Saints Favored Big At Home Over Carolina

NFL News - November 3rd, 2009 - Written by Scott

An important NFC South game will take place on Sunday as the New Orleans Saints host the Carolina Panthers. Carolina (3-4) sits in third place in the division behind the first place Saints. New Orleans continued their unbeaten streak on Monday night as they held off Atlanta 35-27. Carolina mounted an important win on Sunday over Arizona 34-21. The Saints will try to keep stride with Indianapolis as the only two undefeated teams in the NFL.

The Saints come into the game with the most explosive offense in the league and are ranked first in scoring with 39 points per game. Their offense, which is averaging a league best 428 yards, is led by quarterback Drew Brees. Brees has passed for 2,006 yards and 16 touchdowns on the year. Running backs Mike Bell, Pierre Thomas, and Reggie Bush lead their rushing attack which is getting 153 yards per game. Thomas leads the group with 405 yards and 4 touchdowns. Marques Colston has emerged as their big play receiver and has 551 yards and 6 touchdowns.

The Saints defense has performed well this year, but is allowing 22 points per game which ranks in the bottom third of the league. Their pass defense has stood out this season and has picked off 16 passes and is allowing only 223 yards per game. They have fared well against the run, but will be challenged by Carolina's strong ground game.

Carolina's offense has been sluggish this year and is only averaging 18 points per game and have only scored 14 offensive touchdowns this season. Quarterback Jake Delhomme has struggled and has passed for only 1,262 yards and 5 touchdowns. He has suffered with turnovers and has thrown 13 interceptions this season. The bright spot for their offense has been in their running game. They are getting 149 yards per game on the ground and are led by DeAngelo Williams. Williams has 619 yards and 5 touchdowns this season. Steve Smith has been their leader at the receiver position and has 414 yards, but only 1 touchdown. Delhomme will need to cut down on his interceptions for them to be successful against the Saints.

The Panthers are allowing 23 points per game. However, they are only allowing 288 total yards which ranks 7th in the league. They also have the top ranked passing defense and are only giving up 160 yards per game. They will definitely be challenged on Sunday by New Orleans' high powered passing attack.

The Saints will be favored by 14 at home over Carolina according to our NFL Week 9 Betting Odds and the over/under is set at 52. The Panthers are 2-6 ATS in its last 8 games and the total has gone over in 6 of New Orleans' last 8 games.

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