The Saints next Season

[Mooche]

How do you see this team performing?

They came alive in the second half of the season, but had a super slow start and got bounced from the Playoffs in a big shocker in Seattle.

How will they bounce back?

 

[cruzg24]

I think they will be fine, Drew Brees will make sure of that. They always have a lot of weapons on offense, they just need to find more players that fit their defensive scheme. I just dont see any player that is noteworthy on that defense that is consistently great. I would go after a LB in the draft cuz they got torched in the playoffs by the run.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

The slow start was because of a injury to Drew in Week 3, from what I've heard it's a injury that most other QB's would have sat down from, but obviously the Saints couldn't afford to do that. It was pretty bad though. The Seattle game, we really hurt because Malcolm Jenkins was hurt, Darren Sharper too. That forced a big change in our defense, and put Roman Harper in more coverage situations then he was in all season. But still, that doesn't explain that game.

I think we'll be back next season (if there is a season) better than the last. We'll get healthier and hopefully draft a impact player or two on draft day, for the defensive side of the ball.

 

[DJT]

I think they will do decent. But not on the championship level.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

I think they will do decent. But not on the championship level.

I'm interested in hearing why not?

Lets see if your concerns match up with my concerns.

 

[DJT]

Well they just seemed to not be able to execute too many times last season. I'm not sure if Reggie Bush will be back and healthy next season, but they were 28th in the league in rushing yards. They lost too many games they should of had. Like Arizona..they need to execute.

 

[jonathanlambert33]

Well they just seemed to not be able to execute too many times last season. I'm not sure if Reggie Bush will be back and healthy next season, but they were 28th in the league in rushing yards. They lost too many games they should of had. Like Arizona..they need to execute.

Well to be fair it's hard to execute when you aren't healthy.

Our backs going into the season were:
Pierre Thomas
Reggie Bush
Lynell Hamilton
PJ Hill

Pierre Thomas missed 11 of 17 games, Reggie Bush missed 9 of 17 games (not including going down in the playoff game), both Hamilton and Hill were put on IR during training camp and missed a combined 34 games obviously.

So because of Hamilton and Hill, insert Chris Ivory and Ladell Betts. Ivory played in 12 of the 17 games, but get this, he only played 3 full games without going out with a injury. Ladell Betts was put on IR during the season and only played in 8 of the 17 games.

Now insert Julius Jones who was signed early in the season, and he played in 10 of the 11 games he was a Saint. Along with Bush, he also went down with a injury against Seattle. We were down to Heath Evans at the end of the Seattle game.

So what is that? I think our running backs missed 67 out of 113 possible combined games.

By the end of the Seattle game our RB's consisted of Heath Evans, and two guys I don't even know.

 

[Mooche]

The Saints battled through a lot of injuries, and I think the big thing that really crushed them was the brutal secondary play against the Seahawks.

Everyone is still slobbering over Marshawn's run (it was amazing, yes) but the secondary for the Saints could not stop that passing attack, and against Seattle that is a problem.

Drew Brees throwing the picks isn't a concern in my eyes, you know he'll be back, and he'll be spreading the ball around to everybody with heck, a pair of frickin' hands in that offense.

Watch out for Graham...