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02/02/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Listen to a presidential campaign long enough and you're bound to hear the phrase: Are you better off than you were four years ago?
But while Democrats, Republicans, Independents and Anarchists might come up with four different answers in 2012, chances are the fans of the New York Giants will be unanimous in their response.
Without a doubt...yes.
Back then, as their 2007 team -- playoff-worthy via the Wild Card route and NFC Super Bowl representatives thanks to three straight postseason road wins -- headed into an Arizona showdown with the history-primed New England Patriots, most would've been happy with something short of an all-time rout by the Giants' then-undefeated opponent.
Instead, thanks in large part to the heroics of a previously underappreciated quarterback, Big Blue emerged with a 17-14 victory in Super Bowl XLII in what will long stand as one of the NFL's most improbable upsets.
Fast forward to this week, and the Giants again find themselves on familiar turf.
Forgotten entries into the NFC playoffs, winners of three straight January games -- including two on the road against the conference's No. 1 and 2 seeds -- and again on their way to a championship chance against a New England team positioned as at least a three-point favorite in most circles.
But in spite of the odds, the fans of the football Giants aren't just hoping to show up this time. They're expecting to win.
The reason? It's simple.
The quarterback.
While he still travels in a prodigious shadow cast by his older brother and lines up for New York's Super Bowl XLVI clash across from two-time league MVP and supermodel-magnet Tom Brady, Eli Manning has taken a prodigious leap in status since first dipping his toe in the elite waters back in Arizona in February of 2008.
"He's been able to stand in there and make the most difficult plays," Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said. "He's literally taken this team on his shoulders."
Though this year's Giants were a game worse in the standings then the 2007 version, a more-polished Manning was significantly better than his first Super Bowl season by nearly every measure, increasing his totals for completions (359 to 297), completion percentage (61.0 to 56.1), passing yards (4,933 to 3,336) and touchdown passes (29 to 23).
Not to mention the jump in public perception from a boyish "Gilligan" to "Cool Hand Luke."
"This is a significant moment for Eli and how he will be perceived," said Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman, who won three Super Bowls in 12 NFL seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. "If Eli were to win Sunday, he is no longer Peyton Manning's little brother. It elevates him to a higher status. Not saying he would be regarded as better than Peyton. But if someone wants to make the argument, at least he has provided them with ammunition."
There weren't many who held Manning in such praise following a trying rookie season in 2004.
Widely reviled after a draft-day stubbornness moved him from San Diego to New York, that year's No. 1 overall pick was an awkward work in progress as a seven-start successor to Kurt Warner, winning just once while completing less than half of 197 passes and throwing nine interceptions to just six touchdowns.
Manning successfully nudged both ratios past the 50-50 mark in the subsequent three full seasons, but was still viewed solely as a pretender to the Manning name -- and the NFL penthouse -- until orchestrating that final drive against the Pats that included a desperation fling to David Tyree and a precise fade to Plaxico Burress.
Nonetheless, he was still chastised during this year's preseason for claiming he was an elite quarterback in the same class of Brady.
"I thought I gave an honest answer," Manning said about the unforeseen controversy over his remarks. "I didn't regret it at the time or think anything of it at the time."
These days, it seems no one's arguing. In fact, the chatter has turned from whether Manning's elite to whether he's now Canton-worthy.
Of the eight non-active passers who've won at least two Super Bowl titles, seven are in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, including names like Starr, Bradshaw, Staubach, Montana, Aikman and Elway.
Just two active quarterbacks have won at least two titles: Brady and Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger.
"The second [Super Bowl win] validates the first one," said Bob Griese, who led the Miami Dolphins to two titles in the 1970's. "It probably helped me get into the Hall of Fame. Lots of guys win one."
The only exception to the dual Super-winning rule is Jim Plunkett, who guided the Raiders to a pair of championships between 1980-83 but has not been elected to the Hall of Fame.
"At Thanksgiving or Christmas, Eli probably would like to be able to say to Peyton, 'You might have been a great quarterback, but how many Super Bowls did you win?, Staubach said. "'I'm sure it would be very meaningful to him."
For his part, the younger Manning claims no such familial envy.
In fact, when asked this week about the suddenly iffy career status of brother Peyton, who missed the entire 2011 season with the Indianapolis Colts after neck surgery, he was nothing but complimentary.
"Peyton has had an unbelievable career and in my opinion is the best I've ever seen play football," Eli Manning said. "My goal is to get to his level of play. That's something I've worked on.
"I am five years younger than Peyton, but growing up we would always compete. When I got a little bit older, 15 or 16 years old, we could finally start being on the same level and compete in playing basketball, ping-pong or pool. Competition is a great thing. It brings out the best in people. It does make you work harder, to try to get to that level where you can compete with your older brother."
As for winning a career-defining game in big brother's home stadium, as Super Bowl XLVI will be held in Indianapolis, Manning claims it's a non-factor.
"I'm excited about being here," he said. "My mindset is I'm here to play a game. This is just a Super Bowl venue. I'm not looking at the fact that this is where Peyton has played his career. I'm just trying to go out there and play my best football and try to get a championship for the New York Giants."
<< Nationals beat Lannan in arbitration
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Syracuse, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Syracuse center Fab Melo has been reinstated
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The San Francisco 49ers (5-11 SU, 5-10-1 ATS in 2007; 1-1 SU & ATS in pre-season) found some offensive life last week, and they will try to build some momentum on Thursday night as they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bears (7-9 SU & ATS in 2007; 0-2 SU, 0-1-1 ATS in pre-season) in an NFL matchup that is set to get underway at 8 PM ET at Soldier Field (natural turf) in Chicago.
Thursday, August 21
NFL betting odds: CHICAGO -3 (-120), Total 37
NOTABLE STAT: San Francisco was last in points, last in total offense in 2007
KEY NFL BETTING TREND: SF has lost its last seven SU on pre-season road
In the BetUS NFL pre-season football betting odds, the Bears are listed as a three-point favorite (laying -120), with the total posted at 37 points.
Here are some NFL football betting trends as they relate to this matchup (reflecting numbers going into the 2008 season):
* SF has lost 11 of its last 14 games SU
* SF has covered three of its last 11 games
* SF has lost six of its last seven road games SU
* SF has covered one of its last seven road games
* CHI has covered five of its last eight games
* CHI has played five of its last seven games OVER the total
* CHI has covered four of its last 13 home games
* SF has lost its last seven pre-season road games SU
* CHI has covered two of its last seven home pre-season games
Well, I guess we should congratulate the Bears on making their quarterback choice for the season's opening game, as they have designated Kyle Orton the starter against Indianapolis. The Bears obviously have lost patience with Rex Grossman, and what they do with him at this point is anybody's guess. But suffice it to say that there isn't a quarterback competition anymore, at least in training camp.
Meanwhile, the quarterback competition may also be settled in San Francisco, where the Niners bounced back from a lackluster 18-6 loss to the Raiders, in which they turned the ball over four times, to execute a 34-6 rout of the Packers last Saturday. However, coach Mike Nolan has stopped short of saying that, insisting that the job is still open. But J.T. O'Sullivan, the longshot of the trio of Niner signal-callers who opened camp, will start his third straight pre-season game here. Against Green Bay, O'Sullivan was only 8-for-17, and was intercepted, but he also threw for 9.1 yards an attempt, which included a 59-yard TD pass to Josh Morgan. The others struggled.
Some offensive cohesion is badly needed, in light of the Niners' dismal 2007 campaign, in which they were dead last in the NFL in scoring, with just 13.7 points a game. And O'Sullivan is the guy who is most familiar with offensive coordinator Mike Martz's exacting system, because he learned it last year in Detroit. O'Sullivan will go at least the entire first half and may even last longer. He'll be relieved by Alex Smith, with Shawn Hill doing the mop-up work. Three receivers who were out last week - Bryant Johnson, Ashley Lelie and Arnaz Battle - will miss this game too.
That may hurt a little here, especially since the Bears will be using a lot of their defensive starters. And it's the defense that has been keeping the Bears in games thus far. In fact, the defense and special teams were responsible for the first 19 points Chicago scored against Seattle last time out, as the offense really struggled with Grossman at the controls. But maybe the first-team offense has a chance to settle a little bit as it works more with Orton at the helm.
Certainly we have concerns about the Bears' offensive line, but we like the scenario for them here, especially if O'Sullivan doesn't make some bis plays. The Niners may have nowhere else to turn right now, and they have lost seven straight road games in the pre-season. Let's take Chicago, the three-point favorite in the NFL football betting odds.
CHICAGO -3 (-120) **
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)
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