By Jeff Duncan, The Times-Picayune
November 06, 2009, 7:54AM
First (take) …
The New Orleans Saints have gone from also-rans to favorites in the blink of seven games this season.
Their impressive 7-0 hasn’t just caught the eyes of fans and the media; it’s seized the attention of Las Vegas oddsmakers.
Once an afterthought, the Saints are now the favorites to win Super Bowl XLIV. The Saints’ odds have lowered with each victory this season. They now are 3-1 favorites to win the league’s signature event, which, I’m guessing, is unofficially the lowest odds they’ve had in franchise history.
The NFL’s other undefeated team, the Indianapolis Colts, is the second favorite at 5-1. New England is third choice at 11-2.
“No team has proven themselves more in bettors’ eyes when it comes to futures this season than the New Orleans Saints,” Bodog Sportsbook manager Richard Gardner said. “The Saints were 20-1 at the start of the season, but currently sit as the clear favorite at 3-1.”
The Saints are the heavy favorite to win the NFC Championship at 3-2 odds. The Vikings are next at 7-2.
The odds, of course, could change if the Saints stumble in the coming weeks, but it does help ensure one thing: The Saints aren’t going to sneak up on anyone the rest of the way.
“It only gets tougher the more you win,” Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. “You get more of a bullseye on your chest.”
… And 10 (more observations)
1. Casual locker-room observation of the week: Tight end Jeremy Shockey is growing more comfortable with the local media. He spent a half-hour on Wednesday talking about his favorite passion – fishing – with one local reporter and then held court with reporters on Thursday on a variety of subjects, including his array of tattoos. The certainly wasn’t the case last year, his first with New Orleans, when he was aloof, distant and, at times, combative, with the local media.
2. Tweets of the week:
“Damn im still sore!!! Going to be our biggest test sun… panthers are playing well and seem to play really welly in the dome…” – Jeremy Shockey, 6:21 p.m., Nov. 4.
“B4 this gets blown up, we have a long way to go and no not all the Saints should be in the probowl but at least 10 should.” – Billy Miller, 8:40 a.m., Nov. 3.
“Y does the day off go so fast?! I was lovin bein a bum and chillaxin on the couch for the day. Right back to work tomorrow. Let’s get it” – Usama Young, 7:56 a.m., Nov. 3.
3. Quote of the week: “I said this early on, that this was a good football team, they just maybe had to have a stick put in certain parts of their body to play a little harder in certain places.” – Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams.
4. Did ya notice: The Saints were only credited with four turnovers last week but in my book they had five: four fumbles and an interception. The league does not recognize the Saints’ failed onside kick recovery as a turnover. David Thomas had a clear shot at the football and lost it, thereby allowing Atlanta’s Coy Wire to recover it. The league does not consider it a turnover because the Saints never had possession of the football, but clearly it had the same effect as a turnover.
5. Fact of the week: New Orleans had four touchdown drives of at least 80 yards in its win against Atlanta Monday night. The Saints were only the second team in the last the past three seasons to have four such drives in one game, according to Elias Sports Bureau. The Vikings did it on October 11 of this season at St. Louis.
6. Encouraging stat of the week: The Saints have now scored points in 25 of the 28 quarters they have played this season (89 percent). The only three quarters in which they were blanked were all third quarters. According to Elias Sports Bureau, only one NFL team has scored in a higher percentage of quarters played this season: Minnesota (29 of 32, 91 percent).
7. Disturbing stat of the week: Reggie Bush had a career-low four touches — two carries, two catches — continuing a trend. His touches have steadily declined — from 16 to nine to seven to six to four – the past five games. Since running backs Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell have returned to health, the former Heisman Trophy winner has now seen his production dip to record lows in his career. Not sure if this is a function of the game plan or the opposing defensive strategy but it’s clearly not the kind of role the Saints expected Bush to play when they made him the No. 2 overall pick in the 2006 draft.
8. Something I liked from Week 8: The hands of the Saints receivers. Devery Henderson, Robert Meachem, Marques Colston and Jeremy Shockey each made spectacular catches against Atlanta. The Saints did not drop a pass in 33 attempts by Brees. Saints receivers have dropped just nine passes in 230 pass attempts this season, according to STATS, LLC. Only six teams in the league have dropped fewer balls.
9. Something I didn’t like from Week 8: Four – by my count, five — turnovers. The Saints now have nine turnovers and seven sacks in the past two weeks. They committed just six turnovers and allowed only four sacks in the first five games. Not a good trend with Julius Peppers and the Carolina defense coming to town.
10. Fearless prediction for Week 9: The Saints will end their seven-game losing streak to the Panthers in the state of Louisiana. The Saints haven’t beaten the Panthers since a 27-23 victory in 2001. Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme has never lost a game at the Superdome as a starter, including a 2-0 record with Southwestern Louisiana, now Louisiana-Lafayette. But I expect this one to be closer than folks think. Carolina is playing much better football of late and John Fox’s team will not be embarrassed.
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