Manning Bowl is set for primetime

September 19, 2010

The second installment of the Manning Bowl is set for primetime; the Giants and Colts will square off for the first time in four years on Sunday night.

Peyton got the best of Eli in September of 2006 and Indianapolis went on to win the Super Bowl that season. The Colts are looking for similar good fortune to regain some momentum following a 34-24 loss at Houston in Week 1. The Giants are bidding for a 2-0 start following a 31-18 home victory over Carolina.

LINE MOVEMENT

The line opened with the Colts as 5.5-point favorites at most betting sites and it has stayed consistent within a one-point range between 4.5 and 5.5 over the past week. The total opened at 47.5 and has slowly made its way up to 48.5.

INJURY REPORT

It’s early in the season but injuries could be major factor on Sunday night. The Giants are listing both defensive end Osi Umenyiora and wide receiver Hakeem Nicks as questionable. Umenyiora has had some minor knee swelling and Nicks, who caught three touchdowns last week, is dealing with an ankle problem. Coach Tom Coughlin says both players will be game-time decisions.

Maybe even more crucial to New York’s success—considering the prolific passing attack of its Week 2 opponent—is the availability of safety Aaron Ross, who missed the season opener with a foot injury. Ross, however, is listed as probable on the injury report and expected to play.

The news is not particularly good for the Colts. Safety Bob Sanders is out indefinitely with a bicep injury and wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez will miss Sunday’s game due to a high ankle sprain. Linebacker Gary Brackett (back) and defensive lineman Robert Mathis (ankle) are listed as questionable and sat out Friday’s practice, although they were able to practice earlier in the week.

NOT ON THE INJURY REPORT BUT....

SB Nation Indianapolis Colts blog Stampede Blue is reporting that a credible source tells them Peyton Manning’s neck is giving him some problems. The injury isn’t something that’s going to keep Manning off the field. He owns the longest consecutive start streak after Brett Favre, so you know the guy’s a gamer.

Manning isn’t on the injury report but he did have surgery on his neck this past offseason. We’re not in the habit of reporting rumors, but we’ve worked a bit with the operators of Stampede Blue and we thought it was worthwhile mentioning.

You can read the complete blog post on Manning’s injury here.

PRIOR ENGAGEMENTS

In Manning Bowl I on September 10, 2006, Peyton’s Colts went on the road and edged Eli’s Giants 26-21.

Eli finished with slightly more impressive stats (20-for-34, 247 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT), but his primary weapons back then—and in that game—were since-departed Tiki Barber, Plaxico Burress, and Jeremy Shockey.

Peyton went 25-for-41 for 276 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Indy’s rushing attack was non-existent in the game, but now-retired Marvin Harrison hauled in nine passes for 113 yards and Dallas Clark—still around—made the touchdown catch.

The Giants and Colts have met only twice in the last eight years and three times in the last 11 years. Interestingly, the road team is both 3-0 SU and 3-0 ATS in the past three meetings, which took place in 1999, 2002, and 2006.

GROUNDED

Something’s gotta give when an Indianapolis defense, that got torched by Arian Foster and the Texans, goes up against a New York rushing attack that failed to do much against Carolina.

Foster ran all over the Colts in Week 1, racking up 231 yards--the most ever against the Colts--and three touchdowns. For the Giants, Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs ran for a combined 120 yards, only eight of which came prior to a clock-eating second half. Take away two of those runs for a combined 61 yards and the numbers would have been ghastly.

“I think you'd have to certainly take that approach,” said Indianapolis coach Jim Caldwell when asked if he thought the Giants would try to exploit his team's run defense in the aftermath of Week 1. “If they look at the film they're certainly going to think, ‘We should be able to run the ball on these guys.’”

But New York knows that the Colts will be especially eager to get back on track. “After a week like that, we know they're going to concentrate more on the run than they probably ever did,” Jacobs explained. “You can't go out there sleeping on them and think that they're just going to lie down again and let you have your way with them.”

ALL IS FE-WELL ON DEFENSE

On the other side of the ball, the Giants were close to dominant last week against Carolina. They limited the Panthers to 89 rushing yards, forced three fumbles (recovering two), made three interceptions and knocked starting quarterback Matt Moore out of the game.

Not a bad debut for new defensive coordinator Perry Fewell.

“He's definitely an enthusiastic guy,” noted defensive end Mathias Kiwanuka. “A lot has been said about that. But his knowledge of the game, his love and his passion for it, it definitely bleeds into every part of this team, not just the defense.”

Fewell used aggressive packages when the Panthers were forced into passing situations, but New York will continue to emphasize stopping the run first.

“Everybody is hungry out there,” added tackle Barry Cofield. “We've got to stop the run and that's a sense of pride. Sacking the quarterback is like our dessert. It's like a treat.”