SmashMouth

Methinks NOT. But it'll be fun year nonetheless.

rezburna

People don't watch ball. I'll say that over and over again.

BakoSaint

We definitely could be the worst team if things go wrong. I expect we are most likely to regress a little because our young QBs, while they are cheaper with more upside, are also more likely to struggle at first than proven mediocre Carr, and many of our core players like Kamara, Jordan, Hill, Mathieu, Davis, Olave, McCoy, Shaheed, etc are either old and/or having a lot of injury issues. But although we only won 5 games and could be likely to regress, I still think many of the teams that lost 5 or more games last year are a little more likely to be a little worse. For example the Jets won only 5 games and replaced Rodgers with Fields which is a big step down. The Titans had the #1 pick but he is a bit raw and they are coming off a 3 win season. The Browns are also coming off a 3 win season and have a mess at QB. the Giants won 3 games and added Russell Wilson and a raw rookie QB but Russ keeps getting older and could get hurt and there is no guarantee they improve. I think we are the 4th worst team but definitely a contender for worst. And honestly teams like Atlanta (if Penix gets hurt), Carolina (if Young regresses or gets hurt), the Raiders (if Geno struggles and rookie RB is ineffective without oline), the Patriots (if Maye doesnt progress), etc could easily be worse too. Most likely our window is pick 1-10 in 2026 draft.

jnormand

I definitely don’t think we’re gonna be the worst. Tbh, I have no idea how this team will play out. We’ve got a new coach and staff, a new defensive scheme and we have some players that are kind of wild cards. They may or may not surprise.

I don’t think the Saints are gonna be worse than they were last year. I see it as a 4 to 7 win season. But I’d be happy with good development and chemistry regardless of how many wins.

I just want to see improvement on both sides of the ball and something to look forward to in the future.

saintsfan1976

So many variables to consider as the season plays out but I can say we're better here:

- Entire Coaching Staff upgraded
- O Line can be top 10 in league
- Offensive scheme/identity
- Special Teams will be strong

Unanswered questions:

- Secondary
- D Line: Pass rush + Run D
- Did we do enough to improve pass-catchers

rezburna

I think Justin Reid and Tyrann Mathieu can be one of the top 5 safety combos in the league. If they bring in Asante Samuel, Jr. and move to a zone heavy scheme then I can see Kool Aid taking a huge step forward and secondary being a strength for this team.

Defensive line is the huge question mark for me. It wouldn't hurt to improve WR and/or TE too.

BakoSaint

I have noticed that every fan base of a losing or mediocre team has this false optimism every year that they will definitely be at least a little better, or at least can be no worse, because they participated in the draft and free agency, made some additions, filled some areas of need, and replaced some coaches with new coaches who came from winning programs. But the thing is, every team participates in the draft, every team participates in free agency, every team takes into account their areas of need in the draft and free agency, and despite these incredible improvements of all 32 teams, the 32 teams will combine to generate the exact same .500 winning percentage they did last year, and overall the winning teams from last year will contribute more of those wins. Every losing team in the bottom 10 will always replace some of their coaches with coaches from winning teams, but the results will never be predictable, just ask Charlie Weis, Josh McDaniels, Matt Nagy, Robert Saleh, etc.

The draft and free agency seem like pure addition, they should make every team better, but the truth is they are one side of a treadmill against age or injury. You may add an all pro, but at the same time you may have an all pro in his late 20's or 30's who suddenly gets the injury bug or loses a step and becomes irrelevent. For example just as the Saints seemed to hit on Chris Olave (before his concussions), Michael Thomas became irrelevant.

At the same time, free agency seems to address key needs for every team, especially bottom teams that dont have so many of their own stars to break the bank rewarding. It may seem to fill needs at key positions. But they often lose players in free agency too, who can be just as good, but they can write off because they have depth at those positions and dont have a spot for them to start. Every team seems to become more balanced and lose it weaknesses, but the truth is that this is just another treadmill. Injuries, development, which draft picks hit, and exactly when father time comes calling are all unpredictable, so just as a team eliminates a weakness every season, it finds a new one early in the next season.

Every team will face major injuries this season. Every losing team went into last season with high hopes and then faces major injuries. Every losing team has seemingly improved from their end season form where those injuries were baked in, but maybe not from their start of the season form that gave them optimism last year. Every team ends the season less healthy than they started it, so to compare apples to apples you need to compare to last years week 1 team. For example, Is Justin Reid a clear upgrade to the secondary when you lost a healthy Adebo versus week 1 last year?

The Saints may improve, but they may also regress. Additions in the draft, free agency, and the coaching staff are far from a guarantee to improve. It is a toss up whether Kellen Moore will be the next Josh McDaniels or the next Sean McVay. I hope Banks will be a great tackle but many 1st round tackles bust, and even if he is great, it is possible that the Erik McCoys 2024 injuries will be the start of a trend. Justin Reid is a good addition probably, but its easy to see how a decline in aging players like Davis and Mathieu could offset it.

To truly take a step forward, a team really needs to hit big, ideally not just on first round picks, but on later rounds or cheap free agents, who suddenly rise to all pro level. Or it needs existing players to reach unanticipated new heights. It needs to hit on a head coach when thats very much a crapshoot, as so many great OCs fail at head coach. And on top of all that, it needs the decline of aging players to either be more than offset by young talent or to be less drastic than expected, when fans often have unrealistic expectations that 40 is the new 30. What will make the Saints better is if our draft picks and free agents are better than expected. Merely making those picks and additions at their market value and accounting for median expectations will not improve the team, because all 32 teams made those improvements.

SmashMouth

turbo_dog

ok well that was not as good as I remember it.

turbo_dog

I think we all agree the new coaching staff is an upgrade, so that's first reason to be optimistic.

Defensive line looks improved on paper, but we don't know how they will line up on the field. Speculation of 3-4 scheme is not confirmed, and if it happens, will it be 50% of the time? 60%?

RB room appears to be a strength.
OT looks to be solid

Question marks:
WR health through the season
QB (who plays and is he good)
Penning and Ruiz
Sanker, Stutsman, Riley