NFL Win Totals Betting Pick: New Orleans Saints

Details: Category: NFL; Created: Wednesday, 10 June 2020 16:39

Three years in a row the New Orleans Saints have entered the off-season with a sense of frustration and a question of What-If? First it was the Minneapolis Miracle that ended their season, then it was the uncalled DPI that saw a rule change, and finally this past January an overtime touchdown from Kirk Cousins to Kyle Rudolph with the home team never touching the ball in the extra period.

The good news is that the offensive firepower is still intact so the window, while closing, remains open for this Super Bowl contender. Drew Brees, Michael Thomas, and Alvin Kamara when healthy form quite the three-headed monster for head coach Sean Payton. Last year the offense finished ninth in total yards, seventh in passing yards and had the least amount of turnovers (8) in the NFL.

The defense was a force against the run finishing fourth in yards allowed but the pass defense was troublesome, allowing 3868 yards and 27 touchdowns, both in the bottom third. Cameron Jordan led the defense with 15.5 sacks while Marcus Williams had four interceptions.

Offseason Summary

Of course the top priority this off-season was resigning 41-year old franchise star Drew Brees and the Saints did just that with a two-year deal that is rather team friendly. As insurance GM Mickey Loomis also signed former Tampa Bay starter Jameis Winston to replace the departed Teddy Bridgewater.

The Saints then signed Emmanuel Sanders to pair with Thomas at wide receiver. Sanders caught 66 balls last year with Denver and San Francisco and he replaces Ted Ginn Jr. (Chicago) in the Saints offense.

New Orleans had a few other decisions to make when it came to their own free agents. They resigned OG Andrus Peat, a two-time Pro Bowler, but allowed LB AJ Klein (Buffalo), SS Vonn Bell (Cincinnati) and CB Eli Apple (Las Vegas) to walk. Meanwhile they restructured deals with Brees, Thomas, Kiko Alonso, Janoris Jenkins and Patrick Robinson to free up salary cap space.

With that new-found space they brought in veteran DB Malcolm Jenkins from Philadelphia. Jenkins, who was on the Saints from 2009-13 winning a Super Bowl, will take over for Bell at safety and is expected to be a big upgrade while also providing leadership in the secondary.

In the draft the Saints took Michigan OL Cesar Ruiz with the 24th overall pick before making two trades on day two. With those trades they selected LB Zack Baun out of Wisconsin and TE Adam Trautman from Dayton. The Saints entered day three without any picks after moving up to draft Trautman. They traded back into the seventh round to take QB Tommy Stevens from Mississippi State.

2020 Schedule

Week 1 Sunday September 13 v. Tampa Bay
Week 2 Monday September 21 at Las Vegas
Week 3 Sunday September 27 v. Green Bay
Week 4 Sunday October 4 at Detroit
Week 5 Monday October 12 v. LA Chargers
Week 6 BYE
Week 7 Sunday October 25 v. Carolina
Week 8 Sunday November 1 at Chicago
Week 9 Sunday November 8 at Tampa Bay
Week 10 Sunday November 15 v. San Francisco
Week 11 Sunday November 22 v. Atlanta
Week 12 Sunday November 29 at Denver
Week 13 Sunday December 6 at Atlanta
Week 14 Sunday December 13 at Philadelphia
Week 15 Sunday December 20 v. Kansas City
Week 16 Friday December 25 v. Minnesota
Week 17 Sunday January 3 at Carolina

Verdict

With a win total listed at Scoresandstats of 10.5 the Saints have the highest over/under in the NFC South. Obviously having to face Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski and company in Tampa Bay twice makes the division tougher than the past few years. The schedule also includes games against both of last year’s Super Bowl participants plus playoff teams Green Bay, Minnesota and Philadelphia.

The Saints have won double-digit games the last three years and managed 13 wins last season even with Brees missing five games due to injury. There’s no reason to think they can’t do it again.

Take the Over 10.5 Wins. Bet the OVER at our favorite pay per head site A1PPH.com