Washington Redskins vs New York Giants NFL Picks & Odds

Written September 11, 2009 by Jason Lowry

Redskins Giants Week 1 Predictions This Sunday the New York Giants will look to bounce back from a disappointing finish to the 2008 season when they host the Washington Redskins in a week 1 NFC East division showdown. The Giants went into the postseason as the No.1 seed, but were unable to beat the Philadelphia Eagles to head to the NFC Championship game. For the Redskins they are hoping that after two mediocre seasons they can make a run at the NFC East title for the first time since 1999. Right now NFL betting lines have the Giants 6.5 point favorites over the Redskins with the over/uner set at 37.5.

Giants Outlook: There is no question that this team belongs to Eli Manning, as the Giants signed him to a huge deal this offseason to keep him in New York. The question is who is Manning going to throw the football to, as it doesn’t look like the Giants have found a legit replacement for Plaxico Burress, plus the team decided to let veteran Amani Toomer go. The Giants did draft wide out Hakeem Nicks to help out the passing game, and he looked pretty good during the preseason. One positive for the Giants is they might not have to pass all that much this season, as they should once again be a force on the ground with Brandon Jacobs, Ahmad Bradshaw, and Danny Ware. They did lose 1,000 yard rusher Derrick Ward, but Bradshaw and Ware figure to be ready to take over his carries. If Manning can get it going they should once again be a force in the NFC this season.

A big reason the Giants figure to once again be Super Bowl contenders, is they should have one of the top defenses in the league, especially now that they have star defensive end Osi Umenyiora back after he was forced to miss last season. The Giants also have another outstanding talent in Justin Tuck, and these two guys figure to cause a lot of problems for opposing quarterbacks. The Redskins will look to run the football with Clinton Portis, and stopping him has to be the key for this unit, as you would much rather see Jason Campbell throwing the football than handing it off to Portis. Bet the Giants -6.5 to win at Sportsbook.com.

Redskins Outlook: The Redskins definitely have some questions when it comes to the offense, but it all likely comes down to how effective Portis is running the football. During the first 8 games last year Portis was on track to lead the league in rushing and an early favorite to win the MVP, but Portis suffered numerous nagging injuries and was unable to run with much success. That in turn had a huge effect on the play of quarterback Jason Campbell, as he along with the entire offense struggled to do much of anything after Portis’s performance started to decline.

On defense the Redskins made arguably the biggest acquisition of the offseason, as they spent a ton of money to lure Pro Bowl defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth away from the Titans, in hopes that he can turn the Redskins defense into one of the top units in the NFL. The addition of Haynesworth could play a huge role in the game this weekend against the Giants, as he could make it really hard for the Giants running game to get going. If Haynesworth ends up having the impact the Redskins are hoping, they could very well be the surprise team in the NFL this season. Bet the Redskins +6.5 at Sportsbook.com.

My Prediction: Redskins +6.5

If you are planning on betting the NFL this season, and would like some help with your NFL picks, now is the perfect time to check out our handicappers expert NFL predictions for all the games this weekend.

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