The easiest play of the year thus far is New England over New Orleans. If you don’t believe me, listen to the facts:
- Saints are 10-0, but it is smoke and mirrors. The combined records of the Saints victims this season is 37-64 (in other words the average team the beat this year would finish the season at 6-10)
- The Pats are 7-3. The combined records of the pats opponents are 46-53 (the average opponent would end the season 7-9, to 8-8)
- Now the above is not a huge difference, though a definite argument for the pats; not a big diff until you look at what types of teams they beat, or lost to:
The Pats ave opponent was rated 19.2 on Offense, and 16.3 on Defense. The Saints ave opponent rated 18.8 (slightly better than Pats opponents), and 18.9 on Defense (clearly inferior to Pats opponents)
* Both teams have faced 3 opponents with winning records, but Pats faced 8 teams that are 4-6 or better, while the Saints only faced 5 opponents that are 6-4 or better.
- The pats have the 2nd rated Offense, and 6th rated Defense in the nfl. The Saints have the 6th rated offense, and 15th rated defense. The Pats are rated higher on both sides of the ball while facing clearly better opponents.
- The Pats have the 2nd rated pass offense, while the Saints are rated 6th…. All the while the Pats faced the tougher defenses
In Short; the Pats have faced better quality opponents, while rating higher on both sides of the ball. The Saints have the better produced running game, but that could easily be because the Pats have not found anyone lately to slow down their passing game, and did not have to run. The pats have Brady, who has proven he can win the big games, Brees has never won the big games, a few mediocre games maybe. The Pats have ‘cheat-a-chek’ (bill) at the helm, and he loves Monday nights, and will out smart Peyton many times over. The absolute best teams the Saints beat this season are the Giants (not too good), and Philly (who was also beaten by the raiders)…. The Pats beat Indy like red headed step children, and let them come back… The Pats are still embarrassed about that Indy game, and want to make it right in front of a national crowd. All the pressure is on the Saints; trying to prove they can beat a real team, and trying to stay undefeated….. guys, the betting public will keep the line in favor of the Saints, and this is a money game if your bookie can let you give the saints up to 10 pts from the line: moving the line from Pats +3 to Pats -7 you might be able to get a line of +800 ($100 to win $800)