NFL Predictions Week 1: New Orleans Saints vs. Green Bay Packers Total Betting

The betting public certainly believes that the Green Bay Packers have a legitimate shot of repeating as Super Bowl champions, currently sitting as the second choice behind the New England Patriots (+533) at odds of +625.

Green Bay will be tested early in its first game since winning the Lombardi Trophy, hosting the New Orleans Saints Thursday night at Lambeau Field in the 2011 NFL regular-season opener. The kickoff is scheduled for 8:30 EST on NBC.

The Packers are currently 4.5-point home favorites and the total sits at 47.5. Green Bay has covered its last four openers and head coach Mike McCarthy has shown great ability in getting his team ready when the curtain opens on a new season.

Bettors may have a definitive interest in simply playing Green Bay to win straight-up (moneyline) in this contest due to its 5-0 record in prime-time season openers, winning four such games on Monday night and a single contest on Sunday evening.

Recreational bettors will also drive the total higher near kickoff, as the game features the only two teams in the NFL to finish in the top 10 in total offense in each of the last five seasons.

Green Bay and New Orleans have averaged a combined 52 points offensively over that five-year period, which has likely caused 82 percent of bets so far to be placed on the contest going over.

Smart money may side with the under near kickoff when examining the fact that both teams possessed a top-five NFL defense in 2010—the Saints checking in at No. 4 and Packers a notch behind.

The "over" has cashed in the last five meetings, but I’m quick to point out that all of those meetings took place over a span of 14 years. The last game in the series was a 51-29 home win by the Saints in 2008 as one-point favorites and the total stood at 51.5.

Don’t overlook the "under" being 9-3 in the Saints' last 12 openers, while the Packers have fallen below the posted total in six of seven Week 1 contests.

Finally, the Saints tallied a 14-9 home win over the Minnesota Vikings in this same situation a year ago, falling far below the 48.5-point total that oddsmakers sent out.