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The New Orleans Saints 2008 odds have been slashed for whatever the reason. They are suddenly among the most serious contenders for a deep Playoffs run and even their odds to win the 2009 Super Bowl have been slashed.
Oddsmakers at Bookmaker.com have given the New Orleans Saints -130 odds of winning more than 9 regular season games, a sure sign that they expect this to be a very good team.
Likewise, the Saints had opened as anywhere between 20/1 and 30/1 odds long shots to win the 2009 Super Bowl. Today's odds have the Saints at 16/1 or +1600 for a potential $1600 payout on every $100 bet.
What gives?
Drew Brees is still an outstanding quarterback. Now we have Jeremy Shockey on board and Jonathan Vilma acquired from the Jets. Essentially, the odds makers see a team that probably had too many expectations last year but was still good and just got better.
Tom Mantzouranis of the AOL Fanhouse:
The team is counting on a lot of injured players -- Shockey, Vilma, Deuce, and McKenzie -- to play large roles. Those players all appear to be on-track for the start of the season, but those are still a lot of question marks to rely on. The offense will produce no matter what, though, and it seems unlikely the defense can be any worse than it was last year, so it's hard not to picture the team doing better than their 7-9 mark last year. I expect them to look shaky at the beginning of the year but figure it out when it matters in November and December. The team should win a relatively easy division and compete in the playoffs.
The NFC South may actually be good as odds makers feel comfortable with the Tampa Bay Bucs and Carolina Panthers. This helps keep the Saints at near even odds to win the division at Bookmaker.com (a $100 bet still paid $130 at press time if they win).
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Mary Montgomery, Gambling911.com
