NFL Week 9 – Football in the South

By Hamish Girvan

The NFC South has been relatively strong in the past decade with a Superbowl winner and participant or two. This season the team that choked in last year’s Superbowl are struggling whilst the Saints look like they are making a run. The match ups they each face this week are previewed below

Chicago Bears at the New Orleans Saints – Monday 6am NZ time

The Saints are rising and this week they host a Chicago Bears team that are realistically in rebuild mode. The Saints defence was predicted to be their achilles heel this season however after losing their opening two games they are on a five game winning run. Led by evergreen Drew Brees at quarterback they also have a defence that seems to be more solid then previous seasons. This game should be relatively straight forward (if there is a such a thing in the NFL). The signing of Adrian Peterson in the off season looked like a smart move however he never jelled and was traded after the first month. Not many other teams would have the kahunas to do that so obviously the Saints are as ruthless off the field as on at the moment. The Saints are being given an 8.5 pint start here – that’s over a touchdown. Usually not the best of bets to take however their offence should be too much for the Bears this week

Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Monday 6am NZ time

This divisional matchup between the Panthers and the Buccaneers could be a yawner. Panthers quarterback Cam Newtown has been struggling all season. Not the player of any stretch from getting his team to Superbowl XL two seasons ago. Embarrassed by the Chicago Bears last week,who only had four completed passes, their defence usually a strong point is also underperforming

The Buccaneers looked the goods during this seasons Hard Knocks TV series and it’s very easy to get false impression of how good a team is whilst watching. They are on a losing run having only tasted victory twice this season. A low scoring game is on the cards and with Tampa Bay recording the lowest number of sacks of any team in the NFL Newton may be able to get this done. Take the Panthers +2.5

Atlanta Falcons at New York Jets – Monday 6am NZ time

The Atlanta Falcons looked nothing less than awful last weekend against the Patriots. The team that had a Superbowl within their grasp last season look a shadow of their former self and the high powered offence from last year is nowhere to be seen Here they have another east coast match up against a Jets team that although in a rebuild mode play hard. This will not a pushover and Matt Ryan, the Falcons quarterback, will have to be at his best. The Falcons although 6.5 point favorites will more then likely win it however this could be closer than the bookies predict. Take the Jets to get within the points margin

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