Venue/ Stadium: Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC
Cam Newton has gotten off to a stellar rookie season, but even though he has passed for 1,386 yards with 5 TD’s he has been picked off 5 times and only led the Panthers to one win.
Time/Date: 1 PM EST Sunday, October 9, 2011
NCAA Odds From: BetOnline.com
Moneyline: Saints -285 / Panthers +240
Spread (ATS): Saints -6.5
Over/Under: 51
New Orleans Saints vs. Carolina Panthers Preview
The Saints have gotten over their opening season loss of the season to the Super Bowl champion Packers and have reeled off 3 straight wins averaging 31 points in those wins. NFL lines have the visiting Saints as 6.5-point favorites with a total of 51.
In their last games the Saints beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 23-10 on the road and the Panthers were in Chicago and lost to the Bears 34-29.
While the Panthers gave up 34 points to the Bears last week they defended the pass well and have the 6th ranked pass D in the league. However, it will be hard to keep that up facing Drew Brees and a Saints’ passing offense that ranks 2nd in the league. Brees has a great WR corps and, unlike last season, he is not turning the ball over.
Where the Panthers’ defense has major issues is against the run. Last week they gave up over 200 rushing yards to Chicago RB Matt Forte. That is not good with a much-improved New Orleans’ rushing offense that ranks a legit 10th in the league. Rookie Mark Ingram leads the Saints in rushing yards, but he is only averaging 3.5 yards per carry and 2nd leading rusher Pierre Thomas is averaging a solid 5 yards per carry. The Panthers have given up at least 28 points in 3 of their first 4 games and unless they play good all-around D Newton will have to play a stellar game for Carolina to win.
Newton has done it all for the Panthers this season and has accounted for all the team’s TD’s on the season. He will need help from RB Jonathan Stewart in this game, who played well in the loss to Chicago. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
The New Orleans’ pass defense only ranks 19th in the league and their 2 main worries are Panthers’ WR Steve Smith and TE Greg Olsen, who are both averaging around 20 yards per reception.
The Saints’ run defense has been solid this season ranking 9th in the league and keeping Newton and Stewart in check will be their main goal this Sunday.
Betting Trends
Both of these 2 teams are 3-1 ATS and the Panthers have an O/U record of 3-1 with the Saints having an O/U record of 2-2.
The Saints are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 road games, 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games as a road favorite, and has an Over record of 5-2 in their last 7 road games.
The Panthers are 3-9 ATS in their last 12 games as an underdog, 1-7 ATS in their last 8 games facing teams with a winning record.
Jason’s Pick: Newton is legit and he has a bright future, but the Panthers cannot stop the run and there is not way they will be able to contain a red-hot Drew Brees. Take the Saints to win and cover the spread and with both offenses able to get in the end zone the total will go Over.
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