Offseason Breakdown: New Orleans Saints
 

2011 Record: 13-3 (first in NFC South; lost to 49ers in divisional round)

Key Additions: DT Brodrick Bunkley, G Ben Grubbs, LB Curtis Lofton, LB David Hawthorne, LB Chris Chamberlain

Key Subtractions: WR Robert Meachem, G Carl Nicks, CB Tracy Porter, LB Jo-Lonn Dunbar, DT Shaun Rogers

Team Strengths: QB, RB, TE, LB

Team Weaknesses: WR, DL

Meachem leaves and suddenly WR is a weakness for the Saints?

Offseason Breakdown: New Orleans Saints | Audibles

Exactly my thoughts.

It just goes to show the sports media familiarity with teams runs about 1 deep, and that may be putting it kindly.

How cool is it to see LB listed as a team strength? "I'll take... things I hadn't heard about my Saints in 2 decades for 500.00 Alex."

I'd say our top 3 strengths are QB, RB, TE

Our top 3 weaknesses are DT, DE and Coaching continuity.

And even our weaknesses aren't all that weak. We have several players who could step up at DT (Ellis, Hicks, Remi) and DE (Jordan, McBride, Galette, Wilson).

You know things are pretty good when your weaknesses are manned by basically NFL-Average players.

We have no sub-par players at any position, only average and up.

Yeah, I don't get the WR weakness. Henderson and Moore have been suffering for playtime because of Meachem. Moore was shown to be a #1 WR in 2008, and Henderson has always been one of the most solid 4.35 speed deep threats in the NFL.
Colston, Moore, and Henderson getting more touches is a great thing. Before they said we had to many WR weapons. Now they say we don't have enough,,hmmm, lol.

So Graham doesn't count as a WR, interesting. I know they upgraded the defense this offseason but IMO the entire defense is a weakness until proven otherwise

Looks like the guy had to put something on paper...

TE is still a question mark to me because our #2 has concussion issues.

I can only think the writer forgot about Colston....only way to explain it....

WR a weakness? LB a strength? Crack kills bro. I know the WR statement is a farse, but sure hope the LB statement is true.

"In the past, the Saints were generous with how they spread the ball out, but it appeared last year as if teams slowly started to figure out how to defend the multi-option attack…"

NFL Passing Records set by the Saints in 2011
Most passing yards – 5,347
Most passes completed - 472
Highest completion percentage – 71.3

Yep, the Saints passing attack had been figured out


"…and as a result Brees often became reliant last year on Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles"

Colston – 80 catches for 1143 yards
Moore – 52 catches for 627 yards
Meachem - 40 catches for 620 yards
Thomas – 50 catches for 425 yards
Henderson – 32 catches for 503 yards
And 6 more receivers totaling 30+ catches and 150+ yards.


Obviously Brees was too dependent on Sproles and Graham.