Football Betting

New York Giants 2007 Draft Preview

Football Betting Lines

04/04/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Giants have two gaping holes to fill. One is at left tackle, where Luke Petitgout was released (and subsequently became a Buccaneer), and Bob Whitfield retired. Trouble is, the only two tackles with bona fide first-round talent are Joe Thomas (Wisconsin) and Levi Brown (Penn State), both of whom will likely go in the Top 10. Unless the G-Men trade up, drafting an LT will be a reach. It looks a lot like left guard David Diehl will be moving over to protect Eli Manning in 2007. The other problem is in the backfield, where the Giants have no one to replace Tiki Barber's production in the receiving game. Barber averaged 64 catches a year over the final eight seasons of his career, while probable 2007 starter Brandon Jacobs has a grand total of 11 receptions in two NFL seasons, and recent acquisition Reuben Droughns is not known for his pass-catching skills. Other areas that should concern Giants fans are wideout, where the team lacks depth; linebacker, where Antonio Pierce is the only player that has been even remotely consistent over the past two years; and the secondary, where the team has had problems in coverage.

2006 Record: 8-8

First Pick: No. 20

Number of Selections: 8 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7)

RECENT FIRST ROUND HISTORY: 2006 - Mathias Kiwanuka (DE, Boston College); 2005 - none; 2004 - Eli Manning (QB, Ole Miss)*; 2003 - William Joseph (DT, Miami); 2002 - Jeremy Shockey (TE, Miami); 2001 - Will Allen (CB, Syracuse); 2000 - Ron Dayne (RB, Wisconsin); 1999 - Luke Petitgout (OT, Notre Dame); 1998 - Shaun Williams (S, UCLA); 1997 - Ike Hilliard (WR, Florida); 1996 - Cedric Jones (DE, Oklahoma); 1995 - Tyrone Wheatley (RB, Michigan); 1994 - Thomas Lewis (WR, Indiana); 1993 - none; 1992 - Derek Brown (TE, Notre Dame); 1991 - Jarrod Bunch (RB, Michigan); 1990 - Rodney Hampton (RB, Georgia).

*Originally drafted by San Diego, then traded to Giants on draft day in exchange for New York first-round pick Philip Rivers


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FOOTBALL BETTING : Crabtree's base deal: six years, $32 million

Football Betting

In the wake of the news that the 49ers have signed receiver Michael Crabtree after an extended holdout, there has been not a hint of the dollars to be paid to Crabtree.

And since this means that his agent hasn't leaked the numbers, it means that his agent feels no specific motivation to do so.

Possibly because his agent isn't all that thrilled to have his name on the deal.

So the numbers will come from sources other than Crabtree's agent. And we've gotten our mitts into them.

Per a league source, Crabtree has signed a six-year, $32 million contract. (The total includes guaranteed money, base salaries, and the one-time incentive based on achieving minimum playing time.)

The deal also includes $17 million in guaranteed money.

As reported elsewhere, the deal can void to five years based on performance triggers, wiping out a final year base salary of $4 million. But they won't be easily reached.

The source tells us that, in his first four seasons (including 2009), Crabtree must either qualify for two Pro Bowls, or he must qualify for one Pro Bowl in one year and he must participate in 80 percent of the offensive snaps in a separate year in which the team makes the playoffs.

In other words, if in 2010 he qualifies for the Pro Bowl and the team makes the playoffs and he participates in 80 percent of the snaps, he'll still need to make it to the Pro Bowl or achieve the 80-percent/playoffs in another season.

Since the chances of Crabtree making the Pro Bowl or participating in 80 percent of the offensive snaps this year is roughly zero percent, he'll have three years to get it done.

And it won't be easy. Frankly, he'll be hard pressed to make it to one Pro Bowl in three years with the likes of Larry Fitzgerald, Calvin Johnson, Anquan Boldin, Steve Smith, the other Steve Smith, Hakeem Nicks, DeSean Jackson, Johnny Knox, Percy Harvin, Greg Jennings, Roddy White, T.J. Houshmandzadeh in the same conference for sportsbook betting.

So, by all appearances, it's a six-year deal. And at $17 million in guaranteed money, the per-year guarantee is a tepid $2.83 million per year.

There's another problem with the deal -- it has no mid-tier incentive package. Instead, the additional $8 million that Crabtree can earn (pushing the max value to six years, $40 million) requires the kind of unrealistic, mega-star performances that no rookie is likely to ever achieve.

So while the contract paid to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji covers five years and pays $22.5 million, he has the ability (if he's a solid player) to make up the difference between his base deal and Crabtree's five-year, $28 million haul via the mid-tier incentive package in Raji's deal.

And unless Crabtree meets the performance thresholds necessary to void the sixth year, he'll be stuck under contract for another year at a base salary of only $4 million.

There's one other area of concern with the deal. Crabtree, per the source, received no option bonus. Instead, he has significant money tied to a fairly new device known as a "discretionary salary advance," which unlike an opition bonus is subject to forfeiture if Crabtree decides in a year or two that he wants to hold out for a better deal. (We're also told that the 49ers have included language that would make certain escalators subject to forfeiture, too.)

Meanwhile, the deal falls well short of the mark for which Crabtree and agent Eugene Parker were aiming -- the five-year, $38.25 million contract paid by the Raiders to receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the seventh overall pick in the draft.

Even if Crabtree successfully voids the final year, he'll make more than $2 million per year less on average than Heyward-Bey.

Thus, as we explained earlier in the day, this is a deal that Crabtree could have done in July, which would have given him a much better chance of making a contribution to the 49ers during his rookie year.

So while the final outcome can be described as win-win, the broader view suggests that it's really a lose-lose situation.

NFL Betting Lines

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