Posted on 1/18/2008 6:34:52 PM

Football Betting – Eli Manning’s Passing Yards

By Charles Jay

Eli Manning is starting to get a lot of respect from the media and Giants fans right now, as he has been almost flawless in playoff action. Can the only Manning left standing in the NFL post-season continue to throw the football with efficiency in the NFC title game, where his Giants are a 7.5-point underdog to the Green Bay Packers, as posted in the BetUS NFL betting odds?

BetUS NFL Betting Prop

NFC Championship Game -- January 20

ELI MANNING

Over 210.5 passing yards -120

Under 210.5 passing yards -120

Manning threw for 3336 yards in the regular season. That's an average of 208.5 per game. On the road he threw for 1714 yards, which is 214 a game. I guess that would make sense to an extent, because the Giants played better on the road. But his numbers away from home were not as proportionately better as the Giants' performance, when you consider that New York won its last seven road games. Manning threw for 1622 yards and 13 TD's with 11 INT's at the Meadowlands and aside from the 1714 road yards, he tossed nine picks against 10 TD's away from home (one of those games was in London). He threw for 211 yards against Green Bay in the second game of the season under what were better conditions than he'll face in Lambeau Field.

It is in the playoffs, with two road wins, that Manning is drawing an awful lot of praise. The headline in the New York Times reads, "Manning Appears to be Evolving into the Special One." In the post-season thus far, Manning has thrown four touchdown passes without an interception. He's completed 32 out of 45 passes. That 71% accuracy, way up from his season figure of 56%. But those passes have gone for 348 yards. That's 7.7 yards an attempt, which is not bad, but it's also 174 yards a game. It is clear that the Giants are winning not just because Manning isn't making mistakes, but because they can rush the passer, play defense and run the ball.

We are not overly concerned with whether Manning throws an interception, or even whether his team is able to win or cover in this game. We don't care how he "manages the game." The matter at hand is the passing yards, and toward that end, we also want to point to his playoff average, which is 155.5 yards a game. Can Manning greatly exceed that number, or even his season average, in four-degree weather on Sunday? We think not.

We're moving with the "under" here. That's UNDER 210.5 passing yards, as it is posted in the BetUS NFL betting odds.

JAY'S PLAY: UNDER 210.5 YARDS (-120) ***

(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)

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The 2007 NFL betting season is here in full force! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The BetUS sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join BetUS today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLII and beyond!

(Charles Jay of TotalActionExtra.com is a member of the NFL too - that is, "not for long" if you don't get results. He is now a regular contributor to the BetUS.com Locker Room)