Monday Night Football is back, even if it is just the preseason as the New York Giants host the Carolina Panthers. ESPN will be televising what should be an interesting game on Monday. The Giants are a 3-point NFL betting favorite with a total of 32.5.
The Panthers and Giants are considered serious Super Bowl contenders this season in the NFC. Both teams are coming off poor playoff performances last year and will want to get off to a good start this season. The Giants will be trying to find a replacement for wide receiver Plaxico Burress in the preseason. They are looking at first-round draft choice Hakeem Nicks out of North Carolina in addition to some other players including Derek Hagan who has looked great in camp. Steve Smith already has the slot position locked down.
Both Nicks and Smith have nagging injuries so they may not play on Monday. In fact, many of the starters for New York are not going to see much time. Head coach Tom Coughlin rarely plays his starters for more than a couple of series in the first NFL football betting preseason game. That means Eli Manning won’t be throwing many passes. The backup quarterback for New York is David Carr but then it gets a little dicey with Andre’ Woodson and rookie Rhett Bomar. The Giants will have a new defensive coordinator this year since Steve Spagnulolo left for St. Louis.
The Panthers already have issues heading into this NFL betting preseason contest. Star wide receiver Steve Smith was hurt in practice and is expected to miss the preseason. The Panthers are hoping he is ready for the season opener. The Panthers signed quarterback Jake Delhomme to a contract extension in the off-season and are placing a lot of faith in the quarterback who was a disaster in last year’s playoff game against Arizona. Delhomme will play a few series on Monday before backups Josh McCown and Matt Moore take over. The Panthers could have the edge when it comes to the backup quarterbacks in this NFL football betting game. The Panthers also have a new defensive coordinator in Ron Meeks.
The Panthers have won five of the six preseason NFL betting meetings against the Giants including two years ago when they won 24-21 at New York. Since these two teams also meet in the regular season in NFL betting, this Monday night contest could be pretty basic in terms of offense and defense.