Tom Brady Is Limping; Should the Spread Be Shrinking?

Should the Patriots be favored by 14 points if Tom Brady is hobbling around on a walking boot?

Even true-blue Giants fans have to admit that they’ll need a break to beat the Patriots. The Brady injury probably isn’t it. He’ll almost certainly be ready by the Super Bowl. (Besides, Pats fans needn’t fret. They’ve got Matt Cassel primed to go as the backup. And no worries, the immortal Matt Gutierrez can play if Cassel is injured.)

But will Brady be limited? Maybe. He was photographed and filmed in New York City yesterday with his girlfriend, the model Gisele Bundchen, and he was favoring his right foot. The Boston Globe has the details here.

An excerpt:

Brady appeared to be limping Sunday as he left his news conference following the Patriots’ 21-12 victory over the San Diego Chargers in the AFC Championship game.

Yesterday, Brady did not directly answer a question about being hurt during his regular appearance on WEEI’s “Dennis and Callahan” show. When he was asked about having his leg looked at on the sideline early in the fourth quarter, he replied:

“There are always kind of bumps and bruises. I’ll be ready for the Super Bowl. I’m not missing this one. I’d have to be on a stretcher to miss this one. There will just be some treatment this week and, like I said, games like this you get a little nicked up, but it’s nothing serious.”

Calling a team that is 18-0 fortunate is pushing it, but the Patriots were ripe for an upset Sunday, and they faced a San Diego team with an injured LaDainian Tomlinson (limited to two series) and a practically crippled Philip Rivers. It turns out that Rivers not only played with a fully torn A.C.L., but he also had a secret arthroscopic knee surgery six days before the game. The San Diego Union-Tribune has the story here.

Feel free to play Las Vegas oddsmaker. The Brady injury is far from the only thing to consider. The Giants have been beating the odds for a while now. What do you think the point spread should be?