This is a 10* TOTAL BLOCKBUSTER on the UNDER between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Giants.

I write this analysis on Friday morning, the day after the first full day of 2014 preseason NFL action and we saw a bit of everything; low-scoring, sloppy affairs, but also high-scoring shootouts. There are many ways to handicap a professional sporting contest, different methodoligies and approaches and I like to think that I utilize many of them and remain flexible at all times. That said, I have found that when handicapping the NFL preseason, that the most effective method is to look at contests from a situational angle; ie: motivation, scheduling, recent performance and overall team goals. It's hard to say how good the Giants are after their Hall Of Fame Game win over the Bills, but what we can say for sure is that they won. The offense wasn't spectacular and the defense was good enough. I think it's also safe to say that New York will be a little sharper this week as it prepares to take on a Steelers team which comes into the 2014/15 campaign with big expectations. Let's start off by saying the obvious: starters for both teams will see limited, to no time whatsoever in this game, in fact over 100 different players will see extensive time today. There is no doubt that Pittsburgh has the potential to put some points on the board this year with the likes of LeGarrette Blount, Le'Veon Bell, Heath Miller, Dri Archer, Markus Wheaton and Antonio Brown; however, with starting QB Ben Roethlisberger seeing only a couple of snaps (if that), and with many of these other listed players also sitting, Pittsburgh can concentrate on trying to fill in some holes on both sides of the ball today. The same goes for New York's first team, Eli Manning and company will see just a few series before exiting for the backups and wannabes. A big note here, with Giants' RB David Wilson's career now over due to a neck injury, the home side will definitely be focusing on filling that role, it will be trying multiple backs today, including Andre Williams and Rashad Jennings. Giants' backup QB Ryan Nassib looked shaky at times last week, he'll face a Steelers' second team defense hungry to make the roster. Pittsburgh backup QB Bruce Gradkowski will also have his hands full vs. a Giants unit that is looking to make a statement in front of the home town crowd. I'm expecting another "chess match" style of game today, field position will ultimately decide the winner and when all is said I done, I look for this total to sneak UNDER the posted number.

AAA Sports