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

AjunCajun · 08-02-2007, 12:44 AM

As I see it, other than the Saints all the other teams in the NFC South have huge question marks. I see this as the finish:

New Orleans 11 - 5 I would say 13 - 3, but their linebacking corp still worries me a bit.
Carolina 8 - 8 NO running game and an old d.
Tampa Bay 7 - 9 Gruden is done.
Atlanta 6 - 8 and this is only if Joey Harrington works out better than I think he will.

WhoDatQB · 08-02-2007, 08:20 AM

Originally Posted by AjunCajun

As I see it, other than the Saints all the other teams in the NFC South have huge question marks. I see this as the finish:

New Orleans 11 - 5 I would say 13 - 3, but their linebacking corp still worries me a bit.
Carolina 8 - 8 NO running game and an old d.
Tampa Bay 7 - 9 Gruden is done.
Atlanta 6 - 8 and this is only if Joey Harrington works out better than I think he will.

===

Hmmm. Well I agree with the Saints.
Jey Harrington is a better QB than Michael Vick. Vck gave some teams problems, but as D's have gotten faster he is no longer. Look at their stats. Joey Harrington is one year shot of Vick in Playing time, but has more TD's, better completion percentage and more yards. Who has Harrington had to throw too? I believe I heard he has had one pro bowler on offense with him in the skill positions his entire career. Vick.... has had Crumpler, Dunn, Finneran(not a PB but great Possesion RCVR), Price. Probably some others I cannot think of.

Harrington will have more talent on offense with him this year than he has had in all of his previous years combined. I believe now that Harrington will get all the snaps he will do just fine. Look for a Delhomme type year, ie above average but not great. I believe the Saints win the division and Carolina barely edges both Atlanta and TB( I think Garcia is a good fit there). Worse record in the division will be 7-9, maybe as high as 8-8.

Papa Voodoo · 08-03-2007, 06:25 PM

Originally Posted by WhoDatQB

===

Hmmm. Well I agree with the Saints.
Jey Harrington is a better QB than Michael Vick. Vck gave some teams problems, but as D's have gotten faster he is no longer. Look at their stats. Joey Harrington is one year shot of Vick in Playing time, but has more TD's, better completion percentage and more yards. Who has Harrington had to throw too? I believe I heard he has had one pro bowler on offense with him in the skill positions his entire career. Vick.... has had Crumpler, Dunn, Finneran(not a PB but great Possesion RCVR), Price. Probably some others I cannot think of.

Harrington will have more talent on offense with him this year than he has had in all of his previous years combined. I believe now that Harrington will get all the snaps he will do just fine. Look for a Delhomme type year, ie above average but not great. I believe the Saints win the division and Carolina barely edges both Atlanta and TB( I think Garcia is a good fit there). Worse record in the division will be 7-9, maybe as high as 8-8.

I think that Atlanta is on the verge of imploding. The Vikings tried to get past it when their lineman passed away at practice and had a horrible year. The Falcons are starting off on very bad footing and I think the wheels will come off. They may go 2-14.

Haps Biggest Fan · 08-04-2007, 04:39 PM

Originally Posted by Papa Voodoo

I think that Atlanta is on the verge of imploding. The Vikings tried to get past it when their lineman passed away at practice and had a horrible year. The Falcons are starting off on very bad footing and I think the wheels will come off. They may go 2-14.

I have to live in Atlanta with my work, and, I'd love to see that happen!

mighty12 · 08-02-2007, 08:37 AM

Tampa is definitly this years sleeper team. They made a few small changes that I think will make for big wins. I would keep an eye on them. I see Atlanta as being too distracted by all that is going on in the media with Vick, and Carolina is just an underacheiving team which if they catch a few breaks might slip into the playoffs but I doubt it.

papz · 08-02-2007, 08:46 AM

I think it's going to be another year before Tampa start making some noise in our division. As of right now, I can only see a fully healthy Carolina squad competing with us for the division title. Looking at our schedule, it going to be very challenging. There aren't many "easy" wins on there. I can see us with anywhere from 8-11 wins. I definately see us entering the postseason and playing well in the playoffs. It's going to be an exciting year... lots of good games and I hope everything goes our way.

poydras · 08-02-2007, 10:36 AM

The thing that worries me most is the timing of games. We open AT Indianapolis and then travel TO Tampa Bay before entertaining the Titans on Monday Night Football. It's going to be tough to get on a roll like we did last year and gain the confidence that carried us through the season. The test will be to see how we recover from early season adversity.

SaintFanInATLHELL · 08-03-2007, 05:36 AM

Originally Posted by poydras

The thing that worries me most is the timing of games. We open AT Indianapolis and then travel TO Tampa Bay before entertaining the Titans on Monday Night Football. It's going to be tough to get on a roll like we did last year and gain the confidence that carried us through the season.

If this were last year I would have agreed with you. But not this year. In 2007 the Saints are the frontrunner. The contender. They are the team that already has the players, the coach, and the system in place.

There are no questions that Brees is healthy and is a top 3 QB in the league.

Remember last year when many thought that the Saints would have the wost OL in the league. No questions about that this year.

Last year Reggie was a talented but unknown quantity. Colston was simply an unknown. No doubts about either this year.

Last year there were new players and a new scheme on defense at every level. All three LBs were new guys and Harper was a rookie. Now there's only a hole or two that will be plugged with really talented guys (Clancy at DT, David at CB, possibly KK at safety) with the LB being pushed by talented playmakers like Simmons.

Oh yeah, I forget about Deuce.

In short the Saints are the team on the roll. There's no doubt in my mind that we'll roll up 30 spots on each of the three teams that you named above. They are going to have a tough time keeping up. You should plan to see a lot of games like the 42-17 steamroll over Dallas last season.

The test will be to see how we recover from early season adversity.

I doubt there will be early season adversity. We'll come out of that stretch 3-0 or 2-1 at the very worst (and that would probably be a loss on some fluke).

We saw all the adversity we needed to see last season when the Saints turned the ball over 3 times in the first half of the GB game and was down 14-0. Actually we saw the same in the NFC championship game. The team recovered both times. In January the only mistake Payton made was abandoning the run. I doubt he'll make that mistake again.

SFIAH

poydras · 08-03-2007, 07:22 AM

Originally Posted by SaintFanInATLHELL

I doubt there will be early season adversity. We'll come out of that stretch 3-0 or 2-1 at the very worst (and that would probably be a loss on some fluke).

SFIAH

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.
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.

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

08-02-2007, 12:44 AM	#1
AjunCajun Rookie Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Charlotte Posts: 27	My personal opinion is the NFC South looks weak this season. As I see it, other than the Saints all the other teams in the NFC South have huge question marks. I see this as the finish: New Orleans 11 - 5 I would say 13 - 3, but their linebacking corp still worries me a bit. Carolina 8 - 8 NO running game and an old d. Tampa Bay 7 - 9 Gruden is done. Atlanta 6 - 8 and this is only if Joey Harrington works out better than I think he will.

08-02-2007, 08:20 AM	#2
WhoDatQB Boondock Saint Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: F***ing Atlanta Posts: 322	Re: My personal opinion is the NFC South looks weak this season. Originally Posted by AjunCajun As I see it, other than the Saints all the other teams in the NFC South have huge question marks. I see this as the finish: New Orleans 11 - 5 I would say 13 - 3, but their linebacking corp still worries me a bit. Carolina 8 - 8 NO running game and an old d. Tampa Bay 7 - 9 Gruden is done. Atlanta 6 - 8 and this is only if Joey Harrington works out better than I think he will. === Hmmm. Well I agree with the Saints. Jey Harrington is a better QB than Michael Vick. Vck gave some teams problems, but as D's have gotten faster he is no longer. Look at their stats. Joey Harrington is one year shot of Vick in Playing time, but has more TD's, better completion percentage and more yards. Who has Harrington had to throw too? I believe I heard he has had one pro bowler on offense with him in the skill positions his entire career. Vick.... has had Crumpler, Dunn, Finneran(not a PB but great Possesion RCVR), Price. Probably some others I cannot think of. Harrington will have more talent on offense with him this year than he has had in all of his previous years combined. I believe now that Harrington will get all the snaps he will do just fine. Look for a Delhomme type year, ie above average but not great. I believe the Saints win the division and Carolina barely edges both Atlanta and TB( I think Garcia is a good fit there). Worse record in the division will be 7-9, maybe as high as 8-8.

08-03-2007, 06:25 PM	#3
Papa Voodoo 1000 Posts + Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 1,634	Re: My personal opinion is the NFC South looks weak this season. Originally Posted by WhoDatQB === Hmmm. Well I agree with the Saints. Jey Harrington is a better QB than Michael Vick. Vck gave some teams problems, but as D's have gotten faster he is no longer. Look at their stats. Joey Harrington is one year shot of Vick in Playing time, but has more TD's, better completion percentage and more yards. Who has Harrington had to throw too? I believe I heard he has had one pro bowler on offense with him in the skill positions his entire career. Vick.... has had Crumpler, Dunn, Finneran(not a PB but great Possesion RCVR), Price. Probably some others I cannot think of. Harrington will have more talent on offense with him this year than he has had in all of his previous years combined. I believe now that Harrington will get all the snaps he will do just fine. Look for a Delhomme type year, ie above average but not great. I believe the Saints win the division and Carolina barely edges both Atlanta and TB( I think Garcia is a good fit there). Worse record in the division will be 7-9, maybe as high as 8-8. I think that Atlanta is on the verge of imploding. The Vikings tried to get past it when their lineman passed away at practice and had a horrible year. The Falcons are starting off on very bad footing and I think the wheels will come off. They may go 2-14.

08-04-2007, 04:39 PM	#4
Haps Biggest Fan Fan Since 1967 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Louisiana Posts: 148	Re: My personal opinion is the NFC South looks weak this season. Originally Posted by Papa Voodoo I think that Atlanta is on the verge of imploding. The Vikings tried to get past it when their lineman passed away at practice and had a horrible year. The Falcons are starting off on very bad footing and I think the wheels will come off. They may go 2-14. I have to live in Atlanta with my work, and, I'd love to see that happen!

08-02-2007, 08:37 AM	#5
mighty12 500th Post Join Date: Feb 2005 Posts: 980 Blog Entries: 1	Re: My personal opinion is the NFC South looks weak this season. Tampa is definitly this years sleeper team. They made a few small changes that I think will make for big wins. I would keep an eye on them. I see Atlanta as being too distracted by all that is going on in the media with Vick, and Carolina is just an underacheiving team which if they catch a few breaks might slip into the playoffs but I doubt it.

08-02-2007, 08:46 AM	#6
papz Problem? Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: New Orleans Posts: 11,768	Re: My personal opinion is the NFC South looks weak this season. I think it's going to be another year before Tampa start making some noise in our division. As of right now, I can only see a fully healthy Carolina squad competing with us for the division title. Looking at our schedule, it going to be very challenging. There aren't many "easy" wins on there. I can see us with anywhere from 8-11 wins. I definately see us entering the postseason and playing well in the playoffs. It's going to be an exciting year... lots of good games and I hope everything goes our way.

08-02-2007, 10:36 AM	#7
poydras Team Doctor Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Deep South Posts: 856	Re: My personal opinion is the NFC South looks weak this season. The thing that worries me most is the timing of games. We open AT Indianapolis and then travel TO Tampa Bay before entertaining the Titans on Monday Night Football. It's going to be tough to get on a roll like we did last year and gain the confidence that carried us through the season. The test will be to see how we recover from early season adversity.

08-03-2007, 05:36 AM	#8
SaintFanInATLHELL The Professor Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Lithonia, GA Posts: 2,781	Re: My personal opinion is the NFC South looks weak this season. Originally Posted by poydras The thing that worries me most is the timing of games. We open AT Indianapolis and then travel TO Tampa Bay before entertaining the Titans on Monday Night Football. It's going to be tough to get on a roll like we did last year and gain the confidence that carried us through the season. If this were last year I would have agreed with you. But not this year. In 2007 the Saints are the frontrunner. The contender. They are the team that already has the players, the coach, and the system in place. There are no questions that Brees is healthy and is a top 3 QB in the league. Remember last year when many thought that the Saints would have the wost OL in the league. No questions about that this year. Last year Reggie was a talented but unknown quantity. Colston was simply an unknown. No doubts about either this year. Last year there were new players and a new scheme on defense at every level. All three LBs were new guys and Harper was a rookie. Now there's only a hole or two that will be plugged with really talented guys (Clancy at DT, David at CB, possibly KK at safety) with the LB being pushed by talented playmakers like Simmons. Oh yeah, I forget about Deuce. In short the Saints are the team on the roll. There's no doubt in my mind that we'll roll up 30 spots on each of the three teams that you named above. They are going to have a tough time keeping up. You should plan to see a lot of games like the 42-17 steamroll over Dallas last season. The test will be to see how we recover from early season adversity. I doubt there will be early season adversity. We'll come out of that stretch 3-0 or 2-1 at the very worst (and that would probably be a loss on some fluke). We saw all the adversity we needed to see last season when the Saints turned the ball over 3 times in the first half of the GB game and was down 14-0. Actually we saw the same in the NFC championship game. The team recovered both times. In January the only mistake Payton made was abandoning the run. I doubt he'll make that mistake again. 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. Last edited by SaintFanInATLHELL; 08-03-2007 at 05:39 AM..

08-03-2007, 07:22 AM	#9
poydras Team Doctor Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Deep South Posts: 856	Re: My personal opinion is the NFC South looks weak this season. Originally Posted by SaintFanInATLHELL I doubt there will be early season adversity. We'll come out of that stretch 3-0 or 2-1 at the very worst (and that would probably be a loss on some fluke). SFIAH 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. 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.

08-04-2007, 02:33 PM	#10
SaintFanInATLHELL The Professor Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Lithonia, GA Posts: 2,781	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.