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Raiders vs. Saints Spread

The New Orleans Saints will look to climb back to .500 this weekend when they host the Oakland Raiders in week 6 of the NFL. Though there has been nothing but praise about how the Saints offense has been playing their record doesn’t show it at just 2-3, on the other hand the Raiders (1-4) come in off their bye week, but have lost the last two times they have stepped on the field. During the time off a new face is in charge, as Tom Cable is the teams new head coach after the firing of Lane Kiffin. The oddsmakers aren’t giving the Raiders much of a chance to win this weekend, as they come in 7 point underdogs to the Saints.

Taking a look at the Raiders you get a team that has really enjoyed the addition of rookie running back Darren McFadden. The Raiders currently have the 3rd team rushing average at 170 yards a game, but with that the pass offense has been pathetic. JaMarcus Russell is completing just 54% of his passes and has just 668 yards on the season. The problem with this is he really doesn’t have anyone to throw the football to. Javon Walker has not been the answer, and this team remains without a go to guy. The Raiders have put a scare into both Buffalo and San Diego in their last two games, as they have seen leads of more than 10 points disappear in both games. If the Raiders want a chance in this one they better be ready to play 4 quarters on both sides of the ball.

The Raiders defense is the real concern on playing a whole game, as they have given up a unbelievable 64 points in the 4th quarter, thats pretty much 60% of the points they have given up all season. So whether this team is just physically not ready to play a full 60 mins or what, but they have to figure out a way to play better when it matters late in the game. Maybe the new coach will get that turned around, but it might be tough stopping the Saints explosive attack this weekend.

Looking at the Saints they have to really like what this team is doing on the offensive side of things, as they come in averaging 338 yards a game. Drew Brees has looked great attacking teams deep, but the one concern is the 6 interceptions he has thrown this season, but his 1673 yards and 9 scores are plenty to keep everyone happy. Reggie Bush is starting to really make a big impact on the games, as his ability in the return game, and catching the ball out of the backfield have teams focusing on him every time the Saints get the ball. There is no question this offense is good, but if Deuce McAllister continues to play a bigger role, this team will get even better, and it will really help their redzone attack. Though the Raiders can play some tough defense, we don’t think they have the talent to stick with the Saints offensive players.

Its not like the defense is playing bad, its just the Saints have been on the wrong side of some really close games. In their 3 losses they have lost by a combined 10 points, so this team could easily be above .500 right now. The strength of the defense has been the run defense, as they are giving up just 80 yards on the ground, and last week they shut down Adrian Peterson, allowing him to get just 32 yards on 21 carries. If the defense can start making some plays look for the Saints to pull away from teams, but until them expect some pretty tough battles.