New Orleans Saints
Head Coach: Sean Payton (73-39 all-time in New Orleans)
Last Year's Results: 11-5, eliminated in the Divisional Round in the playoffs by Seattle
Projected Starters:
(My Player Rankings Guide:
E - Elite Starter: Franchise changing player at his position
HQ - High Quality Starter: One of the best in the game at his position
GS - Good Starter: If this guy's on your team, he's likely starting and you should be perfectly fine with it
AS - Average Starter: This guy is OK, but if possible, I'd be looking for an upgrade
BAS - Below Average Starer: This guy should not be starting, but he will because he's the best option
??? - Not enough information regarding this guy and the jury is still out on him
R - Rookie: Pretty self-explanatory
PS - Poor Starter: This guy shouldn't be starting for your football team. NO EXCUSES!)
OFFENSE:
QB: Drew Brees (E)
RB: Pierre Thomas (HQ)
RB: Mark Ingram (AS)
WR: Marques Colston (HQ)
WR: Brandin Cooks (R)
TE: Jimmy Graham (E)
C: Tim Lelito (???)
RG: Jahri Evans (GS)
LG: Ben Grubbs (GS)
RT: Zach Strief (HQ)
LT: Terron Armstead (???)
DEFENSE:
DE: Akiem Hicks (GS)
DE: Cameron Jordan (HQ)
DT: Brodrick Bunkley (GS)
LOLB: Victor Butler (AS)
ROLB: Junior Galette (GS)
ILB: David Hawthorne (BAS)
ILB: Curtis Lofton (BAS)
CB: Champ Bailey (GS)
CB: Keenan Lewis (HQ)
SS: Kenny Vaccaro (GS)
FS: Jairus Byrd (E)
SPECIAL TEAMS:
K: Shayne Graham
P: Thomas Morstead
Schedule:
vs. @ Atlanta
vs. @ Cleveland
vs. Minnesota
vs. @ Dallas
vs. Tampa Bay
BYE WEEK
vs. @ Detroit
vs. Green Bay
vs. @ Carolina
vs. San Francisco
vs. Cincinnati
vs. Baltimore
vs. @ Pittsburgh
vs. Carolina
vs. @ Chicago
vs. Atlanta
vs. @ Tampa Bay
Predicted Results: 12-4 (4-2 in division)
Team Analysis: The New Orleans Saints have consistently been one of the better teams in the NFL over the last few seasons for numerous reasons. They have one of the better head coaches in the NFL in Sean Payton. When Payton was suspended for a year in 2012, the team started out 0-4 and ended up finishing 7-9, which was easily one of the worst seasons in New Orleans since Payton and Drew Brees arrived. Sean Payton knows how to get the best out of his players and they like playing for him, which is a huge reason for the amount of success that the Saints have endured lately. Another big reason for their success is Brees. Brees recently joked that he could play at the level he's playing at right now until he's 45. If that happens, that's trouble for the rest of the league as Brees is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL year-in and year-out. It also helps when you have guys like Jimmy Graham, Marques Colston, Pierre Thomas, and Bree's latest weapon, rookie Brandin Cooks, to help you out. The Saints are set on offense and will put up points this season without much trouble. Have a fantasy football team? You could do a lot worse than having a member of this football team on your team.
The Saints are also pretty damn good on defense. They have one guy that I consider "elite" and they just added him in the off-season. Former Oregon Duck Jarius Byrd has high hopes set on him in New Orleans, but he'll be able to back up his new contract with his play on the field this season. I'm not too worried about that. Joining Byrd in the Saints secondary is Champ Bailey, Kenny Vaccaro (a player who will likely join "elite" status once this season ends), and Keenan Lewis to round out what is a pretty solid unit on paper. There's high hopes for these guys this season, so it will be interesting to see if all the time and money they've spent on upgrading the secondary will pay off. The only place the Saints are really lacking on defense is at linebacker. They really need some upgrades at the position and hopefully that won't be their downfall this season, especially when playoff time comes.
I have the Saints finishing 12-4 and to be honest with you, I haven't really seen anyone pick them to win the Super Bowl. I think it's safe to say that I consider the New Orleans Saints my "dark horse sleeper" to win the Super Bowl this season. I don't know if it's really a "sleeper" pick to pick the Saints to win the Super Bowl since they've been pretty consistent the last couple of seasons, but I'm calling it one. I currently have New Orleans ranked as my 4th favorite team to win it all this season, but it wouldn't surprise me to see Sean Payton and Drew Brees hoisting another trophy when it's all said and done.
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