NFL: DALLAS at NEW ORLEANS (8:20 PM ET, NFLN)
The Saints look to stay perfect when they host the Cowboys in a special Saturday night NFL Network contest. New Orleans has just Dallas, Tampa, and Carolina standing in the way of a 16-0 season, and although players are saying the right things about forem
2009-12-18
The Saints look to stay perfect when they host the Cowboys in a special Saturday night NFL Network contest. New Orleans has just Dallas, Tampa, and Carolina standing in the way of a 16-0 season, and although players are saying the right things about foremost wanting to win the Super Bowl, you have to figure going 16-0 remains a top priority to them. They opened as a 7-point favorite in the game at Sportsbook.com, but have since moved to -7.5, thanks to 81% of the action backing the hosts.
The Saints are 6-0 SU & 4-2 ATS at home, scoring 36.7 PPG. Their streak of scoring at least 23 points at home has now reached 18 games. For the Cowboys, this game is critical to keeping pace in the playoff hunt, and they are hoping to turn the tide of a 1-9 ATS trend in December under Wade Phillips. These teams haven’t met since ’06, but prior to that New Orleans had swept the prior five games, both SU & ATS.
Judging by the way the Cowboys tackled poorly in a Week 12 loss to the Giants, getting burned for two touchdowns of at least 74 yards, and followed it up with a similar big-play meltdown in a 20-17 home defeat to the Chargers last Sunday, what can be expected when Dallas travels to New Orleans?
Here’s an even better question: Who put together the Cowboys 2009 December schedule? Was it the result of input from their NFC East rivals? The franchise’s well-chronicled struggles during the month—it is 5-9 under Tony Romo—have only gotten worse, and after the loss to San Diego, another powerhouse is on tap. The Saints have already beaten up the other three teams in the NFC East, and it was the last-place Redskins that surprisingly gave them the biggest fight. But in the end, Washington learned exactly what every other New Orleans opponent has. Who needs a two-minute offense when the normal attack can move the ball 80 yards in just 33 seconds for the tying touchdown? New Orleans has 50 offensive touchdowns, and nearly half (24) of them have capped drives no longer than 2:50.
It would seem logical for the Cowboys to lean on their ground attack, even after it combined for just 153 yards over the last two weeks, because the Saints have struggled against the run and rank near the bottom of the NFL in rushing touchdowns allowed (15). Doing so, however, still doesn’t guarantee that Drew Brees won’t find a way to drop at least four touchdowns on the board, because he can move the offense upfield faster than any quarterback in the league.
Throw in Romo’s history of poor play in December—he has a 16-to-19 touchdown-to-interception ratio in 15 final month games—and the Saints could have an even shorter field to work with at times.
The Cowboys lead the overall series, 14-8, but New Orleans has ripped off four consecutive wins, including a 42-17 road thumping in 2006. Brees threw for 384 yards and five touchdowns in that December battle—sense the pattern of big end of the season losses?—while Romo had one touchdown and two interceptions, completing just 16 of 33 passes.
PREDICTION: It’s been quite easy to predict what Brees is going to provide on any given week—plenty of points and yardage. Romo, however, is capable of a wide array of performances, as he’s shown time and again. Dallas is .500 on the road, but the Big Easy will be anything but in Week 15. NEW ORLEANS 37, DALLAS 20
2009-12-18
The Saints look to stay perfect when they host the Cowboys in a special Saturday night NFL Network contest. New Orleans has just Dallas, Tampa, and Carolina standing in the way of a 16-0 season, and although players are saying the right things about foremost wanting to win the Super Bowl, you have to figure going 16-0 remains a top priority to them. They opened as a 7-point favorite in the game at Sportsbook.com, but have since moved to -7.5, thanks to 81% of the action backing the hosts.
The Saints are 6-0 SU & 4-2 ATS at home, scoring 36.7 PPG. Their streak of scoring at least 23 points at home has now reached 18 games. For the Cowboys, this game is critical to keeping pace in the playoff hunt, and they are hoping to turn the tide of a 1-9 ATS trend in December under Wade Phillips. These teams haven’t met since ’06, but prior to that New Orleans had swept the prior five games, both SU & ATS.
Judging by the way the Cowboys tackled poorly in a Week 12 loss to the Giants, getting burned for two touchdowns of at least 74 yards, and followed it up with a similar big-play meltdown in a 20-17 home defeat to the Chargers last Sunday, what can be expected when Dallas travels to New Orleans?
Here’s an even better question: Who put together the Cowboys 2009 December schedule? Was it the result of input from their NFC East rivals? The franchise’s well-chronicled struggles during the month—it is 5-9 under Tony Romo—have only gotten worse, and after the loss to San Diego, another powerhouse is on tap. The Saints have already beaten up the other three teams in the NFC East, and it was the last-place Redskins that surprisingly gave them the biggest fight. But in the end, Washington learned exactly what every other New Orleans opponent has. Who needs a two-minute offense when the normal attack can move the ball 80 yards in just 33 seconds for the tying touchdown? New Orleans has 50 offensive touchdowns, and nearly half (24) of them have capped drives no longer than 2:50.
It would seem logical for the Cowboys to lean on their ground attack, even after it combined for just 153 yards over the last two weeks, because the Saints have struggled against the run and rank near the bottom of the NFL in rushing touchdowns allowed (15). Doing so, however, still doesn’t guarantee that Drew Brees won’t find a way to drop at least four touchdowns on the board, because he can move the offense upfield faster than any quarterback in the league.
Throw in Romo’s history of poor play in December—he has a 16-to-19 touchdown-to-interception ratio in 15 final month games—and the Saints could have an even shorter field to work with at times.
The Cowboys lead the overall series, 14-8, but New Orleans has ripped off four consecutive wins, including a 42-17 road thumping in 2006. Brees threw for 384 yards and five touchdowns in that December battle—sense the pattern of big end of the season losses?—while Romo had one touchdown and two interceptions, completing just 16 of 33 passes.
PREDICTION: It’s been quite easy to predict what Brees is going to provide on any given week—plenty of points and yardage. Romo, however, is capable of a wide array of performances, as he’s shown time and again. Dallas is .500 on the road, but the Big Easy will be anything but in Week 15. NEW ORLEANS 37, DALLAS 20
NFL: DALLAS at NEW ORLEANS (8:20 PM ET, NFLN) News
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