Jets at Giants: What Bettors Need to Know
New York Jets at New York Giants (+2.5, 35)
Weather Permitting
This game was originally scheduled for Saturday but was bumped to Monday because of Hurricane Irene. There was talk about moving the game time up on Saturday to try and squeeze play in before Irene hit, but the all parties involved thought moving the game to Monday was the best option.
"Along with the NFL office and the Jets, we have closely monitored the hurricane and the forecast and its potential impact on our area for the past several days," Giants owner John Mara said in a statement. "After conferring with (New Jersey) Governor (Chris) Christie, (Jets owner) Woody Johnson and (NFL) commissioner (Roger) Goodell, we have determined the best course of action for the safety and well-being of all is to move the game to Monday night."
A change on the fly like this isn’t new to the Giants. They had their Week 14 contest against the Vikings moved to a Monday night and a different field because of a severe snowstorm that damaged the Metrodome’s roof. Coughlin’s club won and covered that game 21-3 at Ford Field.
"We're getting good at mid-streak adjustments," Giants coach Tom Coughlin told reporters on Saturday. "I don't know if that is something you necessarily want to perfect, but I think we're close."
Starter Report
Giants: Coughlin said his starters would play the entire first half with the backups getting all the action in the second half. Top tailback Ahmad Bradshaw didn’t practice on Thursday and is iffy for Monday’s game against the Jets because of a sore back.
Jets: Gang Green coach Rex Ryan says he’ll play his starters in the first half and the first drive in the second half before turning to his depth players. Ryan also said he and his coaching staff will roll out a vanilla scheme against Giants.
“We always hold back in the preseason, but we still blitz and we still get after it,” Ryan told the Newark Star-Ledger. “But we don’t game plan… We never game plan defensively, anyway, in a preseason game.”
Backup QB Mark Brunell didn’t practice on Thursday and is doubtful to play Monday as well. That means rookie Greg McElroy should see the majority of action in the second half.
Plaxico Burress plays former teammates
Burress was the leading receiver for the Giants' Super Bowl team but now plays for the other New York football team. Burress, who spent the better part of two years behind bars on a gun case, is now catching passes for the Jets.
“Personally, I think I just needed a fresh start,” he told the New York Daily News. “If I wanted to go somewhere and make money, I could have went a couple other places and got a two- or three-year deal, different things like that. But I just wanted an opportunity to go somewhere fresh and have an opportunity to play for a great organization and a great coach in Rex and a great team.”
Ryan is singing praises about Burress this camp even though the often-injured wideout has missed several practices. Plaxico looked good last week against the Bengals and the Jets are hoping he can be a go-to target for QB Mark Sanchez in the red zone.