NFL Preseason Predictions 2012: Arizona Cardinals vs. New Orleans Saints

New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees is anxious to step out onto the football field in Sunday night's Hall of Fame Game against the Arizona Cardinals in Canton, OH, as the team has experienced a tumultuous offseason.

The Saints are currently three-point favorites in the NFL betting odds (courtesy of SBR Forum), while the total has jumped two points to settle in at 37 since being released Thursday morning.

New Orleans will be playing in its fifth Hall of Fame Game, posting a 1-3 record in those previous appearances, including a 20-7 setback as three-point underdogs to the Pittsburgh Steelers on Aug. 5, 2007.

Brees will likely see limited action this weekend, considering he completed just one of four passes in last year's 24-3 win over the San Francisco 49ers as 2.5-point home favorites to open up last year's exhibition slate. Backup signal-caller Chase Daniels was on the field for most of the game.

Sports bettors will find that the Saints are 3-1 against the spread (ATS) in their last four exhibition openers.

Arizona's quarterback competition between Kevin Kolb and John Skelton is going to get most of the media attention this weekend, but the team's defense shouldn't be overlooked. The unit played a big part in the Cardinals winning seven of their final nine regular-season games last season.

I'm not a big fan of head coach Ken Whisenhunt's 8-11-1 ATS record, but I'm going to recommend taking the points here.

Pick: Arizona Cardinals +3

Follow Jeff Grant on Twitter