I'm not surprised that the New Orleans Saints are favored over the St. Louis Rams. The Rams, surprising as their season may be, still have a few adjustments to make before they're playing like the defending Super Bowl champs, to say the least.
Just how much of an underdog are the Rams this week? It varies from 9-10 points, a big spread no matter how you look at it. Only Cincinnati at Pittsburgh has a similar spread.
The Rams have played five teams with at least a .500 record this season, going 2-3. Of those five teams, only the Buccaneers, Seahawks and Falcons had records of .500 or better when the Rams played them. In short, the Rams don't have a very good track record against winning teams, with schedule makers having some responsibility for that.
A win over the Saints would erase most of the asterisks next to the Rams for prognosticators and playoff predictions. They got over the road win hump, now it's time to scale the next obstacle.