Free NFL Picks New York Giants at Houston 10-10-2010

New York Giants at Houston Texans

October 10th, 2010 1:00 PM EST

Line: Houston-3

Overview:

The Giants looked like the Super Bowl team we all remember. A fierce defensive line pummeled the Bears last weekend. Houston comes in with the best running game this season and a scary passing game. While Houston is the more talented team, the Giants are looking to harness their momentum from last week and carry it over into this week’s match up.

Keys to the Game:

• Houston isn’t Chicago. Matt Schaub is a smart quarterback who knows when to get the ball out of his hand. Andre Johnson might be a little dinged up and he is listed as day to day. Even so, when Houston needs to, they can run the ball. Chicago didn’t have that luxury last week. When you get a talented defensive line and tell them not to worry about the run at all, the offense is going to feel some heat. The Giants aren’t going to be able to have a party at the quarterback this week. If they only gun for the pass, they are going to get hurt with screens and they open themselves up for the big run play.
• He’s baaaack. Brian Cushing just got done with his four game suspension for violating the team’s substance abuse policy. The team went 3-1 without the aide of Cushing. Last year’s defensive rookie of the year is going to make life for the Giants offensive line a nightmare. Dwight Freeney toyed with the Giants when he played them in week two. Julius Peppers was all over the field last week, despite suffering a loss. The test isn’t going to be any easier this week, as they not only have to account for “Super” Mario Williams at defensive end, but also Cushing coming off the edge. You better believe Cushing has something to prove after watching his team jump to a quick 3-1 start. Sorry Eli, you aren’t going to be getting any help from your offensive line at all in this one.
• Arian Foster is playing out of his mind. Most people though he was going to simply complement Schaub in the offense this year. He ended up being the offense. Schaub led the NFL in passing last year, but Foster is too effective to not hand the ball off to. 537 yards and four touchdowns are about what was expected of him on the year. He’s done it only four games. What is most impressive is his 6.3 yards per carry. With that sort of production, teams don’t know how to handle the Texans offense. You can pick your poison, but both have proven deadly.

Wrap Up:

The Giants don’t have a chance in this one. The Texans get the missing piece of their front seven back, their offense is too dynamic for the Giants to handle, and the Giants defense isn’t going to be able to play lights out for the second week in a row. I hope the Giants enjoyed dominance last week, because they won’t be seeing it again, at least until they play the Lions next week.

Free NFL Pick: Houston -3