Patriots at Saints Line

Written by Jack Jones

The Monday Night game has all the makings of a classic shootout as the New England Patriots take on the New Orleans Saints. These two teams feature two of the premiere quarterbacks in the NFL and offenses that can score points in a hurry. New Orleans opened up as a 3 point home favorite earlier in the week but sharp wise guy action has come in on New England plus the points. The line now stands at New Orleans minus 1.5 at most off-shore books. We can talk all we want about the offenses but this game will be decided by which ever team’s defense comes up big and makes a stand against the opposing quarterback.

New England ranks second in the NFL in total yards per game and 3rd in the league in points per game. They are averaging 416 yards of offense per contest and a whopping 29 points a game. Their passing attack is dangerous as ever now that Tom Brady is back playing at a very high level. He has two great weapons in Randy Moss and Wes Welker. Also, New England is starting to run the ball much more effectively with Laurence Moroney playing well, making this team even more explosive. Statistically, New Orleans is a middle of the road defense. They rank 17th in total yards and 13th in points allowed. Furthermore, their secondary is giving up 214 yards a game through the air. The Saints’ defense has been hampered with injuries in recent weeks, particularly in the secondary. They are expected to get some key players back for Monday night’s game but they will have to play much better in order to win this game.

As for the New Orleans offense, they are the best in the NFL both in total yards and points per game. Drew Brees can beat you with his arm and the plethora of weapons he has at the wide receiver position or the Saints can pound the rock with Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell. They are an extremely balanced team and opposing defenses can’t seem to find a way to stop an offense that is being compared to the St. Louis Rams of the early part of this century. If there is one team that contain the Saints playmakers it is the New England Patriots. New England is allowing just 296 yards a game and are also ranked second in the NFL in points allowed. Opponents are averaging just 16.4 points per game. The Patriots are known for their creative schemes to confuse opposing quarterbacks with multiple blitz packages and different alignments. New England definitely has the edge as far as defense goes but they will have to be able to avoid another 4th quarter collapse like they had against Peyton Manning and the Colts.

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