New Orleans is a Huge Week 4 NFL Betting Favorite

The New Orleans Saints are big 13 ½ point NFL betting point spread favorites versus the Carolina Panthers this Sunday.

The Saints are coming off of an overtime loss to the Atlanta Falcons, a game they probably should have won, and are itching to take their frustrations out on the worst NFL betting against the spread team in the league.

The Panthers are 0 and 3 ATS this season.  They have a terrible QB situation with both Matt Moore and rookie Jimmy Clausen looking like high-school signal callers and their defense is atrocious.

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But the Saints haven’t been able to cover NFL betting expert lines themselves in 2010.  Will they do so on Sunday?

Carolina Panthers vs. New Orleans Saints

Where:  Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
When:  Oct. 3rd, 2010 at 1:00 pm EST
TV:  FOX
Radio:  Sirius – 129 (CAR) 127 (NO) 

NFL Betting Lines

Carolina Panthers                    +13 ½ -110      +600    O 44 -110

New Orleans Saints                -13 ½ -110       -800     U 44 -110

The trends favor the Panthers versus the NFL betting lines in this game on Sunday.

• The Carolina Panthers are 7 and 1 ATS versus a team with a winning record.
• The Carolina Panthers are 9 and 0 ATS in the last 9 meetings in New Orleans.
• The Carolina Panthers are 8 and 2 ATS in their last 10 games versus an opponent from the NFC.
• The New Orleans Saints are 13 and 3 ATS in their last 16 games following a straight up loss.

Forget that New Orleans signed kicker John Carney just the other day.  Nobody really cares about that in regards to the NFL betting odds for this game.  The big questions in this game are whether or not the Saints’ can get their rushing game going and their defense to step it up and whether or not the Panthers can get anything going on offense.

The Saints’ D has been horrible so far in 2010.  It made San Francisco QB Alex Smith look like a Steve Young clone in Week 2.  Luckily for the Saints’ D they faced a tired and wide-receiver-less Brett Favre in Week 1 or, a couple of bad bounces, and the Saints might be staring at an 0 and 3 record instead of a 2 and 1 record.

The Saints’ D is ranked 30th against the rush in the NFL allowing 145 yards per game on the ground.  They are ranked 15th against the pass.  When it comes to their own running game, the Saints’ are close to god-awful.  New Orleans averages only 57.3 yards per game on the ground.  They’re gong to need to start rushing better if they want to win the NFC South.

When it comes to this game, however, rushing better might not be a requisite for a victory.  Carolina might be the worst team in the NFL.  Although their defense isn’t that bad, it’s ranked 13th overall, the Panthers have been outscored by a combined 71 to 32 in their 3 games so far this season.  Neither Matt Moore nor Jimmy Clausen appears capable of making good decision under center and the Panthers’ look like a defeated team each time they step onto a football field.

But with all of their issues, I have to go with my gut and my gut tells me that the NFL betting latest line is offering the Panthers too many points.  Carolina should be able to get their running game going with RB DeAngelo Hall doing most of the work. The Saints have serious issues in their defense and with their own running game.  Those are two issues that Panthers’ coach John Fox figures to exploit on Sunday.

I don’t believe that Carolina wins the game, but I don’t feel that they should be a 2 touchdown dog either.  I’m backing the Carolina Panthers to cover the NFL betting point spread odds in this contest.

NFL Betting Pick:  Carolina Panthers +13 ½ -110

Check out NFL betting odds for every single Week 4 game through this link!

Sources:  espn.com, covers.com, tsn.com, nfl.com