NFL Week 9 Picks - San Diego Chargers at New York Giants

San Diego Chargers at New York Giants

Sunday, November 8th – 4:15 PM ET
Giants Stadium – East Rutherford, NJ

NFL Point Spread: Giants -5, O/U: 47.5

The New York Giants, after starting their season 5-0, have gone into a tailspin, suffering blowout losses at New Orleans and Philadelphia, sandwiched around a narrow but ugly home loss to Arizona.

There’s no basis for a firm set of expectations this Sunday at the Meadowlands, as two thoroughly enigmatic ballclubs will try to generate consistently high quality and set a positive tone for the second half of the season. They’ll both need to: Denver leads San Diego by two games in the AFC West, while the Giants have fallen behind Dallas and Philadelphia in the NFC East.

NFL Handicapping: What The Chargers Have To Do To Win

San Diego simply needs to bring its A-game, because the NFL hasn’t yet seen the best of the Bolts in 2009. A team that was picked my many to reach Super Bowl XLIV has been beaten up in the trenches, and has thereby lacked the ability to unleash a balanced attack on opposing defenses. Lightning-quick scat-back Darren Sproles devastated the Indianapolis Colts in last year’s AFC Playoffs, and looked to be a worthy successor to oft-injured superstar LaDainian Tomlinson, but the diminutive dynamo hasn’t delivered the goods this season.

Some will say that’s a result of his less-than-beefy body, but the bigger reason has been a lack of continuity up front: The Chargers’ line has paid some visits to the infirmary this year, particularly in the case of center Nick Hardwick, the heartbeat of San Diego’s protection and blocking schemes.

If the Chargers can get top-quality line play in this game, perhaps Sproles and quarterback Philip Rivers, along with L.T., can light up the scoreboard against a porous Giants secondary. This would be a great time for coach Norv Turner’s club to put together a complete performance.

NFL Handicapping: What The Giants Have To Do To Win

For the reeling Giants, success must start with defense. Critics can talk all they want about Eli Manning’s undeniable struggles in recent weeks, but with the way coach Tom Coughlin’s team is defending, it’s hardly surprising that Peyton’s younger brother is struggling. Most NFL quarterbacks would if they faced continuous scoreboard deficits and predictable passing situations on a regular basis.

In their Oct. 18 loss at New Orleans, the Giants dug themselves a 20-3 deficit just three minutes into the second quarter. This past Sunday against Philadelphia, the defending NFC East champions found themselves down 16-0 just one minute into the second quarter. The Eagles roared to a 33-7 lead in the first minute of the third quarter, and coasted the rest of the way.

No team can play from behind the way the Giants have. Eli has been sloppy and inconsistent, but a defense that used to be a team strength has fallen on very hard times. It’s on defense where the Giants need to make a stand against the Chargers.

NFL Handicapping: Outlook & Pick