Football season is here, lets look at what we have

Well guys and gals, its football time again and if you are anything like me, you can't wait to see the product the Saints are going to put on the field. Let me give you guys my take on what we have to work with this year.

Offensively, everyone in their right mind knows that the Saints start and stop with #9. Drew Brees has brought something to this organization that we have never seen before. He is a legit elite quarterback and he is responsible for getting this team going. If the old saying is true that the team with the best quarterback wins, then the Saints are definitely the favorite in the NFC because i dont think any other team in this conference has a better signal caller than the Saints. We also brought in Mark Brunell as our backup and while he is an upgrade over Jamie Martin, lets hope he doesnt need to see the field other than mop up duty because if the Saints lose Brees for a significant amount of time, they are finished.
So in adding Brunell, I say the Saints QB situation is better than it was last year.

Questions linger at the RB position, but I am not one of the guys who is worried about it. Deuce has showed up lighter than ever and ready to help this team win again. I will also say that his days of running for 1,200 yards are over, but he can be effective enough to help us out and pound the ball. We have all heard the talk about Mr. Bush dedicating his time this offseason to being with the team and making himself better after he faced a reality check last season. I will go on record as saying that i am buying it. I am buying it to the degree that i think Reggie will average more than 4 yards a carry, and he will reach a new career high in rushing yards this year. I am not going to give a number, but we will all be pleased. I will put out the over/under on his yards from scrimmage at 1,700. If Deuce goes down this year, the fallback plan will rest on the shoulders of Pierre Thomas. The fan favorite has had a full season of learning, weight training, and most importantly, gaining the confidence of the coaches to give him the ball. So if McAllister gives us 12 games, Reggie has finally found the light, and Thomas gets his chance, the running back situation is far better than it was last season.

The WR position is a murky one. 8 guys with NFL ability will be fighting it out for 5 or 6 spots. We know that we have talent on the roster, but we don't know who makes the team come September. Colston, Patten, and Meachem are locks, with the latter being the main focus of all of us message board fanatics. I am the guy who thinks Meachem validates himself this year and becomes a major part of the most explosive offense in the history of this franchise. Devery Henderson brings a ton of speed and even more inconsistency to the position, but he is something for opposing defenses to worry about. Terrence Copper is very underrated locally in my opinion because of what he brings to the team as far as knowledge of the offense and ability to excel on special teams. To me, he is more of a lock to make it than Henderson. Lance Moore didn't capitalize on his opportunity last year as a returner, but was adequate as a reciever and did play well on the coverage units. Adrian Arrington is this year's camp sweetheart, but he has his work cut out for him. I can't see him making it unless he turns himself into a special teams demon, which is something he has never done. If you ask me, I think Moore and Arrington miss the cut unless the Saints can find a taker for Henderson. I cannot see any scenario in which Meachem, Henderson and Arrington all make the team. With the expected progression of Meachem, and either the emergence of Henderson or Arrington make this unit better than last year as well.

The offensive line is pretty much set, with the only questions being who becomes the last guy to win a roster spot. The starting five of Brown, Evans, Goodwin, Nesbit and Stinchcomb are all set. Strief, Bushrod and Alleman are all locks as well. That leaves Matt Lehr, Carl Nicks and Tim Duckworth to fight it out for one or two spots. There shouldn't be a question of whether or not Goodwin can fill Faine's shoes, because he can and he will. Nesbit and Stinchcomb may have the young guys breathing down of them a bit harder this year but I believe they hold on to their jobs. The depth of this unit makes this year's line better than last year and possibly the best in many years because it goes 9 or 10 deep without much dropoff.


I will get to the defense later, assuming you dont think my breakdown of the offense was a complete waste of your time