Week 2 ends under the Monday night lights, and the Giants vs Rams number spent the day walking toward New York: 8.5, then 8, then 7.5, then 7 a couple of hours before the show. Kickoff is Monday, September 21 at 8:15 PM ET in Los Angeles, CA, with the Rams at -7 and a total of 48. That move is what split the guys on the NFL Picks Week 2 episode. Sean Green read it as a better price on the better team. Ryan Kramer read it as a sign of where the money is, and took the points anyway.
Giants vs Rams Odds
Rams -7 at home with a total of 48. The spread was 8.5 earlier in the week before it went to 8, then 7.5, then down to 7 shortly before the guys recorded.
Our Picks
- Ryan Kramer (@KramerCentric): NYG +7
- Sean Green (@SeanTGreen): LAR -7
Ryan opens with the run game. He thinks the way the Niners went after the Rams, pounding the rock and attacking that defensive line, is still on the menu, and he wants to see what round two of the Giants’ retooled offense looks like before he talks himself out of it. He also passed along an analyst take he had heard about the Rams not deploying their imported cornerbacks well, and wondered how much the Los Angeles defensive plan has to change against an opponent that plans to run it on purpose.
His own worry is the other side of the ball. The Giants gave up a big day to Dallas’ receivers and flagged themselves repeatedly doing it, and now the assignment is Puka and Davante Adams. So the pressure has to get there. Ryan liked what the Giants’ edge rushers did in week one, which produced the one genuine disagreement of the segment: he pitched his rookie edge as one of the best graded rushers of the weekend, Sean pulled up total pressures and pointed out he was not in the top six, and Ryan’s answer was that single-game pressure counts level out over a season.
Sean’s case is situational and he did not budge off it. He cited the Rams at 8-1 ATS after a straight-up loss and their head coach at 11-6 ATS after losing as a favorite, both numbers he read on air. He also does not buy the travel excuse as a Giants asset, since the Rams were only in Australia for about a day and now get a long runway to prepare, while a New York team is the one flying west for a late kickoff. He is not calling the Rams a Super Bowl team, just a competent one that gives you a real effort this early in the season.
They agreed on one thing, which is that the Rams offense looked out of sync and jet-lagged over there. Ryan went further and said he is worried Stafford does not finish this game, and that losing him would tell you plenty about how fragile this roster still is. Sean’s read was that the ugly performance is precisely what makes this a spot, since the Rams pulled starters, got rest, and come back annoyed. Then they spent a while on the crowd, Ryan insisting SoFi turns into a Giants home game because he has tickets and road games get filled by locals, Sean doubting Giants fans travel at all. Ryan’s closing stat: the Giants’ young quarterback is undefeated when Ryan is in the building.
Hear the full breakdown on the NFL Picks Week 2 episode, or listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Watch every game on YouTube, and download the SGPN app at sg.pn/links. See all our NFL Picks.
