My personal opinion is the NFC South looks weak this season.

SaintFanInATLHELL · 08-04-2007, 02:33 PM

Originally Posted by poydras

I'm afraid 3-0 is a little optimistic. I sure hope that's the case but I don't think Indy is just going to roll over in their season opener.

It's going to be a shootout for sure. You have the two of the top NFL offenses duking it out. The Saints had the better defense during the season last year, while Indy's defense put it together for a fabulous playoff run.

But the difference is what happened in the off season. Indy's defense got stripped. We got David. Cato June is gone. Indy lost their other starting CB.

OTOH the Saints acquired David, Clancy (a starting DT in this league) and valuable depth at LB with Simmons and Jones. More importantly we resigned all of our free agents.

The Saints defense really wasn't bad last year. 11th in total defense and 3rd against the pass. However, the run defense was suspect, turnovers were like squeezing blood from a turnip, and Fred Thomas was the GameShow, giving up the long ball at every possible turn. But the key is that the organization took positive steps to address each of these issues.

Let's not forget that Indy's defense was 32nd against the run last year and we have arguably the best running back tandem in the league.

I agree that we're going into this season with more confidence but that kind of thing is so fragile. There are a lot of people who remember that Haz had a good first year also and how that turned out.
Don't worry about me though. I've been a Saints fan for a long, long time and I always temper my optimism.

The NFL is full of flukes and injuries. That's a given. But all things being equal the Saints are currently the class of the NFC and has sufficient firepower on offense and filled enough holes on defense to compete with elite AFC teams like the Colts.

SFIAH

08-04-2007, 02:33 PM	#10
SaintFanInATLHELL The Professor Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Lithonia, GA Posts: 2,783	Re: My personal opinion is the NFC South looks weak this season. Originally Posted by poydras I'm afraid 3-0 is a little optimistic. I sure hope that's the case but I don't think Indy is just going to roll over in their season opener. It's going to be a shootout for sure. You have the two of the top NFL offenses duking it out. The Saints had the better defense during the season last year, while Indy's defense put it together for a fabulous playoff run. But the difference is what happened in the off season. Indy's defense got stripped. We got David. Cato June is gone. Indy lost their other starting CB. OTOH the Saints acquired David, Clancy (a starting DT in this league) and valuable depth at LB with Simmons and Jones. More importantly we resigned all of our free agents. The Saints defense really wasn't bad last year. 11th in total defense and 3rd against the pass. However, the run defense was suspect, turnovers were like squeezing blood from a turnip, and Fred Thomas was the GameShow, giving up the long ball at every possible turn. But the key is that the organization took positive steps to address each of these issues. Let's not forget that Indy's defense was 32nd against the run last year and we have arguably the best running back tandem in the league. I agree that we're going into this season with more confidence but that kind of thing is so fragile. There are a lot of people who remember that Haz had a good first year also and how that turned out. Don't worry about me though. I've been a Saints fan for a long, long time and I always temper my optimism. The NFL is full of flukes and injuries. That's a given. But all things being equal the Saints are currently the class of the NFC and has sufficient firepower on offense and filled enough holes on defense to compete with elite AFC teams like the Colts. SFIAH
	Super Bowl Championships: New Orleans Saints:1, Carolina:0, Atlanta Chokers: STILL ZERO Only Atlanta choked in an unchokable situation... Life is definitely good.