Stephen Nover
Sunday Sweep
75 Dime SAINTS
75 Dime SAINTS - There's a myth that you can't get value when laying double-digits in the NFL.
I find plenty of value laying two touchdowns with the Saints against the Rams in this matchup. It doesn't matter that St. Louis was idle last week or is at home.
There's no comparison between these two clubs. The Saints certainly aren't going to be bothered being on the road against a team getting luke-warm crowd support, while playing in their natural dome setting on carpet.
The Rams have eight touchdowns in eight games. The Saints have scored seven touchdowns - on defense. The Rams are averaging 9.6 points per game. New Orleans is scoring at a record 37.9 points per clip. The Rams rank 29th in scoring defense. It's not hard to do the math.
Unlike some other first-year NFL coaches, I like the Rams' Steve Spagnuolo. But he inherited maybe the worst talent in the league. His battered secondary has no chance to contain Drew Brees and his multiple targets and improved running attack. There are reasons why St. Louis has won only one of its last 18 games.
The Saints own huge edges at nearly every position. Steven Jackson is the Rams' only playmaker, but he's not much help when his team falls behind big. Jackson is having a good year statistically, but has managed only one touchdown with defenses keying on him and his team constantly trailing by wide margins.
Marc Bulger has been no help with a 68.2 quarterback rating and only three touchdown passes.
Sean Payton has a history of crushing inferior opponents. This is just the Saints' third game against a bad team. In the other two, they beat the Lions by 18 points and the Bills by 20 on the road.
The Saints are 16-6 (72 percent) against the spead the past 22 times they've been chalk.