Thursday August 9, 2012 – New Orleans Saints @ New England Patriots
It almost seems cruel that the NFL would schedule a preseason game for the New Orleans Saints on Sunday for the Hall of Fame game and then schedule the team again for that Thursday. It wouldn’t be so bad if the Saints didn’t have to play the New England Patriots on Thursday. Needless to say, the betting websites are not expecting to see a lot of quarterback Drew Brees or any of the otherNew Orleans starters in this game. But the Saints do have a lot of depth spots on the roster that need to be filled before the season starts and that is what fans can expect to see from the Saints in this game.
The football betting sites have already made the New England Patriots one of the top picks to win the Super Bowl this season. But, as is the custom with head coach Bill Belichick, do not expect to see a lot of the Patriots’ weapons or signature plays in this game. The Patriots have a lot of new faces on defense that need to prove themselves to win a roster spot. Belichick knows that it was his defense that held his team back last season and he will spend all four preseason games trying to find the right defensive players.
New Orleans Saints
The bookmaker betting software was giving mixed signals on the Saints for this coming season because of all of the controversy surrounding the team. But after the team’s performance at the Hall of Fame game, the betting experts are starting to think that the Saints have more than a decent shot at making the playoffs in 2012. The Saints’ running game will, once again, be one of the best in football and quarterback Drew Brees will make sure the passing game is explosive. On defense, the Saints are still experimenting to find a replacement for the suspended linebacker Jonathan Vilma and it looks like there are a couple of good candidates. But don’t expect a lot fromNew Orleans in this game as it tries to preserve its starters for the season.
New England Patriots
A sportsbook review of the Patriots in the preseason under Bill Belichick shows a team that uses preseason games for their true purpose – to evaluate new talent. Considering the work that Belichick has to do in building a championship defense, he will use every minute of this game to evaluate all of the players on his roster. Tom Brady and the first-string offense will probably see one series at the beginning of the game and then that will be it.
The Bottom Line
Both of these teams are evaluating talent at this point and are probably not too focused on winning this game. The Patriots lack a lot of the depth the team needs to be competitive, so look for Belichick to make a lot of field personnel moves in this game that he would never make in the regular season.
Pick: New Orleans Saints
Read more about the Patriots’ chances for getting to the Super Bowl for the second season in a row.
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