MIAMI (3 - 0) at NEW ORLEANS (3 - 0) - 9/30/2013, 8:40 PM
Top Trends for this game.
NEW ORLEANS is 19-9 ATS (+9.1 Units) as a favorite over the last 3 seasons.
NEW ORLEANS is 8-1 ATS (+6.9 Units) as a home favorite of 3.5 to 7 points over the last 3 seasons.
NEW ORLEANS is 15-4 ATS (+10.6 Units) in home games over the last 3 seasons.
NEW ORLEANS is 15-4 ATS (+10.6 Units) in home lined games over the last 3 seasons.
NEW ORLEANS is 19-6 ATS (+12.4 Units) against AFC East division opponents since 1992.
NEW ORLEANS is 17-6 ATS (+10.4 Units) in dome games over the last 3 seasons.
NEW ORLEANS is 18-7 ATS (+10.3 Units) in games played on turf over the last 3 seasons.
Head-to-Head Series History
There were no past matchups in this series during this time period.
MIAMI vs. NEW ORLEANS
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Miami's last 8 games on the road
Miami is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of New Orleans's last 6 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of New Orleans's last 6 games when playing Miami
Miami at New Orleans
Miami: 11-2 Under away with a total of 45.5+ points
New Orleans: 10-1 ATS as a home favorite of 7 points or less
NFL Week 4
Dolphins (3-0) @ Saints (3-0) — When Brees left San Diego as free agent/after his shoulder surgery, Miami chose Culpepper over him, which turned out better for Brees than Miami. Deserves mention that Saints beat Miami 46-34 in ’09, teams’ only meeting since Brees signed with NO. Unbeaten Dolphins are moving chains, converting 21-52 (40.4%) on third down and have only two penalties in last two games- they’re 28-12-2 as a non-divisional road underdog, achieved under five different coaches. Fish are 21-11-1 as road underdogs, 6-3 vs NFC opponents, 4-4 as a road dog under Philbin. Saints scored four TDs on 10 drives last week, after scoring total of three on 22 drives in first two games; Payton covered his last ten games as a home favorite (Saints were 3-3 as HF without him LY). Ryan’s defense held last two opponents to 273/247 yards, after Falcons gained 367 in opener. Unusual that first three Saint games this year all stayed under the total.
Armadillosports.com
Monday Night Football Betting: Dolphins at Saints
By Covers.com
Miami Dolphins at New Orleans Saints (-7, 48.5)
Ryan Tannehill of the Miami Dolphins is used to flying under the radar as part of the much-ballyhooed NFL quarterback class of 2012. That will certainly be the case for the second-year signal caller on Monday night when he brings his unbeaten team into New Orleans for a prime-time showdown with Drew Brees and the undefeated Saints. Miami is seeking its first 4-0 start since 1995 and will try to knock off an NFC South power for the second straight week.
The return of head coach Sean Payton from a one-year suspension due to the Bountygate scandal has the Saints back on track after an 0-4 start torpedoed their 2012 season. Brees has surpassed 300 yards in each of the first three games, but the biggest change for New Orleans has come on the other side of the ball. The Saints allowed an NFL-worst 440.1 yards per game and ranked 31st in points allowed (28.4) last season, but they are yielding only 12.7 points so far.
LINE: The Saints opened -5.5 and have moved to -7. The total opened at 47 and is now 48.5
ABOUT THE DOLPHINS (3-0): Miami opened some eyes by winning at Indianapolis in Week 2 and made a loud statement last week by erasing a 10-point second-half deficit to knock off Atlanta, which is expected to battle the Saints for the NFC South title. Tannehill threw the winning TD with 38 seconds left and is completing 66.4 percent of his passes despite getting sacked a league-high 14 times. The Dolphins are still searching for consistency from high-priced free-agent wideout Mike Wallace and running back Lamar Miller, but the defense ranks eighth in the league with an average of 17.7 points allowed.
ABOUT THE SAINTS (3-0): Brees has thrown for more than 1,000 yards and had three touchdown passes in last week's 31-7 rout of Arizona, but he has also been picked off four times. Part of that is due to a punchless running game that is producing only 85.7 yards, but tight end Jimmy Graham has four TD catches and is coming off back-to-back monster games after battling an ankle injury through much of last season. The Saints' best move of the offseason was bringing in defensive coordinator Rob Ryan, who implemented a 3-4 scheme that has New Orleans yielding 295.7 yard per game - fourth in the league.
TRENDS:
* Dolphins are 1-4 ATS in their last five Monday games.
* Saints are 4-0 ATS in their last four Monday games.
* Under is 17-4 in Dolphins last 21 games on fieldturf.
* Over is 7-3 in Saints last 10 Monday games.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Brees has won eight straight Monday Night Football games, throwing for 24 TDs against five interceptions.
2. Miami is expected to be without DE Cameron Wake (knee), who had 15 sacks last season but was injured in last week's game.
3. Saints WR Marques Colston has nine TD receptions in his last eight home games.
MNF - Dolphins at Saints
By Kevin Rogers
VegasInsider.com
Week 4 of the NFL season wraps up with a pair of undefeated teams hooking up at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The surprising Dolphins have started 3-0 for the first time since 2002, while the Saints look for their first 4-0 start since 2009, when New Orleans won the franchise's only Super Bowl title.
Miami will be playing its third road game in four weeks after knocking off Cleveland and Indianapolis as short underdogs. Last week, the Dolphins rallied from a 20-10 deficit against the Falcons in a dramatic 27-23 victory as three-point home favorites. Ryan Tannehill threw for 236 yards, including hitting rookie tight end Dion Sims for a one-yard strike with 38 seconds remaining to cap off the comeback. Miami's offense racked up just 285 yards of offense, but the Dolphins cashed the 'over' for the second straight week.
The high-flying Saints have actually finished 'under' the total in all three of their victories this season, including 31-7 rout of the Cardinals last Sunday. New Orleans fell behind, 7-0, but scored the final 31 points of the game to easily cash as 7 ½-point favorites. Drew Brees diced up the Arizona defense for three touchdown passes, while the former MVP also scored a touchdown on the ground. The biggest storyline surrounding the Saints is their much-improved defense, which has now allowed 17 points or less in all three games this season, after finishing dead-last in the league in 2012 in total defense.
Since 2006, the Dolphins have lost six of seven games under the Monday night lights, while last appearing on Monday night in 2011 with a pair of blowout losses to the Patriots and Jets. The last time the Dolphins won a Monday night game away from Miami was back in 2003 against the Chargers, which was actually a neutral-site game played in Phoenix due to a wildfire in Southern California that forced the contest to be moved. Coincidentally, Brees was under center that night for the Chargers and threw three interceptions in the loss.
However, Brees turned around his luck in his most recent meeting with the Dolphins, a 46-34 victory in South Florida back in 2009 to improve New Orleans to 6-0 en route to its Super Bowl title. The Dolphins jumped out to a shocking 24-3 lead in the second quarter before the Saints outscored Miami, 43-10 to close out the game. Brees rushed for two touchdowns and threw another to Marques Colston, while the New Orleans defense took back two interceptions for scores. In spite of Brees throwing three interceptions, New Orleans cashed as six-point road favorites and the 'over' of 47½ easily hit.
Miami is actually making its first trip to the Superdome since 1995, as the Dolphins last beat the Saints on the road in 2005 in Baton Rouge. Of course that season was the one that was marred by Hurricane Katrina and forced the Saints to play their home games in Baton Rouge and San Antonio, as New Orleans lost all four contests played at LSU's Tiger Stadium that year.
After last season's suspension-filled campaign for the Saints when head coach Sean Payton was among those banned, it's tough to include the 2012 stats from a historical perspective. However, dating back to 2011, the Saints have dominated at the Superdome from an ATS standpoint by covering 14 of their last 17 games as a home favorite, as the three losses came last season to the Redskins, Chiefs, and Buccaneers.
Since Brees arrived in New Orleans, the Saints have won 10 of his 11 games on Monday night football, including a 7-1 mark at home. The only outright loss came to the Vikings in 2008 in a 30-27 defeat as three-point home favorites, while covering five of the previous six under the Monday night lights.
The Saints are listed as seven-point favorites at most spots, with the number potentially sneaking up to 7 ½ by game-time with the public jumping on New Orleans. The total is set at 48 ½, as things get going from the Big Easy at 8:30 PM EST and the contest can be seen on ESPN.
Week 5 Look-Ahead:
Only one team is listed as a double-digit favorite next Sunday, as the Rams opened up as 12½-point home 'chalk' over the hapless Jaguars. The last time St. Louis was a 10-point favorite or higher came back in 2004, which was also the last season the Rams qualified for the playoffs.
Three 4-0 teams are listed as road favorites next week (Kansas City, Indianapolis, and Denver), while the 0-4 Giants are an early 2½-point favorite against the Eagles. The Broncos' offense once again put up plenty of points against Philadelphia in Week 4, as the Denver/Dallas total is set at 55.
Dolphins, Saints hook up
By Sportsbook.ag
MIAMI DOLPHINS (3-0) at NEW ORLEANS SAINTS (3-0)
Sportsbook.ag Line & Total: New Orleans -7.5 & 49
Opening Line & Total: Saints -6 & 48
Both the Dolphins and the Saints look to remain undefeated when the two square off in New Orleans on Monday night.
Miami is coming off a last-minute victory over the Falcons that helped them remain unbeaten. The Saints, on the other hand, improved to 3-0 with a 31-7 blowout victory over the Cardinals. Since head coach Sean Payton returned from a year-long suspension, New Orleans looks like a completely different team than they did a year ago. Since 1992, these teams have met just five times with New Orleans holding the 3-2 overall advantage and 2-1 home edge, both SU and ATS. The most recent meeting was a 46-34 win-and-cover in favor of the Saints in October of 2009, when QB Drew Brees threw for 298 yards and scored three touchdowns (1 passing, 2 rushing), but also tossed three picks. Brees has won his past eight Monday night games, throwing for 2,467 yards (308 YPG) with 24 TD and just 5 INT. The Saints are 17-6 ATS (74%) in dome games and 18-7 ATS (72%) in all games played on turf over the past three seasons. They are also 10-1 ATS as home favorites of seven points or less during that span. One trend that favors Miami is that the Dolphins are 7-0 ATS off a non-conference game over the past three seasons, winning those seven contests by an average score of 27 to 12.
The Dolphins are coming off of an impressive home victory over the Falcons in which QB Ryan Tannehill led a game-winning drive that ended with a 1-yard touchdown pass to Dion Sims with 43 seconds remaining to give Miami the 27-23 win. Tannehill played a strong game for the Dolphins, going 24-of-35 for 236 yards with 2 TD and 1 INT. Tannehill connected with four different receivers for at least four receptions in the game. His top target on the day was WR Brandon Gibson, who had six catches for 49 yards. WR Brian Hartline also hauled in four catches for 56 yards and a touchdown. The one disappointment was top WR Mike Wallace who caught just two passes, which came one week after a monster nine-catch, 115-yard performance. RB Lamar Miller had only eight carries in the game, but they were productive as he rushed for 62 yards (7.8 YPC). However, Miami still needs to improve its offensive balance with an above-average passing game (249 passing YPG, 14th in NFL), but the fifth-worst rushing attack (70 rushing YPG). On defense, Dannell Ellerbe was a standout last week as he recorded 10 tackles and was all over the field making plays. The Dolphins, however, failed to record a sack, and lost DE/LB Cameron Wake (15 sacks in 2012) for 2-to-3 weeks with a knee injury. Miami's defensive ranks are below average both against the pass (263 YPG, 20th in NFL) and the run (109 YPG, 19th in league), but it has forced six turnovers.
The Saints are undefeated this season and while a lot of the praise may go to Sean Payton, plenty of it should be going to new defensive coordinator Rob Ryan. New Orleans hasn't let an opponent score more than 17 points so far this season, after being one of the worst defense in the league last year when they surrendered an NFL-high 440 total YPG and gave up the second-most points at 28.4 PPG. In Sunday's 31-7 victory over Arizona, the Saints allowed just 247 total yards, recorded four sacks and forced two turnovers for the third straight game. On offense, QB Drew Brees went 29-of-46 with 342 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He also added 21 yards on the ground with a 7-yard rushing touchdown. TE Jimmy Graham was his number one target and he was absolutely unstoppable, catching nine of the 15 passes intended for him for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Top WR Marques Colston pitched in five receptions for 71 yards on the day. While the Saints will look to throw early and often with their fourth-ranked passing offense (319 YPG), the ground game needs some work, gaining just 86 YPG (24th in NFL) with zero running back touchdowns. RB Mark Ingram (toe) is doubtful for this contest, meaning RBs Pierre Thomas (4.0 YPC) and Darren Sproles (3.6 YPC) will be the main ball carriers.