Tampa Bay Buccaneers defensive end Noah Spence (57) reaches out to grab New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees’ arm during the second quarter of an NFL football game Sunday, Dec. 11, 2016, in Tampa, Fla. Brees was able to slip away from Spence. (AP Photo/Jason Behnken)
Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016 | 2 a.m.
Related Coverage
We’re entering the third season of the annual South Point-lined Play of the Day competition, effective July 1.
Starting bankrolls have reset to $10,000, with the maximum bet being to win $1,000 and the minimum wager $300. Ray Brewer won the 2015-2016 season, after Taylor Bern prevailed in 2014-2015. Bern stepped away in the middle of the 2016-2017 season with a 16-12 record and $13,317 bankroll, with Mike Grimala taking his place.
New Orleans Saints minus-3.5 vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: $440 to win $400
I hate that the hook got added to this line, but there’s not much I can do about that. This looks like a tough NFL week; there’s not a lot on the board I like.
The one thing I’m sure of is that New Orleans is better than Tampa Bay. Playing in the Superdome, the Saints should be able to cover this number.
The Saints sabotaged themselves in a loss to the Buccaneers earlier this year, turning the ball over three times in a 16-11 loss. That shouldn’t happen again.
It’s comical that Tampa Bay has such a much stronger turnover margin than New Orleans, plus-3 to minus-4, on the year. Opponents have perfected dropping Jameis Winston interceptions, and the Buccaneers have fallen on fumbles as well as any team in the league.
They’ve recovered 58 percent of fumbles to rank third in the league. That’s a number that should regress.
Sure, the Buccaneers have higher stakes in trying to play their way into the playoffs. But the Saints aren’t mathematically eliminated either.
Until that happens, I expect their best effort. And the Buccaneers shouldn’t be able to compete with their best effort.
Current Standings: Keefer (29-21-2, $11,051), Brewer (21-18-1, $10,095), Grimala (1-2, $9,450), Granger (4-7, $7,540)
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy