Packers vs. Saints Point Spread

The New Orleans Saints head to Green Bay to play the Packers for week 1 of the 2011 NFL football season. This should be one of the more exciting games in week 1, and an interesting matchup as well. Below you’ll see the latest Packers vs. Saints point spread, along with the money line and over/under odds

While the Packers are favored to win (and should be), the New Orleans Saints could upset the Packers. Their offense always gives them a chance to win, and Drew Brees is an animal. The question is, will the Packers defense be ready to dominate this early in the season, or will they need a few games to get into the swing of things? While Aaron Rodgers waited for scheduled team practices, Brees held his own practices to give them a head-start. If either team is going to be rusty, it should be the Packers.

Of course the Packers have the home-field advantage and are coming off a Super Bowl Championship last year. This can translate into confidence, or complacency – we won’t know until the game starts.

* The content below this point was written a few days before game time. We’re leaving the odds the way they were so bettors can see how the lines have been moving. Our latest picks for this game are Packers -4.5 (-110), and the under of 48 (-105).

At the time of this writing, the Packers are favored by 4 points at Sports Interaction. The spread was 5 points a few days ago, so we’ll be keeping an eye on where it goes as we get closer to game-time.

For me, the most interesting aspect of this game is going to be how the Saints use Mark Ingram, Pierre Thomas, and Darren Sproles. Being the first game of the regular season, Thomas could see more touches in this game than any other game during the 2011 – 2012 season. While Ingram is likely to start, veterans Thomas and Sproles should pick up a larger part of the workload while Ingram gets his feet wet. Drew Brees and the Saints offense have a number of interesting options, and how they use these options could make or break them. Obviously, how the Packers defense responds will a huge key as well.

A 4 point spread seems about right at this point, considering we still have one preseason game before the regular season begins. Pretending that I’m forced to make a prediction on the Packers vs. Saints point spread, I’d be inclined to take the Saints +4 right now – with a 1-3 point win by the Packers.

While I think the Packers will win, it’s entirely possible that the Saints could pull off the upset. For the New Orleans Saints, the advantage they have is that this is the first game of the season. They’re far more likely to win a game like this in week 1 than they would be later in the season. This adds to the unpredictability of the game, and deciding which side of the point spread I want to be on. As we get closer to the game we’ll tackle this point spread prediction again.

Related Pages:

Packers vs. Saints Betting Line
Packers vs. Saints Money Line
NFL Betting
NFL Betting Lines