SPORTS N STUFF

Super Bowl betting players will be looking for any edge they can before making a wager on the outcome of Super Bowl XLVI, and the injury report is always important in how you make your picks. Here is a look at the injury report as of Friday morning.

What: NFL Betting
When: Sunday, February 5th, 6:20 PM ET
Where: Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN

New York Giants

It appears as though tight end Jake Ballard (knee) is now 100% healthy after shedding an injury that has been bothering him over the last few weeks. The Giants will need him to be at the top of his game as their receivers, Victor Cruz, Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham, will get a lot of attention from the Patriots defense and that means there should be holes for Ballard over the middle. Nicks (shoulder) has been ailing himself and was listed as questionable a couple of days ago, but he says hell be lining up and that gives us the first lesson of the Super Bowl injury report: take all reports with a grain of salt. Everyone is probably hurt a little at this point in the season, but it would take a missing limb to get these players to miss out on the biggest game of their career.

Such as linebacker Jacquian Williams (foot), who was wearing a walking boot earlier in the week, but that is now gone. Williams starts for the Giants on defense, and he made a couple of big plays on special teams against San Francisco in the NFC championship game. Running back Ahmad Bradshaw (foot) practiced on a Wednesday for the first time since earlier this season, just to see if he would hold up and there appeared to be no problems, although there are no reports from Thursdays practice. There was a rumor that Bradshaw needed surgery on his foot in the offseason, but he has nixed the idea and has just come to grips with the fact that hell play in pain for the rest of his career. It should also mean more work for Brandon Jacobs, who is due for a $500,000 in March if the Giants dont release him. A big performance in the Super Bowl would not only boost the Giants NFL betting chances, but it would probably increase Jacobs chances of staying with the team.

New England Patriots

Rob Gronkowski (ankle) has been the talk of Super Bowl week with his injury, and it was headline news when he was seen without a walking boot earlier this week. But many are saying that “Gronk” wouldnt be playing if it wasnt Super Bowl weekend, so you have to gauge for yourself just how healthy the Patriots massive tight end is. He is a huge factor in the New England offense, especially in the red zone, and that could be more touches for fellow tight end Aaron Hernandez, who lines up all over the offense. He was limited in practice on Wednesday and the Patriots are also trying to fit Gronkowski with a cleat that helps alleviate some of the pressure from his high-ankle sprain.

Gronkowski seems to be the only major injury worry for the Patriots, but that is a huge worry to have. You have to remember that Terrell Owens played on a bad ankle for Philadelphia when the Eagles lost to the Patriots at Super Bowl XXXIX in 2005, so it is possible. Its all about how much pain Gronkowski can take, but his teammates are pretty confident that wont see a large drop-off in his production, although the story has been out there and you know the Giants are going to target that part of his body. If anything, Gronkowski can still be an effective decoy in the passing game and even after he got hurt against Baltimore, he could still block, so that could actually help the Patriots as they try to slow down the New York front four on their defensive line.

The Final Word

The NFL betting line for the game is still 2.5 points favoring the Patriots, so the Gronkowski injury hasnt impacted the odds….yet. For the most part, these two teams are healthy and ready to do for Super XLVI in Indianapolis, so there should be no excuses when one team loses. Even the Gronkowski injury shouldnt play as big of a role as many think it will; New England is a veteran team that has been here before and they know how to manage themselves in big games.

But as always, be sure to check your favorite sports sites for any last-minute news before making your sports betting picks on Sunday.