NFL Betting Preview
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Baltimore Ravens vs New Orleans Saints In Week 8 of the NFL Schedule, the Baltimore Ravens travel to the house that hope built in the Big Easy to face the surging New Orleans Saints. The 4-2 Ravens come back from a bye week that saw the firing of offensive coordinator Jim Fassel, hand the play call duties to the head coach. The Saints seem pre-destined this year for greatness. The 5-1 team is clicking under their rookie head coach and have yet to suffer a loss at home, a feat matched only in the NFC by the undefeated Bears. Raven's coach Brian Billick will be looking for an invigorated team of veterans to come out on Sunday and silence a team filled with youthful bravado. Just to keep in mind, a 6-1 Saints team is almost assured some consideration in the playoffs…scary. The Ravens have had trouble getting points on the board. This is nothing new for a team that leans heavily on its offense to win games. However when you are 22nd in the league with just over 18 points per game and you want to make the playoffs, something's got to give. Many think that it is just the wrong mix in Baltimore. An aging veteran at QB in Steve McNair gives the team leadership but lack of mobility. Venerable Jamal Lewis at running back provides a consistent north south battering ram, but not the big play speed of years past. Lewis does like to run indoors however averaging 112 yards per game in his last three indoor contests. But he must see improvement on his 3.6 ypc average if the Saints defense is expected to respect the running game of the Ravens and not just blitz McNair, who is coming back after concussion.The Saints are the new America's Team. America's young team may be more applicable with major offensive production coming out of their two star rookie players. Reggie Bush has lived up to billing in his first year and leads all running backs with 38 receptions out of the back field. WR Marques Colston has been a sweet surprise for Coach Sean Payton. He is the top rookie wide out with 414 yards and 4 TDs. The most impressive thing one can see about this Saints team and what will most likely propel them to their best record in history is chemistry and balance. New Orleans has the feel of a team, not a group of players. The unselfish ability of Bush and staple running back Deuce McAllister to share carries for the team benefit is a model of how teams can use multi tier talent at one position and reap benefits, benefits like a conference title…scary. New Orleans -2.5 |