The defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints open up the 2010 regular season at home as they host the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday, September 9th.
That game will be televised on NBC and is just one of five nationally televised games for the Saints this season. New Orleans is one of the favorites at the sportsbook to win the Super Bowl but history has shown that repeating as Super Bowl champs is difficult.
Sportsbook odds list the Saints as the second choice behind the Indianapolis Colts to win Super Bowl XLV. The Saints are going to get a lot of attention since they are the champs and many of their games will be in prime time television slots. The opener against Minnesota will get huge ratings especially if Brett Favre returns for the Vikings. The Saints will play at Dallas on Thanksgiving and that game will be wildly popular at the sportsbook.
When you are a Super Bowl champ there are no easy games vs. the sportsbook lines. A target is on your back in every game. After the opener against the Vikings the Saints will get some extra rest and they travel to San Francisco. The Saints have three road trips which are two-game trips. They are at Arizona and Tampa Bay in October, at Dallas and Cincinnati in late November-early December and at Baltimore and Atlanta late in December. That road trip looks to be the toughest of the season vs. the odds at the sportsbook.
Here is the full 2010 schedule for New Orleans, all times, Eastern.
Week 1: Thursday, Sep. 9, Minnesota, 8:30 PM
Week 2: Monday, Sep. 20, at San Francisco, 8:30 PM
Week 3: Sunday, Sep. 26, Atlanta, 1:00 PM
Week 4: Sunday, Oct. 3, Carolina, 1:00 PM
Week 5: Sunday, Oct. 10, at Arizona, 4:05 PM
Week 6: Sunday, Oct. 17, at Tampa Bay, 1:00 PM
Week 7: Sunday, Oct. 24, Cleveland, 1:00 PM
Week 8: Sunday, Oct. 31, Pittsburgh, 8:20 PM
Week 9: Sunday, Nov. 7, at Carolina, 1:00 PM
Week 10: BYE
Week 11: Sunday, Nov. 21, Seattle, 4:05 PM
Week 12: Thursday, Nov. 25, at Dallas, 4:15 PM
Week 13: Sunday, Dec. 5, at Cincinnati, 1:00 PM
Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 12, St. Louis, 4:05 PM
Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 19, at Baltimore, 1:00 PM
Week 16: Monday, Dec. 27, at Atlanta, 8:30 PM
Week 17: Sunday, Jan. 2, Tampa Bay, 1:00 PM