GIANTS @ REDSKINS: It's rare that I say I'm not worried about a cover at all but...I'm not worried.

Thanks Jrod but I know trolls (yourself and others and you've done more than your fair share/not on the level of Hugh and Jdr of course, who are at all time highs) tail me.

That is why trolls get so pissed off at losses. Why else would you care????

So trolls defame picks, and all the while, they are playing those very same picks. Amazing isn't it???

2016 Record: 36-21

The Pick:

Redskins - 7.5 over Giants

Lay the points. I know you're afraid of the .5 point and if you want to buy it down to 7, it's actually one of the only times I'd say it's allowed. But I'm not here to post -130 favorites. I will lay the 7.5.

This line is all driven by McAdoo. He says he will play the starters.

Folks, for all the good this guy has done this year he is still a rookie coach making a rookie mistake. He wants to appear competitive in the face of a worthless game to the Giants (outside of a tune-up) but as soon as Eli gets sacked he should be pulled to forgo injury risk of any kind, especially after Mariota and Carr going down in one week. End of story. And the same for ODB who will be hounded by Josh Norman all day anyway (and forget injury, a suspension is possible with these two going at it).

This is insane. He can't play the starters for anything more than a quarter and at most a half in a meaningless game and I expect the Skins to come out firing in the first quarter anyway with all that's on the line.

How can you tell me a defense (who has down one of it's top guys in JPP), is going to play full bore for 4 quarters with all starters?

In a meaningless game. And this all only costs us 7.5 points? At home? Where the Giants, of their 5 losses, have lost 4 on the road. The teams they lost to? Paper tigers: Vikings (under .500), Packers (When they were struggling mightily), Eagles (with the playoffs on the line and then they backed in), and the Steelers.

This is not the same team as it was on the road.

And the Skins? You may have visions of the Skins team last year who you felt were illegitimate playoff participants. This is a completely different team than last year. And the stats prove it.

Redskins played TWO playoff teams last year in the regular season and were outscored: 106-44.

This year, they played SEVEN playoff teams and were almost dead even in scoring at: 177-169.

Last year was one of the weakest NFC East divisions:

4-12 Cowboys, 6-10 Giants, 7-9 Eagles.

This year? 13-2 Cowboys, 10 win Giant team and a competitive up and coming Eagles team who are a tough out.

"But Scal, the Pass Defense is terrible!!"

Yes it is, but again, Eli will not play this whole game so you should have Josh Johnson coming in at some point (NOT Nassib who many here know as Eli's backup but he's had elbow surgery 10 days ago).

The last time Johnson threw a pass in the NFL?

12/11/2011. I'm serious.

If he comes in, the Giants already have a very weak running game with Paul Perkins as their primary in front of Jennings.

So even if Eli stays in, the Skins have played good/decent to top flight QB's this year (unlike last year): Dak twice/Wentz twice/Eli/Stafford/Palmer/Dalton/Newton/Flacco.

Now you see why their pass defense gets shredded? And this team has nine wins!

And they easily could have 11: A missed 34 yard FG in London. And the other game which some here don't remember and it was worse: Up 17-13, they let the Lions score a TD in 73 seconds over a nearly a full football field.

And now for the whopper.

Remember we took Penn State to beat Wisconsin and I said that THIS Penn State team would never be the same. The momentum it built, it's defense, it's QB/RB combo, it's resurrection from the Paterno scandal, Franklin's resurgence. All of that or almost all that goes away in a new season. That was one reason why we took them. They were a special team.

We get that magic with the Skins and it only comes around once in Halley's Comet flyby with the Skins.

Simply put, this is one of the great offensive teams the Skins have ever had.

How good? They rank third in total yards in the NFL.

How often has that happened? 5 times.

1999, 1991, 1984, 1983, 1966 since WORLD WAR II. This kind of offensive production is happening once or twice a decade (and skipping several other decades completely).

THAT is why we lay 7.5 here boys. This is unique offensive force for the Skins to cover a bigger number which we need to do here.

All the pieces are here for a cover and we will call McAdoo's bluff. He'll play his hand in the first quarter and almost certainly the second but again, if the Skins get to Eli you have to sit him. And his backup hasn't seen a receiver in half a decade.

The Skins have EVERYTHING to play for. This is one of the most valuable franchises in the NFL with one of the cockiest owners and are playoff starved for a win there. But get there first. And although the Giants have been impressive, they unraveled last week against the Skins as road favorites and get penalized here as 7.5 dogs. This will be an inexcusable loss and shouldn't be close. Skins exploded for 40+ last week as 6 point favorites over the Bears and this is the same Skins team that dropped 40+ on the resurgent Packers.

One final note: A guy who always burns the Giants, Desean Jackson, is coming on strong to end the season. Total receiving yards in the last 5 games: 114, 111, 102, 59, 118.

There's enough here for a cover. McAdoo with feign aggression and fold his hand when the chips are down in the second half and we pull away. I absolutely do not see the Giants winning this game and eliminating the Skins (a win and their in scenario if not for a GB/Det tie) so 7.5 is not a ton of points at home otherwise. And the Skins beat them in Week 4 when they were 0-3 and the Giants were 2-0 (they have their number this year imo). I look for the Skins to play pedal to the medal the entire game.