Re: OK I have to predict it. 16-0 for the Saints
oddsmaker now says Saints chances of 16-0 are 8 to 1
Now my 10-1 bet is not looking so dumb is it?
http://community.foxsports.com/oddsshark/blog/2009/11/05/sportsbooks_say_saints_aint_going_perfect
Thursday, November 5, 2009, 03:25 PM EST [
NFL]
New Orleans is 7-0 and dominating teams like the 2007 Patriots dominated teams.
Not only have the Saints won, but they have covered big spreads in the process, although they failed to cover 12 points at home Monday against the Falcons. They face another big number (-14.5 as the consensus opening line at OddsShark.com) at home this week.
But when discussions begin about the Saints duplicating New England?s 16-0 season and running the table in 2009, oddsmakers say it ain?t gonna happen for the Saints.
?The question invariably starts being asked - can they duplicate the Patriots perfect season of 2007?" Richard Gardner of sportsbook Bodog said Thursday, just before
http://community.foxsports.com/oddsshark/admin/ <a href=posting odds on the Saints perfect season.
"Our analysis and number-crunching tells us that, despite their easy schedule, they still have two very tough opponents and the chances of them going 16-0 would, in effect, be 8/1. We will let our bettors decide what the answer is," said
Gardner.
So a $100 wager on a perfect season would pay you $800 on the first Sunday of January. Can the Saints stay perfect for two months?
Of course one of those tough opponents is the aforementioned Pats, who visit the Superdome in Week 12. If New Orleans is 10-0 at that time, you can expect the Patriots to passionately defend their own legacy of perfection.
The other ?tough? game ? on paper anyway - is Dallas, also at home, in Week 15. Dallas visits Philly this week for the Sunday night game as a small dog of 3 points. However, OddsShark.com analyst Mike Pickett figures that will climb a point or more when Brian Westbrook is declared active.
Other than those two matches, it looks like relatively smooth marching for the Saints. They have winless Tampa Bay in Weeks 11 and 16 and dates with the Rams and Redskins, arguably two of the league?s worst teams.
They face Atlanta again and have a home-and-home set with Carolina. On the surface, the struggling Panthers (3-4) look like cupcake games as well.
But on the heels of an upset win at Arizona where they won outright as a double-digit underdog, can Carolina put the ?ain?t? back in Saints this week? Carolina opened as 14.5-point road underdogs, but they get the Saints on a short week and have dominated at the Superdome.
The number has been
bet down to -13, as football bettors, who watched the Saints barely escape the Falcons, smell against-the-spread trouble. Fans are also wondering if Carolina?s five interceptions signaled a poor game from Kurt Warner or an improving secondary and defense.
The Panthers, albeit with stronger rosters than this 2009 edition, have won seven straight at New Orleans. They are 8-0 ATS in their past eight visits to the Mardi Gras town.