New York Jets vs. New Orleans Saints Line Now a Solid -7
After opening at Saints -6 ½, the New York Jets vs. New Orleans Saints line was sitting steady at -7 for a second consecutive day at nearly every online sportsbook and most of the Vegas books as well (with the exception of the Hard Rock at -6 ½). Sports Interaction was one of the many books offering this line at Saints -7.
It was reasonable to believe the line would remain at -7 since the action on both sides was relatively even. New Orleans was getting closer to 60 percent of the spread action but the Jets were making up for that variance on the money line where a $100 bet would pay $250 if they were to win outright.
These two teams have split wins in the four games they played against one an other since 2000 but we should point out that New Orleans won the last two. That said, they did not cover the current 7 point spread.
New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees is leading the league in passer rating so far this season and has thrown for an NFL-high nine touchdowns. The Jets, meanwhile, have managed to make veteran quarterbacks Matt Schaub, Tom Brady and Kerry Collins look lost at times. This is a classic battle between one of the league's best quarterbacks (Brees) and one of the league's most innovative defensive minds (Ryan).
New Orleans has scored 15 touchdowns and is averaging an NFL-best 40.0 points.
The Saints, who have yet to trail this season, grinded out a 27-7 victory at Buffalo last Sunday behind the running game. They rushed for 222 yards as Pierre Thomas had 126 -- all in the second half -- and two fourth-quarter touchdown runs despite battling dehydration from being sick Saturday night.
"I didn't really get a chance to go to sleep because the guys just kept messing with me, talking about, 'You ain't sick, you ain't sick, playing like that,'" Thomas recalled. "I really couldn't enjoy it like those guys did, but I still had a smile on my face that we won."
Jeremy Green of Scouts Inc.:
As much talk as there is about the Saints passing game, the running game has been excellent by their standards -- last week at Buffalo, they rushed for over 200 yards. While that isn't the norm, the run game will be crucial in neutralizing the up-field blitz pressure they will see from this Jets defense.
Green brings up another interesting point about the Jets defense:
The Jets defense is not going to back down from any team in the NFL -- they play a swagger and confidence. They blitzed Patriots QB Tom Brady 60 percent of the time in Week 2 and we expect a similar amount of blitzes this week. Look for them to attack the left side of the Saints offensive line where the Saints may once again be without LT Jamaal Brown.
And what about the Saints defense?
With so much talk about the Saints offense, you forget that the defense, under new defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, has been much better than past seasons. Williams loves to attack, so look for them to come after the Sanchez early and often this week.
Drew Brees did not have a TD pass after throwing nine in New Orleans' first two victories, but he's more than happy to sacrifice personal numbers if the newfound balance on offense leads to victories.
"As balanced as we've been running and passing, I think we've shown that if you come in against us you need to be ready for both and you better have an answer for both," said Brees, whose 118.1 passer rating leads the league. "In the end, we're going to execute our offense. We're going to take our shots. We're going to try to throw our completions. We're going to try to run the ball effectively.
"We go into every game with the attitude that we're going to dictate the tempo of this game and you're going to have to worry about us and not the other way around."
Some important trends to consider before betting on this game:
The Jets are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.
The Jets are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 games as an underdog of 3.5-10.0.
New York is 8-1 ATS in their last 9 games after accumulating less than 250 total yards in their previous game.
The Jets are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games following a ATS win.
Jets are 7-2 ATS in their last 9 games following a S.U. win.
The Saints are 7-0 ATS in their last 7 games as a favorite of 3.5-10.0.
The Saints are 10-1 ATS in their last 11 games as a favorite.
The Saints are 5-1-1 ATS in their last 7 games following a ATS win.
Christopher Costigan, Gambling911.com Publisher
