The Giants aren't even the favorites in their own division, the NFC East. In fact, Dallas has the NFL's second-shortest odds (9/2) to capture the Lombardi Trophy in 2008. New England is the 5/2 'chalk.'
Mario Manningham might be looking at immediate playing time, too. The Michigan product has been one of the premier wide receivers in the Big 10 the last few seasons, and he looks like a third-round steal.
Another potential starter at linebacker is fifth-round pick Jonathan Goff, who spent his entire collegiate career at Vanderbilt among the SEC's leading tacklers. Finally, the Giants selected Kentucky quarterback Andre Woodson in the sixth round. Before a late-season slump during his senior season, Woodson was being touted as a Heisman candidate and potential first-rounder.
With the emergence of rookie tight end Kevin Boss late last year, Jeremy Shockey was mentioned in pre-draft trade rumors. However, a deal to the Saints never materialized, but don't be surprised if Shockey is shipped out prior to training camp.
The Giants will return to the field on Sept. 4 when they host arch-rival Washington in the season's Thursday night lid-lifter. Las Vegas Sports Consultants, the company that makes the lines for all sporting events wagered on in Nevada, opened the G-Men as 4 ½-point favorites against the Redskins. The total for 'over/under' bets is 40 ½.
After reaching the playoffs in Mangini's first year on the job, the Jets suffered through an abysmal 4-12 campaign in 2007. They have been busy during the off-season, trading away LB Jonathan Vilma to the Saints and signing pass-rushing LB Calvin Pace and offensive guard Damien Woody.
The Jets drafted another pass rusher - Ohio State's Vernon Gholston - with their first-round pick, the No. 6 overall. Gholston is a defensive end who should fit in nicely with their 3-4 scheme.
| SUPER BOWL XLIII FUTURE ODDS |
| Team |
Odds |
| New England Patriots |
5/2 |
| Indianapolis Colts |
6/1 |
| Dallas Cowboys |
9/2 |
| Green Bay Packers |
12/1 |
| San Diego Chargers |
10/1 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars |
10/1 |
| N.Y. Giants |
10/1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers |
18/1 |
| Seattle Seahawks |
15/1 |
| New Orleans Saints |
20/1 |
| Chicago Bears |
18/1 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
28/1 |
| Cleveland Browns |
30/1 |
| Tennessee Titans |
30/1 |
| Washington Redskins |
30/1 |
| Denver Broncos |
38/1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals |
38/1 |
| Minnesota Vikings |
30/1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles |
45/1 |
| Arizona Cardinals |
45/1 |
| Buffalo Bills |
60/1 |
| Houston Texans |
60/1 |
| Carolina Panthers |
60/1 |
| Detroit Lions |
60/1 |
| N.Y. Jets |
75/1 |
| St. Louis Rams |
75/1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs |
100/1 |
| Oakland Raiders |
125/1 |
| Baltimore Ravens |
125/1 |
| San Francisco 49ers |
125/1 |
| Miami Dolphins |
150/1 |
| Atlanta Falcons |
150/1 | |
The Jets made a trade to get back into the first round at the 30th slot. With that pick, they went with Purdue TE Dustin Keller, who should be a starter right away. After sitting out the second and third rounds, they took San Jose cornerback Dwight Lowery with their fourth-round selection.
There was speculation that the Jets might look to draft a QB early, but they clearly want to see more out of Kellen Clemens before going in another direction. Clemens started eight games in 2007, but he struggled mostly with a mediocre 5/10 touchdown-interception ratio.
Chad Pennington is still around, but the team (and certainly its fans) would obviously prefer that Clemens emerge as the QB of the future. If not, the Jets faithful might have their man in Erik Ainge, who seems like a steal in the fifth round.
Ainge had an excellent career at Tennessee, winning the QB job as a true freshman. However, a shoulder injury and a sophomore slump kept him on the sidelines for good chunks of 2004 and 2005. Nevertheless, he bounced back nicely as a junior and nearly led the Volunteers to an SEC title as a senior.
The Jets will open 2008 by going on the road to face division-rival Miami. LVSC opened the Jets as 2 1/2-point favorites with the 'over/under' starting at 36 ½.
Speaking of the Dolphins, they have the longest odds to win the AFC (75/1) and share the richest number (150/1) to win the Super Bowl with Atlanta. The Falcons are 1 ½-point home underdogs for their opener against Detroit. They almost surely will go with rookie Matt Ryan as their starting QB from the get-go.
Sticking with the Week 1 theme, New England looks to recover from its only loss of 2008 when it returns to action against Kansas City as a 14 ½-point home 'chalk.' The Pats-Chiefs' total is 48.
Dallas will go into the Dog Pound to take on the Browns in Week 1. The Cowboys are listed as three-point favorites with a total of 48 ½. Remember, Dallas opened 2007 with a 45-35 win over the Giants, while the Browns took a woodshed beating from Pittsburgh at home.
As for the Eagles, they will open 2008 as seven-point home favorites vs. St. Louis. Even though Philadelphia finished strong last year, including a late-season win at Dallas, the oddsmakers are losing respect for Andy Reid's team. That fact is evidenced in the Eagles' 18/1 odds to take the NFC and a 45/1 number to win the Super Bowl.
Other than the Patriots, the biggest Week 1 favorites are the Colts and Chargers. San Diego will host Carolina as a 9 ½-point home favorite, while Indianapolis will square off against Chicago as a 10-point 'chalk' in Sunday's prime-time affair on NBC.
ESPN will continue to use its doubleheader format for Week 1. The fun will start in Green Bay, where the Packers will play without Brett Favre for the first time since 1992. With Aaron Rodgers under center, the NFC's runner-up in 2007 will take on Minnesota as a three-point home favorite.
| WEEK 1 NFL ODDS (Las Vegas Hilton) |
| Favorite |
Line (Total) |
Underdog |
| N.Y. GIANTS |
4 (40.5) |
Washington |
| BALTIMORE |
PK (42.5) |
Cincinnati |
| N.Y. Jets |
3 (36) |
MIAMI |
| NEW ENGLAND |
15.5 (48.5) |
Kansas City |
| PITTSBURGH |
7 (43.5) |
Houston |
| Jacksonville |
3 (37.5) |
TENNESSEE |
| Detroit |
1 (44) |
ATLANTA |
| BUFFALO |
2 (39) |
Seattle |
| NEW ORLEANS |
3.5 (43.5) |
Tampa Bay |
| PHILADELPHIA |
7 (45) |
St. Louis |
| Dallas |
3 (49.5) |
CLEVELAND |
| SAN DIEGO |
10 (43.5) |
Carolina |
| Arizona |
3 (41.5) |
SAN FRANCISCO |
| INDIANAPOLIS |
9 (44.5) |
Chicago |
| GREEN BAY |
3 (38) |
Minnesota |
| Denver |
1.5 (41.5) |
OAKLAND |
| HOME TEAM in CAPS | |
The late-night game is in Oakland, where the Raiders will be 1 ½-point home underdogs vs. Denver. This game will feature the debut of Darren McFadden, who most (like me) consider to be the favorite to win Rookie of the Year honors. The Arkansas product fell to the Raiders with the fourth overall pick in the draft.
There are six home underdogs in Week 1. In addition to the four previously mentioned teams (Atlanta, Cleveland, Oakland and Miami), San Francisco and Tennessee will play the roles of home puppies. The Titans are three-point home 'dogs vs. Jacksonville, while the 49ers are 2 ½-point 'dogs vs. Arizona.
What was Tennessee's off-season plan? You would think it would've been to put some talent around QB Vince Young. Granted, the Titans did sign TE Alge Crumpler, who is a Pro-Bowl type player when healthy, but they waited until the fourth round of the draft to select a wide receiver.
The rest of the Week 1 lineup includes Baltimore (-1) vs. Cincinnati, Pittsburgh (-7) vs. Houston, Buffalo (pick 'em) vs. Seattle and New Orleans (-3) vs. Tampa Bay.
