Carolina vs NO game.. help please

[chuckdman]

I'm trying to understand why the line is 2.5 in favour of New Orleans, who won in Week 7 against a pathetic Atlanta team and in week 6 won against Da bears? These are their only two wins of the season. Carolina on the other end played a great Tennesse team in week 7 and got spanked mainly because they went against their own game plan and really just fell behind big too early. In Week 6 the bet Indy at home and contained them to 20pts.

Trying to get a better understanding here on why I should pull the trigger on Carolina. I would buy the 1/2pt and bring it to Carolina +3 unless someone can tell me something why I shouldn't. If I was coaching Carolina, I would run the crap out of Davis and let NO try to stop me.... I know Carolina pass defense isnt anything to marvel about but....... Yes, I'm confused and begging for some help

Thanks boys and Good luck in Week 8..

 

[GM]

I don't see it either, but I'm not really questioning it. Supposedly the Panthers defence is not good anymore. Not sure I buy into that. They had one bad game, against the team with the hottest QB in the league. For the most part they've kept pts against to a minimum (with the notable exception of last week).

The Saints passing game looked awfully good last week, but c'mon, who hasn't looked good against the Falcons lately? I believe there are also a few injuries on the Carolina D. And as you point out, NO has only beaten scrub teams (3 wins actually, they also pasted Houston 31-10 in Week 2).

Seems to me the Saints handle the poor teams, but get waxed against the good ones. I'd consider Carolina to be "good". (Not "elite", but probably Top 10 in the league). In addition, New Orleans D absolutely blows against the rush...which is pretty much all Carolina does. So you'd think even though Carolina doesn't score much...in this game, they should have a chance.

One go-against for Carolina: After a team has an unbeaten streak (4+ wins) broken, and then goes on the road, they often lose again. I guess you could say they push as hard as they can for all those wins, but once they lose one the bubble is burst and things unravel a bit. Maybe that is the theory on what will happen here.

 

[ELVIS]

carolina tough to figure out for me. are they really good ?:shrug:
tn is hot, and mcnair is a stud. kearse playing at probably 95%. no shame in losing to titans. i agree who has no beaten ? i am not convinced the saints are ready to start rolling all of the sudden.gl, either way.

 

[RipIt3]

If I had to bet on this game, I'd probably bet Carolina...

However...

Winning in the NFL can cure a lot of woes. NO has the talent to be a top team in this league, but through the first 5 weeks of the season, they underachieved greatly. Hell, one week they only gave McAllister 17 carries. You can't do that - he's too good. NO has rolled off a couple of wins in a row and winning tends to make everything better. And don't forget about the confidence factor. Nobody's going to win a football game if they don't believe they can. But NO is coming off of two wins and playing at home. This is a huge spot for NO, a win against Carolina would bring them that much closer in the NFC South race.

I think it's a dangerous game. Getting beat up like Carolina did last week does one of two things to a team. It either is going to piss them off and they're going to come out and shut-down NO on Sunday ... or, it's going to create doubt and NO is going to come away with the win. I think the linesmakers here are seeing the latter as far as the way Carolina responds, because that will be the deciding factor in this game: Do they rise to the occasion and play like a championship caliber team ... or, do they fold under the pressure of a playing a divional game on the road following a loss. Aaron Brooks has the ability to put up gaudy numbers when he plays, along with the entire offense, within himself.

NO will be able to throw the ball on Carolina, nobody's doubting that. What Carolina hasn't faced is this year is an offense that isn't one dimensional. They've beaten Atl, TB, Jac (week one before they had any type of a passing game because of Jimmy Smith being out), Ind (without James), and ... NO - while they were reeling. NO has the revenge factor going for them, is playing at home, and has momentum. those are three big intagibles that one can't overlook. They'll be able to throw the ball and they have a running back that can break open a game - Carolina hasn't had to defend against both yet this season. Oh, the last time these two faced off, McAllister ran for 124 yards on 23 carries. They can run the football on this team. It will be up to Brooks and Co. to be in stride - something two weeks of winning seems to have been able to cure ...

Just a few thoughts to think about. Good luck this week whichever way you decide to go...

 

[chuckdman]

Thanks

Thanks

Thank you guys for your opinions and ideas. I think I am just going to stay away from this game and play it safe. I really think Carolina will win this straight up since I believe they can stop the NO running game but bot too sure about the passing game.

A pass for me. Thanks again!!