Moore: Seahawks primed for a bounce-back game against Giants

Jim Moore expects Russell Wilson's throws and footwork to be sharp after a disappointing showing last week. (AP)

I can’t understand why the Seahawks are favored by only nine points over the Giants. Tom Coughlin’s team looked terrible last Monday against the Colts, and that was a home game.

Now New York flies across the country on a short week to play against a team that has picked off Eli Manning 12 times in six career games, including five last year in a 23-0 Seahawks’ win at Met Life Stadium.

The Giants are the more desperate team at 3-5. You can look at them in one of two ways – maybe they’ll muster up one final terrific effort in a bid to make the playoffs. Or more likely, last Monday’s loss to the Colts was the first of many on their way to a 5-11 season and dismissal of their head coach.

As was the case last week against the Raiders, this game shapes up as a statistical mismatch. Almost everything points to a Seattle win. The Giants are near the bottom of the league in every defensive category and are especially vulnerable against the pass, ranking 28th.

Injuries have decimated a secondary that was supposed to be one of the best in the league. The latest casualty – Prince Amukamara to a torn bicep Monday night.

It’s a perfect spot for Russell Wilson to bounce back from a surprisingly ineffective performance in the 30-24 win over Oakland. If I’m a Giants fan, I’m already worried about my secondary. And I’d be doubly concerned, knowing that Wilson spent a lot of time studying film this week and will no doubt correct his footwork and make better throws on Sunday.

For the sake of an impartial post, if you need some reasons to like the Giants and 9, here they are:

• The Seahawks were favored by 13 over the winless Raiders and won by 6. The Giants aren’t worse than the Raiders, are they?

• The Seahawks will have Max Unger and Russell Okung back but are still an injured bunch and have one new player who won’t play this week in James Carpenter.

• Seattle’s offense has not been consistently productive, and part of that is injuries on the offensive line, and part of it is a receiving corps, the quality of which I wonder about. Plus as good as Kevin Norwood and Paul Richardson are supposed to be, they’re still rookies. The Seahawks’ passing game got only 73 yards from their receivers last week.

• The Giants have a top-notch tight end in Larry Donnell, who had three TDs against the Redskins. The Seahawks have allowed 10 TDs to tight ends this season.

Put those reasons aside. Genuine concerns start next week when the Seahawks open a six-game stretch against Kansas City, Arizona, San Francisco and Philadelphia before facing San Francisco and Arizona again. This week will be a breeze in comparison.

Prediction: Seahawks 35, Giants 10

Season record against the spread: 3-5

The Go 2 Guy also writes for SeattlePI.com and KitsapSun.com. You can reach Jim at jimmoorethego2guy@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter @cougsgo.