Saints-Packers point spread holding steady in tonight’s opening showdown at Green Bay

Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees each have a recent Super Bowl MVP under their belt.

The NFL is back.

The New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers, the two most recent Super Bowl champions, face each other tonight in what figures to be a close game. The Packers are currently listed as 4-point favorites at BetOnline after opening at -4.5.

What follows is a breakdown of the game, with news, notes, quotes and anecdotes to help you make your bets.

If you’re looking to bet on this game, you can do so at either BetOnline or 5Dimes, which are both highly rated offshore sportsbooks by SBR. (BetOnline even takes credit card deposits.)

Keep in mind: The “edge” is merely a suggestion, and not something I will be personally playing, although there might be some on a particular day that I do. If you are betting on every NFL football game, you’re either a drunk, a degenerate or both.

Follow along on Twitter at @beyondthebets, where I’ll occasionally post games that I’m on.

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SAINTS @ PACKERS, 8:30 P.M. ET

OPEN: Packers -4.5 | CURRENT: Packers -4 | OVER/UNDER: 48 | TV: NBC

Former Heisman winner Mark Ingram makes his NFL debut tonight at Green Bay.

SUMMARY: What more could you ask for? A much-anticipated season begins with the two most recent Super Bowl champions squaring off in the sport’s most historic setting, Lambeau Field. Green Bay has finished as the best against-the-spread team in the league in two of the past four seasons and last had a losing ATS record in 2006. After scuffling a bit through the 2010 regular season, the Packers covered in all four of their playoff victories en route to their fourth Super Bowl title. New Orleans, on the other hand, hasn’t had a winning ATS record since 2008 and finished last season a disappointing 7-9 ATS before bowing out of the playoffs in the first round at Seattle.

THE SKINNY: There hasn’t been a repeat Super Bowl champion since the Patriots won back-to-back titles in 2004 and 2005. Some blame complacency, citing a “Super Bowl hangover” effect. Others point to free agency and competitive balance as the reason. But if there’s ever a team set up for a sustained run at dominance, it’s Green Bay.

“I definitely think we’re a hungry team,” WR Greg Jennings told the Green Bay Press Gazette. “We’re still a young team, kind of naïve to everything that’s taken place. Definitely, I don’t think anyone has taken what we accomplished last year for granted.”

The Packers are healthy, and that could be downright scary for their 2011 opponents, starting tonight with the Saints. But New Orleans certainly has the talent to hang with Green Bay, even with starting wide receiver Lance Moore out with an injured groin.

Saints first-round pick Mark Ingram only adds to an already dynamic offense, and he makes his NFL debut on the same field where his father, Mark Sr., once played.

“It’s prime time; it’s the first game of the NFL season,” Ingram told the New Orleans Times Picayne. “Everybody’s going to be watching. I’m excited. I’m really excited about it. I’ve been working hard my whole entire life to wait for this moment.”

EDGE: This is truly a tough game to call. While 56 percent of the public action was coming in on the Packers at the time this was written, I’ll give a (very) small edge to the Saints with 4 points, although I wouldn’t be surprised if that climbs back to 4.5 by kickoff. New Orleans has dealt with all the hoopla and distraction of being a Super Bowl champion playing in the NFL’s opening game last year; the Packers haven’t. It’s not out of the question the Saints could go into Lambeau and upset Green Bay, so getting that many points is a nice bonus.