One of the things the multi-faceted BetUS Sportsbook is allowing fans to do as we approach the NFL season is make football betting wagers on quarterback vs. quarterback touchdown totals. So who will throw the most TD passes? This isn't fantasy football, where you get the best players if you get the first picks. This one you have to handicap using our stacked NFL odds.
And the guy in the spotlight - simply because he put himself in the middle of it with his Super Bowl run - is Eli Manning of the New York Giants. We're going to take a look at five TD pass matchups he's in as they are posted at BetUS.
By the way, Eli Manning passed for 3336 yards and 23 touchdowns for the Giants in the 2007 regular season.
BetUS Player Proposition Odds
Who will have more touchdown passes?
TOM BRADY -10.5 (-110)
ELI MANNING +10.5 (-120)
-- Which Tom Brady will show up to play this year? Will it be the guy who threw for 26 touchdowns in 2005 and 24 in 2006, or the one who exploded for 50 in 2007? Obviously it is going to be somewhere in between, but I might lean toward the 2005-06 guy, for a few reasons: one is that even though Randy Moss returns as a weapon, teams are learning that they will do much better if they smother him and take him out of the game as much as possible. Another reason is that Donte Stallworth has left which means the passing game won't be as wide open as it was, and finally, if Lamont Jordan can supply some substance, this could again be a two-headed running attack, which will force the Pats to the ground more. Let's move with Eli here.
JAY'S PLAY: MANNING +10.5
DREW BREES -3.5 (-110)
ELI MANNING +3.5 (-120)
-- I see Sean Payton as just a pass-happy kind of guy. And I don't know about the durability of Deuce McAllister. We learned last season that Reggie Bush really isn't the answer as the "every-down back," but is probably better off as he was when he was a rookie - as a pass catcher. Now Brees has a nice short-range target in Jeremy Shockey to go along with Marques Colston. Win or lose, I simply see them filling the air with footballs.
JAY'S PLAY: BREES -3.5
ELI MANNING -4.5 (-120)
DAVID GARRARD +4.5 (-110)
-- I know there's been some lip service about Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio wanting to open up the offense more, but somehow I think in the end these Jaguars are going to stay land-locked, where they have been successful. That means Garrard has to be very careful with the ball. That means less chances. That will ultimately mean less touchdowns, maybe even less than last year. And don't discount the possibility that Garrard won't be as successful with that strategy as he was last year. All in all, I thing Garrard's ceiling is limited, while Eli has more potential to reach bigger numbers.
JAY'S PLAY: MANNING -4.5
ELI MANNING -4.5 (+120)
DONOVAN McNABB +4.5 (-150)
-- I hope I am forgiven for saying this, but somehow I can see McNabb breaking down. I know he's got receivers that are a year better, and maybe DeSean Jackson is going to be very useful, but when was the last time the guy played 16 games in a season? Let me check, though; if Detroit finds its way onto Philadelphia's schedule, perhaps I'll reconsider this.
JAY'S PLAY: MANNING -4.5
ELI MANNING +3.5 (-130)
BEN ROTHELISBERGER -3.5 (Even)
-- Roethlisberger threw for 32 touchdown passes. And he ran for his life because the offensive line couldn't pass-block for him. This season they have lost Alan Faneca off that line, and I have the feeling that in picking up people like Rashard Mendenhall and Mewelde Moore to go with Willie Parker, Mike Tomlin is going to re-emphasize shoving the ball down people's throats. that will unquestionably mean less necessity to throw for Big Ben.
JAY'S PLAY: MANNING +3.5
If you noticed, we didn't match Eli against his brother Peyton.
We're not that cruel.
OK - maybe next week we WILL be.
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