Bubbleblabber vs Carl’s Stone Cold Pick of the NFL Week 5: Falcons vs Giants

After a surprising Steelers lost last week, both myself and Carl find ourselves at 2-2, mainly because we both keep picking the same teams to win, however today that changes. Carl has picked the New York Giants to beat the Atlanta Falcons today in East Rutherford, NJ, here’s why:

 

Now let’s get to the breakdown of both teams:

New York Giants

 

Yes, the New York Giants are coming off two straight wins, and while I’m not impressed with a win over the lowly Redskins, the Houston win was way more so. That said, this week, the Giants have LB Jon Beason on the injury report along with WR Odell Beckham, and while the latter may figure to play, the injury to Beason is just the latest set back to the depth that the Giants have at Linebacker. I expect Mike Smith to run the ball as hard as he can until Steven Jackson’s legs fall off as the Falcons receivers recover from random injuries. This could cause problems for the Giants, and moreover, keep Eli Manning off the field. Oh yea, and I also don’t buy that Eli has somehow figured out the West Coast Offense in two weeks, I think he’s just been playing it safe which is all find and dandy until he hits a team that puts him down by 14. That could be what happens this week, because Atlanta’s O is pretty good.

Atlanta Falcons

 

Justin Blalock (G) and Harry Douglas (WR) are ruled out for Sunday’s game, with Justin being the bigger blow to the team than Harry. However, the Atlanta offense still has PLENTY of firepower as WR’s Julio Jones and Devin Hester are both probable, and Hester is just as scary as he’s ever been in the league. He may be the X-factor, in that the Giants have shown tendencies to screw shit up on the special teams and all Hester needs is a tad of day light and he’s gone! And while the Atlanta D looks pretty bad, look for Osi Umenyiora to step up his game as he takes on his former team. Don’t think for five seconds that he isn’t giving his fellow Defensive the blue print to the Giants’ O-line and their weaknesses. I also expect Matt Ryan to tear apart that Giants secondary.

Bubbleblabber (2-2) picks the Falcons to win

Carl (2-2) picks the Giants to win