Bet On NFL Football – New Orleans Saints vs Green Bay Packers Gambling Preview
New Orleans is looking to quickly get the taste of last year’s playoff flop against Seattle out of their mouth.
New Orleans Saints vs Green Bay Packers
Lambeau Field – Green Bay, Wisconsin
Thursday September 8 – 8:30PM
Moneyline: Green Bay -210, New Orleans +175
Spread (ATS): Green Bay -4
Over/Under: 47
Odds courtesy of 5Dimes
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New Orleans
Like Green Bay they have not significantly retooled their squad with flashy free agent additions, instead they have played off their depth letting some key contributors walk (Reggie Bush, Jeremy Shockey), replacing them with very capable younger players (Mark Ingram, Jimmy Walker). New Orleans is a very complete team and this matchup with Green Bay is a great barometer for both teams.
The Saints offense is always an explosion waiting to happen. That is because coach Sean Payton trusts his quarterback – Drew Brees – to be able to figure out when to move the chains and when to go for the jugular with a big play. Bush was usually good for a few of those but replacing him with Mark Ingram in the backfield gives the team a chance at a much more effective ground game and better balance. Especially when they are close to the goal line. I think the Saints offense will be more efficient this season.
The Saints are an underrated defensive team. They were fourth in the NFL last year in yards on defense, slightly ahead of the Packers in fact. They are not feared because they did not make a lot of explosive plays ranking only 18th in sacks and last in interceptions last season. With Gregg Williams as coach you can bet they have put more emphasis on that this year. This is a veteran team with great continuity that should be ready to go regardless of the lockout. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
Green Bay
The Green Bay Packers start the 2011 season as the defending Super Bowl champs and they are loaded better than any team in while to repeat. Last year the overcame multiple injuries to sneak into the playoffs but once they were in they were very impressive on their way to the title. Rather than make a lot of flashy moves this team is expecting good health and good drafting to help them towards another very strong season. It would be no surprise to see them playing deep into the season again.
The Packers are loaded on offense again this year. Any doubts that Aaron Rodgers was an elite quarterback have been erased and with Ryan Grant healthy this year they might have better balance. They are also excited about the return of TE JerMichael Finley and I think the drafting of Randall Cobb adds another nice weapon. As they showed in the playoffs this team can score with any team in the league.
This team is no slouch on defense either. With Clay Matthews scaring the crap out of quarterbacks and a defense that forced more turnovers than anybody last season it is hard to know where you can beat them. If you get one dimensional they will just destroy you…which is why New Orleans will be such a challenging opponent. The Packers will have to not play too raw emotionally in their home opener or else the Saints will take advantage of them. Is it possible the best game of the year could be the first one?
Trends:
Over is 7-2-1 in NO last 10 games in September.
NO are 9-3-1 ATS in their last 13 games on grass.
Under is 9-3 in NO last 12 games in Week 1.
GB are 20-8-1 ATS in their last 29 games overall.
ATS Pick: New Orleans +4
Over/Under Pick: Over
Score Prediction: New Orleans 31 – Green Bay 28
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