"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.

I believe Payton will have quite a few new wrinkles in the offense and quite a few surprises for the Colts. However, never underestimate the study of game film and recognizing teams or players tendencies. Just remember how good Brooks look when he relived Blake. After an off-season of study, he sucked like a vacuum.
Granted that is the extreme example, but it happens every year. Just watch how Vince Young blows this year.

WIN THE SOUTH......AGAIN!
NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME......AGAIN!

DREW WINS MVP (HANDS DOWN)
REGGIE AND DEUCE HAVE 2000 YDS FOR THE YEAR
DEUCE BREAKS L.T.'S TD RECORD

#1 OFF
TOP 5 DEF

The entire Nation, dumb-stuck with silence (like Chris Berman was when Miami passed on Brady Quinn) as our Saints are crowned SuperBowl Champions for the first time.

I actually couldn't agree more. Returning nearly all of our core will pay off in meeting the attention the Saints are gonna get now. The 'glaring need' will be having a capable QB at the ready should Drew get rocked.

the only thing i'll hope for is a secondary superbowl qb should brees go down. other than that, i'll pray that brees does'nt choke in the big one and he plays it like cool hand luke.....or manning in the last sb...........smitty

Just win.......the rest will take care of itself.

I don't think we sneaked up anybody. This is 2007- everybody has 100 scouts and hours and hours of tape.

True, they did not know what to expect from Reggie and Colston, but how hard was that to figure out?

Payton called great games all year, and that, with a little luck, was why we won. We were just the ones to make the plays when it mattered. Crumpler drops the tieing TD, Romo can't make a play, Philly doesn't convert 3rd down (2 games), Cleveland dies at the 50...and so on.

It was their first year to see our offense but it was also our first year to play in it. Our first year with an entirely new coaching staff with several key players having their first year on our team. It was the first time in years that we had a true team in my opinion. I remember at the end of the season Payton saying this was the most team oriented team he had ever been associated with. That is saying a lot consider some of his stops in the NFL. No, we probably won't sneak up on anyone, but I don't think we have to. We finaly know what it feels like to be successful. I think we even surprised ourselves a little last year. This year we prove it was no fluke!

My expectations for this season are not as bold as the Super Bowl, although that would easily be the greatest moment of all time.
For me an NFC South title would be great, but at the least a playoff berth would suffice. I want to see this team prove that 06 was not a fluke. An improved defense, for one, and on offense i want to see the team mirror its success last year.
I want the second year guys to continue to improve and embrace leadership roles on the squad. For the rookies, I want to see them step up and contribute to what hopefully will be a franchise that competes year in-year out, rather than one with brief glimpses of success surrrounded by years of ineptitude.
I dont want a sophomore slump for Payton.

Big Let Downs & Small Build Ups.
 

I believe last year was an accumulation of small steps for the young team.
As the got the taste of the previous year out of their mouths and tasted
victory, it fired them up. They began to buy into Coach's mindset and it turned into a VERY successful season.
I also think that if they can overcome the Big Let Downs....i.e. the losses
to teams that the media actually had them favored in, that will help get them
back to the same level as last season. With a tougher schedule, and
the National Medias bias to small market teams, Peyton would do well
to still stoke the flames of underdogs throughout the season.

WHO DAT!