Football odds on the New Orleans Saints are almost always exciting since they have an exciting offense led by Pro Bowl quarterback Drew Brees. The Saints finished 2008 at 8-8 straight up but they were 10-5-1 against the NFL betting line. Football odds should be interesting to follow on the Saints in 2009. Sean Payton starts his fourth year as head coach and will try and lead New Orleans to the playoffs. The team added some nice defensive pieces in the off-season that should have them much improved on that side of the ball. They added cornerback Jabari Greer, safeties Darren Sharper and Pierson Prioleau and defensive end Paul Spicer. They did lose cornerback Mike McKenzie, linebacker Dan Morgan, defensive tackle Hollis Thomas and running back Deuce McAllister. In the NFL draft they took cornerback Malcolm Jenkins who should play immediately.
The offense for the New Orleans Saints was fabulous in 2008 as they ranked first in the NFL as football odds stats show. Drew Brees passed for over 5,000 yards but the rushing game was weak, ranking 28th in the league as football odds numbers show. The offense could actually be even better in 2009 as Jeremy Shockey looks to bounce back from a poor season and Marques Colston is back and healthy. Reggie Bush also may finally get into gear now that McAllister is gone.
Defensively the Saints made some nice additions to team up with linebacker Jonathan Vilma who had an excellent 2008 season. Football odds information shows that new defensive coordinator Greg Williams has said he will have an aggressive scheme and with the new additions it should work well. The Saints Achilles heel in recent seasons has been their defense but all indications are they will be improved this year.
2009 is a huge season for Sean Payton and the Saints. The team has really done nothing recently, despite having Drew Brees and a great offense. With Williams bringing in new players and a new scheme on defense, the Saints could be vastly improved on that side of the ball and impact football odds each week. The Saints are getting some serious respect from football odds makers as they are just 20-1 to win Super Bowl XLIV at the sports book. The Saints are actually a very small favorite to win the very tough NFC South as they have lower NFL betting odds than Carolina, Atlanta and Tampa Bay.