"Unfinished Business" What are your expectations?
 

From the Sporting News via Yahoo! Sports:

Following the NFL draft, Sporting News' NFL correspondents filed reports on what teams must do to fill needs this summer. Here's what NFC correspondents see as necessary player personnel moves:

New Orleans Saints

The Saints are a better team now than they were three months ago, when they lost the NFC championship game. They re-signed all their key free agents, returned 21 of 22 starters and then upgraded at six positions. The team doesn't have any glaring needs. The bigger issue will be dealing with higher expectations, an improved NFC South and a schedule that includes trips to Indianapolis, Seattle and Chicago.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slu...=tsn&type=lgns

Instead of grading the test before it's been taken, it's probably more productive look at how the team is positioning itself for next season and beyond. Personally, I'm ecstatic about the offseason moves the team has made. Locking key FAs like Grant, signing the only two Bengals that didn't get arrested and bringing deapth to a thin D were all great moves. I like the midset of the FO in the draft too. They are thinking ahead and signing value guys that will hopefully make an impact in comming years. We were the undisputed second best team in the NFC last year and the Bears' offseason has turned into a trainwreck with the Briggs situation. Add in the way the team cashed in on the Colts' blue-light special on CB's and my expectations are through the roof.

Expectations:

12 Wins, #1 Off., Top 5 Def., Brees - MVP and an early February trip to Arizona.

Back in the NFC Championship game and hopefully a Superbowl.

The one big challege this year will be the fact we won't be sneaking up on anybody like last year. I will bet you more than a handful of teams had a "w" circled on there schedule last year. This year everybody will be gunning for us. Don't forget that defenses have had a year of game film to look and study our Offense. I think 11- 12 wins is still a possiblity. As long as we are healthly!!!!!!!!!!

Helluva post Scott. You're right on about health concers, not sneaking up on people and the boobies...wait...what were we talking about?

The Saints didn't "sneak up" on anybody, certainly not after weeks 3-4.
They can look at all the film they want, but the Saints have playmakers in Brees, Deuce, Reggie, Colston and a coach with a brain. More often than not, "system" can be stopped by studying it; more often than not, playmakers can't.

And just as they have film of the Saints offense, Coach Payton has film of their defenses.

Win the division. 2-0 against all teams in the division.
Win the home field advantage thru out the playoffs.
Now we are talking super bowl.

I think we did still sneak up on people. Not from a standpoint of they were overlooking us as not as good as we were, but from a position of they had no clue where we would attack them. We had games where Deuce steamrolled opponents, or where Reggie exploded for huge plays, or where Colston ate their secondary apart. Even the Cowboys game where Karney became the ultimate weapon, and a few games where we had huge plays to Devery or Copper.

I think opponents just had no ability to game plan against our offense in many case and by that we had a huge element of surprise. But in this modern age of the game there are only so many surprises available. Payton cannot rest on his laurels and assume people cannot defend us. I think that is why he added a guy like Meacham and went out a grabbed a receiving TE in Eric Johnson and added a fairly accurate long kicker in Mare.

My biggest hope this year in terms of expectations is that we play more consistent and dominating defense. And that we find a way to rise to the occasion against the harder AFC opponents. We did not play effectively against teams like Baltimore, Cincinnati or Pittsburgh. And it scares me to have to face the Colts even if opening game is the best time to get them.

I expect the offense to improve. As good as they were last year, they were young, and still learning the offense. Now we add 3 guys in Pittman, Meachem and Eric Johnson to that arsenal. Defensively, all i ask for is fewer big plays allowed and force more turnovers. Other than that, i thought the defense was very good and they added pieces in Simmons, Kaesviharn, David, and Young. If everyone stays healthy and things fall into place, we could be the top team in the NFC this season.

It wasn't until mid season or a bit after were people starting to give us our due. We were overlooked and we still did sneak up on a lot of people.