You look at all of the teams on paper before the season starts and determine who is likely to be among the contenders based on their perceived strengths and weaknesses. The New Orleans Saints and the San Francisco 49ers were considered by many to be among the elite in the NFC, yet both have stumbled their way to a 4-4 record at the halfway point of their seasons. The records may be the same, but how they look in their respective divisions and their respective NFL odds entering this game are a whole lot different.
Date/Time: Sunday, November 8th, 1:00 PM
Location: Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Broadcast on Fox.
The NFC West is currently being dominated by the surprising Arizona Cardinals, who are sitting at 7-1. That leaves the 49ers well off the pace and very much on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs. There is a lot of talk in the NFL world that the Jim Harbaugh way of coaching is starting wear very thin, and that no matter what happens this season, he will be shown the door at the end of it. Losing their last 2 games is not helping the cause, as is their anemic offense, which is going to have to be a whole lot better if they are to topple Drew Brees and company this weekend.
One of the biggest surprises this season has been just how bad the NFC South is, with the performances of the Atlanta Falcons being a particular head scratcher. That the Saints are sitting atop the division with a .500 record gives you something of an indication of just how poor things are looking down south. It does look, though, as if they are ready to take a strangle hold on the division and make it theirs, as they have been pretty impressive in their past two outings, where they easily handled the Packers and the Panthers.
