Betting Line
Brees and the Saints will be a big test for the Texans' defense.
Point Spread: Saints -4
Total: 51.5
Houston ran their record to 2-0 with a 23-13 win at Miami last week. New Orleans bounced back from a Week 1 loss with a 30-13 throttling of Chicago last Sunday.
The Texans have gotten back-to-back 100-yard efforts from RB as RB Arian Foster (check status) rehabs a hamstring injury. The Saints run defense is not an elite unit and expect the Houston running game to have success. QB Matt Schaub hasn’t posted the big numbers in 2011 that he has in recent years but has still been effective. New Orleans has a weak secondary and Schaub has the weapons to take advantage of that. The Saints tallied six sacks last week after having trouble generating a pass rush in Week 1. Look for Schaub to utilize TE Owen Daniels more in the short-passing game but WR Andre Johnson remains the main target and the Saints lack a corner capable of covering him one-to-one.
New Orleans has had little trouble scoring this season but now face the No.1-ranked defense in the NFL. Now no one is buying the Texans as the top defense in the league but they are much improved in their new 3-4 scheme. The Saints have been able to run the ball effectively in 2011 and need to run the ball to maintain balance. While QB Drew Brees can torch most defenses, he is always better when the running game is a threat. The Texans have held their first two opponents to under 200 yards passing but have a real challenge here. WR Marques Colston is out but Brees has always done a good job of spreading the ball around.
This is a step up in class for Houston but we feel they are up to it. OLB Mario Williams is even more of a pass-rushing threat standing up on the outside and he should be able to get good pressure on Brees. We also feel the Texans will be able to run the ball effectively with Tate and/or Foster against a defense that has several starters nursing injuries.
Take the Texans +4
