Saints Rams Line

Written by Steve Janus - Google +

This New Orleans Saints will look to keep hold of their NFC South lead when they go on the road to take on the winless St Louis Rams on Sunday. The Saints had no trouble against the winless Indianapolis Colts on Sunday Night Football, cruising to a 62-7 win. The Rams went on the road and got blown out by the Dallas Cowboys 34-7. It was the fourth time this season they were beat by at least 18-points.

Taking a look at the week 8 spreads, oddsmakers currently have New Orleans favored by 13-points over St Louis with the total set at 47.5 points.

New Orleans Saints:

While no one really expected the Saints to lose to the Colts last week, few could have imagined a 55-point blowout win. New Orleans played about as well as you can play on both sides of the ball. They outgained the Colts 557 to 252 in total yards, had just one penalty the entire game, and were +3 in turnovers (42-yard interception return for a TD). The key for the Saints going into their game against the Rams, is to not be too over confident against a team that hasn’t won a game. If the come in focused and ready to play, they should have no trouble coming away with a win.

Drew Brees was unbelievable in the win over the Colts. He completed 31 of 35 attempts for 325 yards and five touchdowns. It was the third time he has thrown for 300 yards and five touchdowns without an interception in his career. Only Tom Brady has more with 4 such performances. Wide out Marques Colston and tight end Jimmy Graham each finished the game with two touchdowns.

Brees may not have to air it out much this week. St Louis is a respectable 13th against the pass (226.5 ypg), but are dead last against the run (183.8 ypg).

The Saints had no trouble taking advantage of the Colts weak run defense. Mark Ingram finished with 91 yards on 14 attempts, Darren Sproles had 88 yards and touchdown, and Pierre Thomas chipped in 57 yards. Sproles and Thomas were also a huge part of the passing game. Thomas had five catches for 68 yards and Sproles had six for 19 and another touchdown. One thing to watch for is Ingram had to leave the game early with a heel injury and is listed as questionable on the injury report.

St Louis Rams:

The Rams could be in for another blowout loss if starting quarterback Sam Bradford is unable to play for a second straight week. Bradford injured his ankle in the loss to Green Bay, which forced veteran A.J. Feeley to step in and start against the Cowboys. Feeley finished 20 of 33 for 196 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. Bradford threw for 328 yards against the Packers, and everyone is excited to see how he will mesh with new wide out Brandon Lloyd. In his first game after bring traded over from the Broncos, Lloyd finished with six catches for 74 yards. His 12 targets make it pretty clear that they plan on getting him involved a lot in this offense.

While the Rams didn’t have a lot to be positive about offensively, they did get a solid effort out of running back Steven Jackson, who had 70 yards and a touchdown on 18 attempts. Jackson has yet to really take off in this offense in 2011, but a lot of that has to do with an early injury and this team playing from behind in just about every game . This offense could start to show some life once Bradford returns. I think the Rams really need to lean on Jackson this week, especially early in the game. New Orleans allowed Delone Carter to rush for 89 yards on just 10 attempts. If they can get the running game going, they can slow down the Saints pass rush and most importantly keep their defense off the field.

While the Rams have shown no signs of life in 2011, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they kept this game close, especially if Bradford is able to play. The Saints are a lot better team at home than they are on the road, and Brees and this offense had a couple of really bad games on the road against some bad teams in 2010. I expect this young Rams team to continue to play hard until they get their first win of the season.