Underachieving Saints vs. Sweltering Broncos
The Saints and Broncos clash on Sunday afternoon with one team looking downright super and the other team kicking themselves after blowing a game. Online NFL betting fans that had their money on the Saints in last Sunday’s loss to the Redskins must have thought that things were going their way when Reggie Bush ran back a punt to put the Saints ahead by nine points.
Then the lack of three defensive starters caught up with New Orleans, rookie cornerback Tracey Poter let Santana Moss get behind him, and the Saints ended up losing the game by five points. How awful was that? The online betting line was New Orleans – 1 ½. They definitely lost against the spread in Washington.
The Denver Broncos needed a bad call by referee Ed Hochuli in order to secure their victory against the San Diego Chargers. The Broncos are 2 and 0 for the first time in a long time. Their defense was shredded last week by Darren Sproles, Philip Rivers, and the San Diego offense minus LaDanian Tomlinson.
Online football betting fans had better take a closer look at this Broncos’ defense. They face another tough running back in Reggie Bush this week who is a bigger Darren Sproles.
Here are the BetUS online sportsbook betting odds in this game.
New Orleans Saints + 6 – 110 + 200 O 52 – 110
Denver Broncos – 6 – 110 – 240 U 52 – 110
Here are a few online wagering trends that might help us find a good online bet in this game.
The New Orleans Saints are 5 and 2 against the spread in their last 7 games following an against the spread loss.
The New Orleans Saints are 9 and 4 against the spread in their last 13 road games versus a team with a winning record.
The Denver Broncos are 2-11-1 against the spread in their last 14 games following a straight up win.
The Denver Broncos are 4-1-1 against the spread in their last 6 games at home.
The key in this game is going to be injuries to the Saints’ defensive secondary. With starter Mike McKenzie back, should he return, the Saints’ secondary becomes much better than the one on display in Washington. Profitable online betting requires some understanding of how football is played.
Defensively, the Saints have a terrific front seven anchored by Jonothan Vilma at the middle linebacking position. Vilma had 17 tackles in the loss to the Redskins. If McKenzie returns and the Saints get pressure onto Denver quarterback Jay Cutler with only four rushers than the Saints can drop Vilma into a Cover 2 defense. From an online sportsbook betting point-of-view, teams that can regularly play the Cover 2 without getting burned are difficult teams to make online bets against.
Such is the case with the Saints. The Broncos are a fantastic offensive team. They showed that offensively they are one of the best in the NFL. Defensively, I question how good they actually are after the Chargers made a comeback in their last game. The Broncos will have to find a way to cause some turnovers if they expect to keep Drew Brees and Reggie Bush out of the end zone. But they do have a good chance of doing that should they pressure Brees into bad throws.
My gut tells me that the Saints are too good to warrant the 6 point online betting spread. New Orleans should be smarting after that loss to Washington. Coach Sean Payton just received an extension. The Saints should be able to keep this game close. One thing to note is that New Orleans opened as a 5 ½ point underdog. Now they are a 6 point online betting underdog.
Free Prediction:
Still, I have to take the Saints at that online wagering line. They have too many weapons on offense and their defense should be healthier this week.
