Week 10 NFL Betting - New Orleans Saints vs. St. Louis Rams

Has everything in your life gone so well that you get worried the bow is about to break? I’m starting to get that feeling about the Saints. Granted, they’re undefeated and 6-0-1 ATS on the road, but something about playing catch-up in their last two games has me mortified about them. I don’t know what it is. Does this mean that the line against St. Louis is inflated? No! The Rams stink. It’s more that I’m not sure that New Orleans can actually deal with a loss at this point.

This is more or less coming out of what happened to Denver. After going 6-0 SU to start the most unrealistic winning-streak in the league, the Broncos got decimated by the Ravens and throttled by the Steelers in back-to-back games. The Saints have protected enormous leads. They’ve come from behind and hung tough with people trying to play catch-up. But can they actually handle a loss?

The Rams will hardly be the team to hand it to them. They have a league worst -18.0 point differential and the third worst home passing defense (257.7 yards allowed per game). I’m not sure what the plan in St. Louis is exactly.

Marc Bulger is about two seasons away from imploding physical, Steven Jackson can probably play three more seasons at this level and Donnie Avery is their only serviceable receiver. Even with a top pick in next year’s draft, they’ll have so many areas to address. In the immediate future, finding a way to cover a double-digit spread is the first step to figuring out the mess in St. Louis.

New Orleans Saints (8-0) vs. St. Louis Rams (1-7)

Sunday, November 15th --- Edward Jones Stadium, St. Louis --- 1:00pm EST

NFL Betting Line: New Orleans -15.5 (50)

Back to my original point about the Saints: if they were to lose a game, would it completely take the wind out of their sails? For Drew Brees, business would carry on as usual and for some of the defensive veterans it might be the same. I’m just not so sure that Pierre Thomas, Marques Colston, Reggie Bush and Jeremy Shockey can handle it.

It’s easy to enjoy the highs, but surviving the lows can be an overwhelming struggle for teams that are so used to winning. I just don’t know where the Saints stand, especially after having to come from behind in two of their last three.

Normally I’d shy away from such a huge spread for a road team, but the Saints are prolific on offense and the Rams simply can’t score touchdowns. I’m not expecting a monumental effort by a half-hearted Steven Jackson either. So bet Saints and be happy.

Furious Free Pick: New Orleans -15.5 (UNDER)