Who Dat Gonna Lead New Orleans' Offense In Prop Betting?

NFL News - January 28th, 2010 - Written by John Ritter

While it is not known how Drew Brees will fare in his first Super Bowl, it can be certain that he won't be without a whole lot of options through the air.

As Brees attempts to translate his high-scoring regular season offense to the league's biggest game, Brees carries with him a daunting receiving corps with three legitimate deep threats, a plus tight end, and two running backs who can catch out of the backfield as well as anyone.

Marques Colston, Robert Meacham, Devery Henderson and Jeremy Shockey all had over 500 yards this season, and each averaged at least 12 yards per catch.

Meachem led all scorers with 10 touchdowns, followed by Colston and Bush, who combined for 17 more.

That powerful receiving corps is featured in Bodog's Super Bowl prop betting page, which favors Colston to lead the group in yards and receptions. His initial line is set at five catches and 75 1/2 yards, which is about the same given in the NFC Championship. In that game, Brees was held to only 197 yards, but Bush, Henderson and Pierre Thomas each had a touchdown catch.

Henderson led the team with 39 yards, meaning everyone in the group hit below their projected total. But recent history does little to trump what the group did the entire year, making the Saints the highest-scoring team in the NFL.

Colston has topped 75 1/2 yards seven times this season, three times in the last five games, and caught six passes for 83 yards in the divisional round against the Arizona Cardinals.

Shockey will actually be making his second Super Bowl appearance, although it is understandable if his first trip went unnoticed. He was on the sidelines when the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots in the 2007 championship, saddled due to injury despite insisting he could play. By then, Shockey was unwanted by the team because of contract and playing time disputes, and was later dumped to the Saints for a second- and fifth-round pick.

"[A] lot of people thought I was bitter because I didn't get a chance [to play],'' Shockey said. "Well, hell, of course I was upset. I was hurt. What competitor would not want to play in a game like that?''

Shockey is still aching from knee and ankle ailments this season, and had to basically hobble through the playoffs. But he wouldn't miss this one. Not in the city he spent four years as a member of the Miami Hurricanes, part of the team that won an NCAA-record 58-straight home games and the 2001 National Championship.

"Things happen, but I'm not dwelling on that,'' Shockey said. "I'm dwelling on the fact that we'll be in Miami, my adopted city, so we're all excited about that.''

And then there's the backfield, featuring Bush and Thomas, both who are capable of corralling four or five passes for an upwards of 60 or 70 yards. The duo combined for 637 receiving yards and five scores this season.

Bodog's line for Thomas is at 23 1/2, favoring him to go over, and Bush's is 34 1/2, with greater odds to go over also, according to NFL Player Prop Betting Lines.

In many betting sites leading up to the Super Bowl, some wagers are comparing Brees to former NFL greats who's powerful arms were tested in their first Super Bowls.

In 1987, John Elway made his first appearance with the Denver Broncos as they faced the San Francisco 49ers. Elway threw for 187 yards in just the first half and finished with 304 and a touchdown, but lost 34-20.

Brees is getting -110 odds to pass that total next weekend.

While Elway would eventually go on to win two championships later in his career, Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino threw for 318 yards on 50 attempts in his only appearance.

If Brees were to pass that total, he would not only beat Elway's total, but he would also trigger a +120 payout for beating Marino, according to Bodog.

Kurt Warner currently holds the record for most passing yards in his first Super Bowl (365), and Donovan McNabb is second with 357.

The line for Brees' final passing yards is 300 1/2, and he is favored to go over that with Indianapolis' depleted secondary that is now down to all second- and third-stringers.