Carolina Panthers at New York Giants Odds

The New York Giants play host to the Carolina Panthers at the new $1.6 billion Meadowlands Stadium this Sunday in the season opener for each team. Both the Giants and the Panthers will be looking to get off to a fast start after producing just .500 records in 2009.

The Giants should certainly be able to draw motivation from its last game against the Panthers. The Giants saw any hopes of sneaking into the postseason for a fifth straight year go out the window when the Panthers crushed them 41-9 in Week 17 last year.

NFL odds makers do expect New York to have its revenge this week, listing the Giants as a 6.5-point favorite with the total set at 41.

The Giants are now three years removed from their Super Bowl win over the Patriots, and they know they won’t get back there any time soon if the defense doesn’t play better.

In that Super Bowl season New York recorded an NFL-best 53 sacks, but it only managed 32 in 2009 (tied-18th). In addition, the defense allowed 427 points last season, the most it had given up since 1966. Defensive coordinator Bill Sheridan was fired as a result, and now the Giants are hoping that new coordinator Perry Fewell can revive this once dominant unit.

Upgrades were needed in the secondary, and the Giants are confident that Antrel Rolle and Deon Grant are indeed upgrades. In order to help those guys out, the Giants could also  use a big season from former Pro Bowler Osi Umenyiora.

Umenyiora could end up putting up better numbers while playing less downs. Playing in a reserve role will allow him to stay fresher and the Giants to do a better job against the run, which is Umenyiora’s weakness.

Offensively, quarterback Eli Manning is coming off his best season in terms of yards and touchdowns, but that was in direct result to a mediocre running game. The Giants know their ground attack must be better if they are going to make a Super Bowl run.

The Giants ranked just 17th in the NFL in rushing offense in 2009, averaging 114.8 yards per game. New York is counting on Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs to boost those numbers this season.

New York has fared well early in the season in recent years. In fact, it is 6-1-1 against the spread in its last eight September games.

If New York hopes to cover the spread Sunday, it will have to find an answer for Carolina’s dynamic running back duo of DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart. Both backs tallied more than 1,100 yards on the ground last season.

When quarterback Matt Moore and the Panthers take to the air, they’ll still be looking for Steve Smith, who fell just shy of a fifth straight 1,000-yard season in 2009.

Like the Giants, Carolina’s biggest issues appear to be on the defensive side of the football. Most notably, the Panthers will have to find a way to mount a pass rush now that Julius Peppers is a member of the Chicago Bears.

With last season’s Week 17 win over the Giants, Carolina improved to a perfect 8-0 against the spread in its last eight games against the NFC.