Seattle Seahawks at New Orleans Saints, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA
Sunday, November 21, 2010, 4:05 pm EST, TV: FOX
Opening Line: Saints -12.5
Current Line: Saints -11.5
Opening Total: 42.5
Current Total: 44
Money Line: Saints -550 / Seahawks +425
The Seattle Seahawks (5-4) are coming off a huge road win last week but will face a completely different opponent on Sunday when they visit the New Orleans Saints (6-3). The Seahawks won 36-18 at Arizona last Sunday but now must visit the defending Super Bowl champion Saints (-11.5) off their bye week and with running back Reggie Bush expected to return for the first time since he suffered a broken fibula in Week 2 at San Francisco.
Ironically, Bush would face his former college head coach in Pete Carroll, who left the school after last season to lead the Seahawks. The duo won two national championships together, although the 2005 title was vacated by the NCAA due to improper benefits received by Bush during his Heisman Trophy campaign. Bush returned the Heisman earlier this year before he got hurt.
Carroll’s Seattle squad earned an easy road victory against the Cardinals thanks to the continued success of quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and wide receiver Mike Williams. Hasselbeck passed for 333 yards and one touchdown while Williams was on the receiving end of half of his 22 completions for 145 yards. The Seahawks also got a combined 93 rushing yards from running backs Justin Forsett and Marshawn Lynch, who each added another score.
Seattle limited Arizona to 41 yards rushing and hopes to contain a New Orleans offense that has struggled to run the ball, averaging just 93.7 yards per game on the ground. The Saints are hoping Bush’s presence will give them a boost, but they may still be missing running back Pierre Thomas, who has sat out the last six games with a sprained ankle.
New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees has survived without much of a running game because he has started to play like the reigning Super Bowl MVP again. Brees had thrown eight interceptions and seven touchdowns during a three-game stretch that saw his team go 1-2 following a 3-1 start. But he has thrown four touchdowns and two interceptions in helping the Saints win the last two.
The Seahawks have won three of the last four meetings with New Orleans both straight-up and against the spread, although they have met just once since 2004. The UNDER is 4-1 in the last five games between the teams and 3-1 in the last four games overall for the Saints. Seattle is just 2-8 against the spread in its last 10 games vs. a team with a winning record.
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