Giants / Panthers Preview

The Giants are proving to be the slightly less than mediocre team I expected they would be.  The season is on the verge of spinning out of control and they are going on the road to play in Charlotte against a Panther team coming off of a bye.  They are 7-7.5 point heavy underdogs.  Yet I’m predicting an upset.
 
Finally returning to the lineup is both Olivier Vernon and Eli Apple. Vernon was made for a 3-4 defense at the outside linebacker position.  More importantly, the Giants have generally stopped the run well despite a few big runs and quarterback scrambles skewing the stats.  The rest of the Giant team is horrific at rushing the passer. Having a bonafide pass rusher like Vernon will make a huge difference in the amount of time QBs have to pass the ball. Vernon is not a big name but is very skilled and is filling the team’s biggest need (the Giants are tied for league low 5 sacks). Additionally, Webb filling for Apple was hurting. Apple was off to a great start before getting injured. Newton scares me as the Giants are not great at playing the read option with mobile quarterbacks, but I do believe the Giants can stop the run, and then with Vernon and Apple, excel against the pass too. Also, the Giant offense, while bad this year, doesn’t look as far from competent as the number might suggest. They will give Barkley the ball more often. Engram out injured still hurts but they will have enough to score 20 which could win this game.
 
Lastly, the Giants have only forced 3 turnovers this year (second to worst in the league). Some of that is luck. The part that adds skill usually comes from rushed passers throwing interceptions which happens more often with a good pass rush.
 
In a surprise to all the Giants will win this one 20-17
 

-Ari Glass