Football betting handicappers will have an angry New Orleans team at home against a winless Carolina Panther squad that is imploding with a 0-3 start. New Orleans opened at Sbg global sportsbook as a 13.5 point home favorite over Carolina with an over/under of 44.5. Kickoff on FOX is at 1:05 PM Eastern.
A Kick in the Tail
The Saints are coming off a crushing overtime loss to Atlanta 27-24 as 3 point home favorites. Garrett Hartley missed a 29 yard field goal to blow the game for the Saints, who now have a NFL football betting record of 2-1 straight up and 1-2 against the spread.
Not in Championship Form
While quarterback Drew Brees and the passing attack rank an impressive 6th in the NFL the Saints have other problems that could end up holding them back starting with a running game that ranks dead last in the NFL. Pierre Thomas “leads” the team in rushing with 147 yards and 3.2 yards per carry average. The defense that was already a question mark, even in last year’s Super Bowl run, ranks 23rd overall including a dismal 30th against the run. And Hartley has been replaced by John Carney after blowing the chip shot last week.
Dead Man Coaching?
Meanwhile Carolina head coach John Fox may have the hottest seat in the NFL as his Panthers are 0-3 both straight up and against the spread and rank 31st in the NFL for total offense and dead last for points scored. The Panthers and fans don’t have Jake Delhomme to kick around anymore and Jimmy Clausen has taken over at starting quarterback after Matt Moore bombed out with a 41.8 QB rating in his first two games. Clausen isn’t much better with a 46.1 mark and Delhomme is starting to be missed in Charlotte. In their last 2 football betting matchups Carolina has scored just 7 points in each game. The defense has been respectable and ranks 14th in the NFL.
No Recovery
The Panthers and Delhomme were the top seed in the 2008 NFC playoffs and were upset by the Arizona Cardinals as Delhomme as awful and is now in Cleveland. The Panthers are yet to recover from the debacle and remain one of the least appealing teams in NFL football betting.