Saints vs Buccaneers Pick
NFL Week 17 betting action sees the New Orleans Saints taking on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday December 28th at Raymond James Stadium. Cappers Picks provides free NFL handicapping tips all season long.
The Saints (6-9) and the Bucs (2-13) are half of the representation of the league’s worst division in 2014.
NFL Football Wagering
Saints vs. Bucs
Date/Time: Sunday, Dec. 28 2014, 1 pm EST
Venue: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa FL
Broadcast: FOX
New Orleans -4, Tampa Bay +4
Over/Under: 47
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Remarkably, the 6-9 Saints are tied for second in the NFC South, but due to their dismal record within the division (1-1 versus Carolina and 0-2 versus Atlanta) New Orleans will remain on the outside of the playoff picture.
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Under iconic QB Drew Brees, New Orleans’s passing attack was high-powered as usual. It’s a shame the Saints “D” was so useless in 2014.
Saints defenders ranked 29th in the NFL against the run and 29th against the pass. They were equally abysmal in both facets of the game. That is the main culprit you can point to for the team’s nine losses this year.
There’s been other aberrations, too: Prodigiously athletic TE Jimmy Graham battled injuries this season, and disappeared at times, battling the first real adversity of his ascendant career.
Despite RB Mark Ingram having a strong season, N’awlins’s multi-headed rushing attack was diminished with ailments to power back Khiry Robinson and the versatile Pierre Thomas.
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The offensive line has not been as good as it should have been.
Basically, Brees has been excellent but nothing else has resembled the powerhouse Saints we’ve grown accustomed to seeing over the past decade. That Carolina and Atlanta have also been useless only adds to the division’s woes.
It was a rebuild from the word “go” on the Florida Gulf coast. The Josh McCown Experiment at QB failed for Tampa Bay when he mangled his hand on a defender’s helmet early in the season.
Small victories can be savored, such as the development of massive WR Mike Evans, and the brilliance of defenders like DT Gerald McCoy and LB Lavonte David, but this is a team that desperately needs the top pick.
Whoever wins in the Carolina-Atlanta game this week will represent the South division in the Playoffs; the Saints – while the most talented team in the division – have made their bed in this regard. Had New Orleans played better inside the division, even with an equivalent record, a win this weekend would put them over the top.
In the meantime, football fans should continue to make noise about a Wild Card team supplanting a division winner this weak – a team like Detroit or Philadelphia could miss the playoffs though they are far more deserving than any team in the NFC South.
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In a battle of irrelevance, Tampa Bay (in its heart of hearts) probably wants to lose this season-ending game, if only to boost their chances of their name being called first in the 2015 NFL Draft.
NFL Week 17 Gambling Trends
* Under is 8-2 in NO last 10 games on grass.
* NO are 2-7 ATS in their last 9 games in Week 17.
* Over is 7-2 in NO last 9 games in Week 17.
* Under is 8-0 in TB last 8 games on grass.
* Under is 8-1 in TB last 9 games overall.
* TB are 3-12 ATS in their last 15 vs. NFC.
* Under is 9-3 in the last 12 meetings.
4* Free Play On New Orleans 27, Tampa Bay 17
Take the UNDER
Expect New Orleans to win this road game, which shouldn’t provide much solace for what should be a frustrated Saints fan base.
Check out our Updated NFL Week 17 Odds.
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