Monday Night Football wasn't created for the benefit of bookmakers - it just seems that way.

Almost from its inception, Monday Night Football was a boon to those whose interest in the NFL is enhanced by having an opinion and backing it up with George Washingtons.

For one thing, it's a prime-time game where a national audience can focus its attention. But more importantly, it's an opportunity to either parlay winnings from the previous Sunday, or try to catch up after a day of losses.

So tonight's game featuring undefeated New Orleans at home against the NFL gold standard, New England, holds a special appeal for bettors.

The Saints, 10-0 in the standings and 7-3 against the spread, opened as 3-point favorites over the Patriots, 7-3 in the real world and 6-4 ATS. But the money has moved the line 1 to 11/2 points in the direction of the Pats. That money came from both the so-called sharps, professional sports gamblers, and the public at large, according to Jay Rood, director of the race and sports books for MGM Mirage, owners of several Las Vegas casinos, including the Mirage, Bellagio and MGM Grand.

"The public always likes the Patriots anyway so the feeling is, 'I get the Patriots and the points, too, hey, I'm all over that,' " Rood said.

Indeed, it is a rare occasion for New England to be getting points. The Patriots have been underdogs just once this season before tonight - against Indianapolis - and they used their 2-point cushion in the line to cover in a 35-34 loss.

Since 2006, New England is 6-2 ATS as an underdog.

Impressive, but so is New Orleans as a betting proposition. In the last two years, the high-scoring Saints are 9-4 ATS at home (11-2 straight up).

But here's the attention-getter:

Over the last two seasons in games where the Saints have been a favorite and have been giving seven or fewer points, New Orleans is 11-1 ATS. All of the Saints' point-spread losses this year have come against double-digit lines.

Spicing up tonight's game is the tantalizing over-under, which is an astronomical 571/2, the highest so far this season.

The quarterback effect. The biggest line movement among yesterday's games was in the Arizona-Tennessee game. The starting status of Cardinals QB Kurt Warner was in doubt because of a head injury. The initial benchmark line had the Cardinals a 1-point favorite but when it became clear that Warner wouldn't play, bookmakers quickly adjusted as bettors pushed the Titans to 31/2- to 4-point favorites yesterday morning.

The Cards used every bit of the additional line to cover those late wagers in a 20-17 loss to the Titans.