Cover the NFL Betting Line As Saints Host Vikings in Week 1 NFL Mega-Gridiron Battle

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The 2010 NFL regular season gets started off with an absolutely captivating matchup when the defending Super Bowl champion, New Orleans Saints host the Minnesota Vikings at the Louisiana Superdome on Thursday night at 8:30 PM ET.

Live from the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana at 8:30 PM ET
TV: NBC
Radio: Sirius 125 and 126 XM

NFL Betting Odds

Minnesota Vikings +5 -110
New Orleans Saints -5 -110

Over 48½ -110
Under 48½ -110

Moneyline
Vikings +200
Saints -240

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Last season’s NFC Conference Championship participants will kick off the 2010 NFL regular season looking to get off on the right foot.

This breakdown on Thursday night’s matchup will point avid NFL betting enthusiasts in the right direction toward making a winning wager against tonight’s value-packed NFL Betting Line.

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Here is a look at the game’s key head-to-head trends.

• Vikings are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 meetings.
• Over is 4-0 in the last 4 meetings in New Orleans.
• Over is 5-0 in the last 5 meetings.
• Vikings are 4-0 ATS in their last 4 meetings in New Orleans.
• Road team is 4-1 ATS in their last 5 meetings.

New Orleans Saints

• Saints are 5-0 ATS in their last 5 games in September.
• Saints are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games in Week 1.
• Saints are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 vs. NFC.
• Over is 5-1-1 in Saints last 7 games in September.
• Under is 8-3 in Saints last 11 games in Week 1.

The Saints went 2-2 in the preseason, sandwiching their two losses around consecutive wins in the preseason’s second and third weeks.

Drew Brees didn’t play much in the preseason, but when he did, he completed 32 of 50 passes (64 percent) with two touchdowns and no interceptions after throwing for 4,388 yards with 34 TD and 11 interceptions last season.

The Saints bring back almost the same team that beat the Colts 31-17 in Super Bowl XLIV and led the league in scoring by averaging a whopping 31.9 points per game.

New Orleans scored over 35 points in each of its preseason wins and held the opposition to just 23.5 points per game defensively in the preseason while allowing an identical 27 points in each loss.

New Orleans added veteran defensive linemen Alex Brown and Jimmy Wilkerson to shore up its defense and drafted talented rookie cornerback Patrick Robinson out of Florida State, but will be without pro bowl safety Darren Sharper who had microfracture knee surgery this offseason and will miss at least the first six games.

Minnesota Vikings

• Vikings are 6-2 ATS in their last 8 games in Week 1.
• Vikings are 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 vs. NFC.
• Vikings are 7-3-1 ATS in their last 11 games overall.
• Under is 7-3 in Vikings last 10 games overall.

The Vikings went 3-1 in the preseason and saw Brett Favre complete 17 of 30 passes (63 percent) in two preseason appearances while throwing two picks and no TD passes.
Favre tossed a game-deciding interception against the Saints in Minnesota’s 31-28 overtime loss in the NFC title tilt.

The 40-year-old gunslinger however is coming off one of the best seasons of his career. In 2009, Favre threw for 4,202 yards with 33 TD passes and just seven picks while leading the Vikes to the NFC North division title.

Minnesota will be without No. 1 wideout Sidney Rice (hip), but added veteran wideout Greg Camarillo late in the preseason.

Minnesota has a 18-7 all-time in the regular season against New Orleans and had won four straight games until losing to Brees and company in their NFC title game showdown.

Analysis: I’ll get right to the point with this pick BetOnline NFL betting gamblers as I thin k this pick may not be as tough as some handicappers make it out to be.

First and foremost, the Saints are playing at home and will have a ton of momentum and crowd support to fuel their fire in this regular season opener.

New Orleans is relatively healthy on both sides of the ball while the Vikings are really banged up entering the regular season.

Brett Favre is probably at about 85-90 percent of where he’d like to be and the loss of deep threat Sidney Rice could really hurt the Vikings’ ability to stretch defenses.

NFL gamblers can expect the Vikings to get back to featuring running back Adrian Peterson a bit more in this contest – and during the regular season, (at least until they get Rice back), thereby limiting and changing their explosive offense from last season.

Brett Favre will look to Camarillo and tight end Visanthe Shiancoe in the slot more this season when he can’t hook up with Bernard Berrian deep. Shiancoe led the team in TD receptions with 11 in 2009 and Camarillo grabbed 50 balls for the Miami Dolphins.

Pro football betting buffs can almost certainly expect New Orleans to remain as explosive as ever offensively – while also putting an improved defensive product on the field this season thanks to their smart offseason additions.

I like the Saints to cover the NFL Betting Line by the slimmest of margins despite the fact that the Vikings are 5-0 ATS in their last five meetings while the road team in this rivalry has posted a consistent 4-1 ATS mark in their last five meetings.

New Orleans has gone 5-0 ATS in their last five games in the month of September while also going 4-1 ATS in their last five Week 1 contests.

In addition to playing the Saints to buck the key trends and cover the NFL Betting Line which mostly point to a Vikings ATS cover, I think the Over is the best play of all for tonight’s matchup.

The Over has gone 4-0 in the last four meetings between these rivals when they meet in New Orleans and 5-0 in the last five meetings overall.

Cementing my pick for an Over outcome is the fact that the Over has gone 5-1-1 in the Saints’ last seven games in the month of September.

My Pick: Over 48½ Total Points/Saints -5 Points

Sources: nfl.com, covers.com, wagertracker.com, the sportsnetwork.com