Washington Redskins vs. New York Giants Week 1 2008 NFL Betting Odds

Written by:
Don Shapiro
Published on:
Sep/02/2008
Giants vs Redskins

It's the Washington Redskins vs. the New York Giants to open the 2008 NFL season and this Week 1 game is promising to be a good one. The Giants are the reigning 2008 Super Bowl champs and have gotten little respect from odds makers. They were listed with +2600 odds to repeat that feat or a $100 bet would pay out $2600 at Diamond Sports International - a member of the BetCRIS family of fine books.

Even in their own division, the Giants were given longer odds than the Philadelphia Eagles at +320 for a $320 payout on every $100 bet if they were to win the NFC East. The Eagles had +280 odds while the Dallas Cowboys were listed with even odds. Unfortunately the Washington Redskins - a team that is supposed to be somewhat decent - has been given +940 odds to win the division. Unfortunately for them but FORTUNATE for any sports bettor looking to capitalize on a the Skins should they excel.

We should know soon enough as Week 1 2008 NFL betting odds have the Giants at -4 Thursday night - that's up a point from where they opened at -3 (though the official number was -3 ½).

While the odds makers have shown the New York Giants little respect, sports bettors themselves have done quite the opposite. Ahead of Thursday night's season opener, the Giants are the single most bet on team in the league. Washington does not even come close as this one is especially lopsided. 85 percent of the action is in fact on the Giants.

The New York Giants begin their Super Bowl encore in the NFL's season-opening game Thursday night against the Washington Redskins with one of their standout pass rushers from last season, Michael Strahan, in retirement and another, Osi Umenyiora, on the injured reserve list, reports Mark Maske of the Washington Post.

Maske warns that the Giants should overcome this obstacle via its defense.

"They still have a pair of standout defensive ends in Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka, and what remains of the overpowering pass rush that played a major role in producing last season's Super Bowl title still should create some big headaches at Giants Stadium for a Redskins offense that struggled mightily at times during the preseason to keep opponents away from quarterback Jason Campbell."

The offense that Skins coach Jim Zorn wants to run is all about "tempo." And when he's not all about tempo, he's all about "pace."

The offense he wants to run - the one he hopes will be ready for prime-time Thursday night against the New York Giants - is designed to move and move fast. Get out of the huddle in a hurry, line up and snap the ball. None of that silly pre-snap motion. No time for the defense to react to the personnel or the formation. When Campbell drops back, there should be no hesitation - from anyone.

"When the play starts, I don't want to see people watching," Zorn said. "Sometimes guys either hesitate or don't quite get what they're supposed to do or where they're supposed to go, but I just want them to do something. I want them to move. Hit something. Do something. Those are the things that I'm trying to instill."

It might take a while. Zorn is new at this, and his players are new to him. The West Coast passing attack is miles removed from former coach Joe Gibbs' conservative style, and the only continuity in the play book comes from Zorn's decision to keep most of Gibbs' running plays.

In this series, the home team has won just as many as it has lost over the last 10 games. The Giants have a slight edge, winning 6 of the last 10 in this series. The last 7 games - for which New York has won 4 - were won by seven or more points. Washington and New York tend not to win close games. An interesting stat is that Washington are 2-6-2 ATS in their last 10 games in Week 1.

Slightly under 60 percent of the betting action was on the OVER 41 in this game.  Diamond Sports International has all your Week 1 NFL betting odds.

----

Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com

Sports News

Iowa State: Are They The Underdogs To Look For In March Madness?

Iowa State: Are They The Underdogs To Look For In March Madness?

They may be defined as “underdogs” or “Cinderella teams”, a term that is usually saved for teams that have little to no chance of winning even a single game during the NCAA Tournament. Teams like Loyola Marymount (1990), George Mason (2006), Davidson (2008), VCU (2011), UConn (2014), and Loyola Chicago (2018) come to mind when conversations turn toward the most surprising tournament runs in recent memory. 

Syndicate