Friday, May 25th, 2012
A new NFL pro football season finally arrives as the Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints will host NFC runner up the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night.
This game will kick off from New Orleans at 8:30PM Eastern Time with live national television coverage provided by NBC.
The point spread was opened up in this game with the New Orleans Saints as 4 ½ point betting favorites with the over under coming in at 51.
The early money from the NFL betting public has come on the favorite as the New Orleans Saints are now favored by 5 points. The over under has seen movement downward to 48 points.
Money line bettors taking the favored New Orleans Saints will lay -230 odds with the road underdog Minnesota Vikings returning +200 to pull off the week 1 upset road victory without the need for taking the points.
These two NFC powerhouses met in the NFC Championship last January in New Orleans and it was the Saints escaping with the 31-28 overtime victory as a 4 point favorite. Minnesota self destructed in that game with five turnovers in defeat which was certainly the difference between a Super Bowl appearance and an NFC Championship loss. The Vikings piled up 475 yards on the Saints defense.
Starting quarterback Bret Favre returns under center for the Vikings after urging from his teammates.
In the NFL Championship game Favre completed 28 of 46 passes for 310 yards 1 touchdown and 2 critical interceptions. There are those skeptics out there who believe Favre would be unable to match his 2009 numbers as he completed over 68% of his passes for 33 touchdowns and 7 interceptions.
Four year veteran Adrian Peterson returns as starting running back for Minnesota. Against the Saints last season Peterson had 122 yards on 25 carries with 3 touchdowns but 2 big fumbles. The Vikings early last season relied heavily on the run as the Bret Favre was getting familiar with his new offense. With Favre coming off an ankle injury that required lubricant recently one would think that the Vikings may utilize the run more in this spot.
A big change for the Vikings is that Peterson’s backup Chester Taylor and his 94 carries for 338 yards is no longer with the club. The team welcomes second round pick Toby Gerhart from Stanford to the running back corps.
The Vikings have injury concerns to their receiver position. Sidney Rice could miss half the season with a hip injury. Rice led the club in 2009 with 83 catches for 1312 yards and 8 touchdowns. Percy Harvin has been battling migraine headaches during the preseason and at one point required a trip to the hospital. Harvin and Rice contributed for over 2100 yards through the air and 14 touchdowns.
The Vikings defense was outstanding last season. The team was number 1 in sacks last season with 48. Jared Allen led the team with 14 ½ sacks last season. The team was #2 against the run allowing just 87 yards per game. Minnesota allowed 218 yards passing per game ranking 19th in the league.
The clubs defense was good on third down against the Saints allowing only 3 of 12 conversions on third down. The Saints only passed for 189 yards but converted a perfect 3 for 3 in the red zone against the Minnesota defense.
Quarterback Drew Brees returns in 2010 following an outstanding 2009 season that saw the veteran quarterback complete 70.6% of his passes with 34 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. In the NFC Championship game Brees hit on 17 of 31 for 197 yards three touchdowns and no interceptions.
Running back Pierre Thomas is back after a very good 2009 season that saw the ball carrier rush for a 5.4 yards per carry average and 6 touchdowns. Dual threat Reggie Bush had a solid season with a 5.6 yards per carry average and 47 catches out of the backfield for 335 yards.
The Saints are difficult to defend and their outstanding receiving corps are all back and tight end Jeremy Shockey is healthy again. Marques Colston led the team last season with 70 catches for 1074 yards and 9 touchdowns. Three of the Saints receivers had a 15.3 yards per catch average or better.
The Saints were the number one offense last season with 403 yards and over 31 points scored per game.
Defensively the team has concerns as veteran safety Darren Sharper has a knee injury and will likely hit the PUP list and miss six games. Sharper had 9 of the Saints 26 interceptions last season.
New Orleans was 25th in total defense last season allowing opponents over 357 yards per game. Opposing quarterbacks were able to move the ball through the air against the club averaging over 235 yards passing per game.
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NFL Trend: Minnesota Vikings are 5-0 ATS in their past 5 meetings
Tags: betting, minnesota vikings, nbc tv, new Orleans saints, nfl, Odds, pick, preview, pro football, september 9th 2010, thursday
