NFL spread favorites at home. The combined 71 points sailed ‘over’ the 38-point total.
The Giants fell to the Ravens in Baltimore, 24-10, as 3 ½-point underdogs last Saturday. The combined 34 points went ‘under’ the 38 ½-point total.
Brady looked sharp for New England, completing 18-of-22 passes for 273 yards and three touchdown passes. That was about it for the Patriots, though, as far as highlights.
The Rams out-gained the Patriots, 462-288, and led in time of possession, 43:46 to 16:14. New England rushed for just 28 yards on 11 carries.
“We didn’t do well on anything,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said following the game.
The Patriots have a reshuffled offensive line missing key starters, flaws in their pass rush and are unsettled in the defensive backfield. Wes Welker, though, caught two passes against the Rams. He should be in the starting lineup when New England opens the regular-season at home against Cincinnati.
Welker, who has caught more passes in the last three years than anyone, is returning following major knee surgery.
New England is 2-1 in preseason having defeated New Orleans, 27-24, as 1 ½-point home favorites and Atlanta, 28-10, as three-point road favorites. All three of the Patriots’ preseason games have gone ‘over’ the total. The ‘over’ has cashed in six of New England’s last seven preseason betting contests going back to last year.
The Giants opened with a 31-16 victory against the Jets playing in their new stadium. The Giants were plus three and the combined 47 points easily went ‘over’ the 33 ½-point total.
The Giants then fell to Pittsburgh, 24-17, as six-point underdogs with Manning not playing. The combined 41 points went ‘over’ the 34-point total.
Manning went 9-for-18 for 63 yards and an interception playing the first half last week against Baltimore. He had been out since Aug. 16 after receiving stitches to his forehead against the Jets.
The Giants played their starters the entire first half against Baltimore. The result was a 17-3 deficit at halftime with New York managing only five first downs during the first two quarters.
Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco picked apart New York’s secondary for 229 yards on 21 of 34 passing. This was accomplished in the first half against the Giants’ first-team defense, which seemed to have trouble adjusting from their press coverage of last year to new defensive coordinator Perry Fewell’s read-and-react type of philosophy.
“We didn’t stop them, we really didn’t consistently pressure the quarterback, they threw and caught,” Giants coach Tom Coughlin said about the Giants’ loss to the Ravens. “They isolated our corners out there and they beat us.”
Similar to New England, the Giants also have offensive line concerns. Guards Rich Seubert (hand) and Chris Snee (knee) along with center Shaun O’Hara (ankle) have all missed time due to injuries.
The Giants already have lost Sorgi and wide receiver Sinorice Moss (groin) for the season because of injuries.