New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com - NOLA.com 12 reasons why you can believe in the 2017 New Orleans Saints

So you didn’t see this Saints’ season coming, did ya?
Don’t be too hard on yourself. Few did.
Most pundits picked the Saints as a middle-of-the-pack outfit this season.
I was a bit more optimistic, picking them to go 10-6 in my preseason crystal ball column.
Yet, as bold as that prognostication seemed at the time, a 10-6 campaign would be extremely disappointing after the Saints’ surprising 7-2 start.
The Saints have won seven consecutive games and now have an 88 percent probability rate to make the playoffs. And how they are winning is perhaps the most surprising part of it all.

http://image.nola.com/home/nola-medi...8ade76e455.jpg

They are pounding opponents with a dominant rushing attack and suffocating, attacking defense.
When’s the last time you could say that about a Saints team in the Sean Payton-Drew Brees era?
During the heady run, the Saints have set two eye-opening franchise records.
Against Detroit in Week 6, they scored a club-record three defensive touchdowns in a 52-38 win.
In Buffalo on Sunday, they set another record by scoring six rushing touchdowns in a 47-10 rout of the Bills.
Two years removed from allowing the most yards in a season in NFL history, the Saints now rank eighth in total defense and are tied for fifth in scoring defense.
Meanwhile, they ranked third in rushing offense, the highest they’ve ever been with Brees under center.
Who dat, indeed.
Here are 12 reasons why you should believe the 12th season of the Sean Payton-Drew Brees era can be special:

1. Versatility
Unlike past Saints outfits, this team can win in multiple ways. The Saints don’t have to solely rely on Drew Brees to pass for 300 yards and four touchdowns to prevail. The Saints notably scored 52 and 47 points in the two games in which Brees passed for fewer than 200 yards. The defense, meanwhile, has held six of its past seven opponents to fewer than 20 points. By comparison, the 2009 Super Bowl team held only four teams below 20 points.

2. Marshon Lattimore
The rookie from Ohio State has played in just eight games in his NFL career but he’s already the best cornerback to play the position in the Payton-Brees era. His ability to lock down the opposing team’s best receiver has been the catalyst to the defensive resurgence. The Saints haven’t had a Pro Bowl cornerback since 1995, the longest drought in the NFL. But that stretch could end soon with the way Lattimore is playing.

3. The Ingram-Kamara tandem
Mark Ingram is tied for the NFL lead with seven rushing touchdowns and ranks sixth in rushing with 672 yards. Rookie Alvin Kamara leads the NFL with a 6.52 yards-per-carry average and ranks 22nd with 417 rushing yards. The Saints haven’t had a one-two punch this talented since 2006 when Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush teamed in the backfield. In fact, few teams have. Ingram and Kamara have amassed 1,654 yards from scrimmage (rushing and receiving) and are on pace for nearly 3,000 combined yards, which makes them the second-most productive backfield duo in modern NFL history, trailing only Walter Payton and Roland Harper, who combined for 3,207 yards from scrimmage in 1978.

4. Drew Brees
With Aaron Rodgers sidelined and Eli Manning out of the race, the Saints boast the most experienced and accomplished quarterback among the NFC contenders. He’s also the best. As he approaches his 39th birthday, Brees is playing as well as ever. He leads the NFL with a 71.7 completion percentage and ranks third in passer rating at 104.0.

12 reasons why you can believe in the 2017 New Orleans Saints | Read more on NOLA.com