Seahawks host Giants

Seattle sits on top of the NFC West standings at 4-3. That’s more victories than Minnesota and Dallas combined. But are the Seahawks really any good?
There are doubters. Some of them make NFL odds for a living as they’ve made Seattle seven-point home underdogs to the New York Giants in their Sunday 1:05 p.m. PT matchup.
Seattle has yet to lose in three games at noisy Qwest Field this season. The Seahawks are 10-3 ATS in their past 13 home contests. Matt Hasselbeck is likely to start despite being sacked eight times last week in a 33-3 road loss to Oakland and suffering a mild concussion.
But this line probably has a chance to go higher rather than lower. It’s not just that the Giants are 5-3, have won their last four games and are rested following a bye.
There’s a strong suspicion the Seahawks are imposters, not nearly good enough to be a game above .500.
The reasoning for this is the Seahawks’ soft schedule, Seattle being outscored by 17 points on the season and outgained by 1.1 yards per play.
Perhaps no other team has made as many changes as the Seahawks have this year under new head coach Pete Carroll. There have been more than 200 transactions with more to follow as Seattle is banged-up again in its offensive and defensive lines.
Seattle’s run defense figures to take a big hit with the loss of linemen Red Bryant and Colin Cole, both of whom were put on injured reserve ending their seasons. That’s good news for Ahmad Bradshaw, who ranks fourth in rushing with 708 yards. His 5.28 yards per carry ranks fourth, too, among the top 30 rushers.
The Giants also possess three productive young wide receivers in Hakeem Nicks, Steve Smith and Mario Manningham. Nicks leads the way with eight touchdowns and 525 receiving yards. Eli Manning ranks fourth in touchdown passes with 14.
Seattle has a small but quick defense. The Seahawks are yielding just a 54 percent completion rate and have allowed only eight touchdown passes.
The Giants have already knocked out five quarterbacks, including Jay Cutler, Tony Romo and Shaun Hill. That’s bad news for the 35-year-old Hasselbeck and his backup Charlie Whitehurst.
The Seahawks hope to get star rookie offensive left tackle Russell Okung back after he missed last Sunday because of a sprained ankle. However, the Seahawks’ disheveled offensive line suffered two more injuries with Tyler Polumbus and Ben Hamilton each leaving during the Raiders game.
Seattle’s offensive line hasn’t been opening too many holes as the Seahawks average 88.6 yards rushing, which ranks 27th. The Seahawks aren’t at full strength at wide receiver either. Rookie Golden Tate is out with an ankle injury and Mike Williams isn’t 100 percent due to a knee injury.
New York is just 3-6 ATS following a bye and traveling cross-country. The Giants, though, are 18-9 straight-up and ATS in their last 27 away contests.
The Giants have won and covered in their last two road matchups beating Houston, 34-10, as three-point underdogs and defeating Dallas, 41-35, as 3 ½-point ‘dogs. New York outgained the Cowboys, 497-254, and led 38-20 late in the fourth quarter. The combined 76 points flew ‘over’ the 45-point total.
New York also has covered in nine of its last 11 games versus NFC West opponents.
The ‘over’ has cashed in 13 of the Giants’ past 16 games against NFC foes. The ‘over’ is 4-1 in New York’s last five road games. Seattle is 4-1-1 to the ‘under’ in its last six home contests.
There is a 70 percent chance of rain with temperatures in the 40s and five mph winds.