NFL Opening Night Odds: New Orleans Saints vs Green Bay Packers
Wednesday, September 07, 2011
by WagerWeb Sportsbook
For the first time since 2000 and only the seventh time ever, the previous two seasons’ Super Bowl winners face off in Week 1 of the new season when New Orleans Saints visits Green Bay Packers in the NFL season opener on Thursday night. The Pack are 4-point favorites on Wager Web Sportsbook.
The New Orleans Saints finished 11-5 last year and grabbed one of the NFC’s wild-card spots. But then New Orleans was stunned by a 7-9 Seattle team in the first round of the playoffs. Green Bay Packers finished last season at 10-6 and just barely made the playoffs as the other wild card team. But Aaron Rodgers led the Pack to three NFC playoff road wins before beating the Steelers in the Super Bowl for the fourth title in Packers history. Rodgers was flawless in that game in winning Super Bowl MVP honors.
Green Bay Packers is the lone NFC team to win its season opener each of the past four years, joining New England and Pittsburgh as the only teams in the league to accomplish the feat over that span. Green Bay is 5-0 all-time in prime-time season openers (four on Monday night, one on Sunday night).
Thursday night’s appearance by the Saints will be their third in the NFL Kickoff game, the most by one team, and one more than the Colts, New England Patriots, New York Giants and Washington Redskins. This is the first time since 2007 that New Orleans has opened on the road, the Saints having won three consecutive season openers since that ’07 loss at Indianapolis. The NFL Kickoff game has been staged the past seven years, and the reigning Super Bowl champion has won the previous seven.
The Green Bay Packers averaged 24.4 points per game and 358.1 total yards per game during the 2010 regular season (9th in the NFL). Green Bay improved those numbers in the postseason, averaging 30.2 points per game in four playoff games and 361.2 total yards. Rodgers was the top-ranked passer in the NFC, completing 312 of 475 passes (65.7 percent), for 3,922 yards. Rodgers threw 28 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
The New Orleans Saints are as usual led by Drew Brees, who threw for 4,620 yards and 33 TDs in leading the NFL’s No. 3 passing offense last year. The New Orleans run game struggled, however, at No. 28 in the NFL. The Saints drafted former Heisman winner Mark Ingram and added former San Diego back Darren Sproles this offseason while letting Reggie Bush go to boost that running game. The Saints defense was No. 4 against the pass in 2010 but that unit forced 14 fewer turnovers than in the 2009 Super Bowl season and had an NFL-low nine interceptions.
The one key player missing for this one is Saints starting defensive end Will Smith, who has led the team in sacks four of the past six years. He is out the first two games of the season due to suspension.
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aaron rodgers - darren sproles - drew brees - green bay packers - mark ingram - new england patriots - new orleans saints - new york giants - reggie bush - super bowl
