can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

only on their best day...........
even with the lost of some key players, the colts remain the team to beat.
manning and dungy will continue to find a way.

while it's only one game with fifteen to go, the schedule is a tough one.
and while payton has found a way to beat 500 teams, he has yet to find
a way to beat the cream of the crop.

until he does this, we will be exciting, but never the best...........
payton squeezed everything he could out of last yrs team, and got us within one
game of the superbowl, but that was against a weak schedule.

and while he has tweaked the defense and offense, will it be enough?

if the saints can hold this one close, i'd say we may be one step closer.
and if the saints pull it out, i'd say we are one step closer........
and while i predict a lost, i'll always pray for a win and i'll always say, go saints...................smitty

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

i think the colts are to strong.

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

I think that Grant and Smith are able to get some pressure on Manning early and often. David plays well since he's covered Reggie Wayne in practice so much. The match-ups to watch are MM on Harrison and the LBs on Dallas Clark. If the safties can help keep those two in check the game's ours.

As for offense. The Colts basically pulled two guys out of the stands to play CB. Bob Sanders is probably back and that will help, but they're still hurting at basically all three parts of the D. I think Brees carves them up early by spreading the ball around and creating mismatches, then just gives the damn ball to Deuce down the stretch.

Final Score - Saints 38 - Colts 21

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

They can, they just have to play at their highest level and the rest is up to the coaches and the gameplan...Its got to be right...

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

I think we have a dam good chance at taking down the colts
I agree with whodat
Smith and Grant must keep young Manning moving and off of his game
Our front line and at least one of our LB’s must create pressure and make him try to make the play before he is ready

I will give the Colts this much they did look good against Chicago last night (dam good!!!) but when Chicago was able to put the pressure on Manning...
the colts did not run at 100%

The way to beating the Colts is…
Keep Manning off his game and then they will have to rely on the short pass or the run


What are you talking about?
Did you even watch last season or were you caught up in all the Katrina drama? :confused: :confused: :confused:

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

I think it's going to be really really tough to stop their offense. It's so hard to put pressure on Peyton because he gets rid of the ball so quickly. But hey, we're not the same ole Saints anymore. Things happen... just like that Atlanta game last year in the Dome. Payton does an excellent job game planning versus our opponents... hopefully we'll be able to limit their scoring. If we can put up 35 points, we might have a chance.

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

WIN! Indy is way beatable and a few average teams showed that last year. Last year we finally got some respect but this year we will need to be feared. Considering our SB hopes this might be the most important game of the season. Its going to set the tempo and it will send out the message that last year was no fluke. We were successful last year but we were not an elite team. You have to beat the elite to be considered elite.

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

They are beatable. Jacksonville has the perfect game plan for them. If the defense can accept they have to keep the WR in front of them and Tackle and give up the yardage between the 20s we have a chance. Lock them down in the Red zone. Jags do that with the push up the middle.
Offense can put up points as long as you keep the safeties up with the run

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

[QUOTE=WhoDat205;136498]As for offense. The Colts basically pulled two guys out of the stands to play CB. Bob Sanders is probably back and that will help, but they're still hurting at basically all three parts of the D. I think Brees carves them up early by spreading the ball around and creating mismatches, then just gives the damn ball to Deuce down the stretch.

Final Score - Saints 38 - Colts 21[/QUOTE


The Colts knew they were losing their corners and they were fine with that. (makes you wonder about David) These guys were not pulled out of the stands-

The big loss is probably at OT, where Payton loses a 10 year vet.

If we play our bend-don't-break D and our offense performs, we can win.

The point spread is 7 by the way, so with the 3 points built in for home-field, the experts think we are only 4 points apart


Oh, and thanks to the NFL- any other team playing both Super Bowl participants on the road?

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

[quote=ScottF;136508] good point

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

I belive it will be a shoot-out!!
Who ever has the ball last is your winner.............you heard it here first!!

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

Well Lets see. I have a little wager on it and i say WIN!! Tony Ugh will have trouble defending Peytons Blind Side. Therefore, Clancy and HT will be pushing the inside of the pocket. Can't scramble there is Grant. We Were gashed in the championship game by long runs sustained run drives. We can stop the run, Addai is a beast, but is more dangerous after the catch; I know I followed him through college. We will WIN mark my words!!!!!

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

Someone posted earlier that David should cover Reggie and MM should cover Harrisson. Just wondering, wouldn't MM match up better with Reggie and David match up better with Harrison? Also someone posted that Payton gets rid of the ball to quickly for us to effect him. I don't think it's the sacks as much as hitting him in the mouth everytime he passed the ball that will make him nervous in the pocket. The saints have a great chance to win this game, but if they don't take care of the football it will be a long night.

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

I just don`t see the Colts as the better team in this matchup, I`d say it`s a pretty even matchup after you evaluate all the weaknesses and strengths of each team. Who ever wins the turnover battle wins the game. period.
With that being said, I look for the Colts defense to concentrate hard on stripping the ball, just like Chicago did in the NFC Champ game.
NO FUMBLES = W

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

The Colts had problems stopping the run last year and IMO they'll have the same problems this year, they'll have a very hard time stopping Deuce up the middle.
Last season Ron Dayne had over 200 yards against the Colts, the Texans beat the Colts in that game due to a great running game by Dayne..
I love our chances this year against them...

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

If we can't cover Wayne then we will lose....same thing that would have happened in the SB last year. The Colts lost most of their D save for the DE's and Sanders. They lost both DT's. We have the No.1 Offense so we can score. I say we beat the poop out of them.

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

Bump and Run and Tarik Glenn is gone. We put pressure on his blind side and they'll lose. C'mon Manimal!

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

Not only can we beat them - but we will beat them.

Earn It.

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

we gotta beat them...
if we don't that only leaves tampa and houston as the teams we have above 500 record
ouch
New Orleans Saints - pro-football-reference.com
hopefully we beat the colts twice this year ;)

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

Everyone of you know that Payton is spending time every night looking at the Colts-Texas film and the Colts-Jags film. His game planning is going on right now (and has been for quite a while) and will involve heavy doses of Deuce up the middle and play action passes. He wants this game and the Saints will win on the road IF - and only IF - we don't turn the ball over. Turnovers turn his plans into one-dimensional catch-up.

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

Its not weather the Saints can beat the Colts its weather the Saints can beat Manning. He has historically owned us and our secondary??? yeah take the Colts. The over-under is going to be HUGE!

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

If there's constant pressure in Manning's face, I guarantee a win.

That's how we beat the Eagles early last year. Remember that sack Hollis Thomas had where he just pushed mcnabb down with one hand?

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

Yes. This game is not about offenses. It's about defenses and the Colts have one of the weakest in the league after losing several key players last year...Booger McFarland, Jason David, Cato June, Monte Reagor, and another in the secondary whose name escapes me.

NO's defense just has to slow down Peyton & company and watch Brees, Bush and McAllister control the game and wear out Indy's D. The timing is right because it's early in the season, nothing on the line for Indy, and the Saints will be the first of many teams targeting to beat the current champs. Should be a big win for the Saints.

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

pressure up the gut is key. forcing manning into grant and smith. got get your hands in his face and keep the WR infront of you

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

This is our year.

I think both teams are equal in their ability to win it. Would it hurt me to lose to the Colts? No. Would it suprise me if we win? No.

WAR BLACK AND GOLD!

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

Have any of you guys used the Fan2Fan thing to post on other team's sites? I tried to login and talk trash on the Indy site but it's down. I take that to mean they're scared.

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

Indianapolis Colts Talk - Unofficial Indianapolis Colts Fan Forums

There ya go.

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

I'm not so sure. The reason is defense.

The cream of the crop last year had one consistent theme when playing the Saints:

Defense.

This year's schedule is probably more favorable to our team than last year's. Consider the differences:

Division: The Saints went 4-2 in the division last year. Every team in our division except for us has serious questions at the QB position. Also TB and Atlanta did nothing significant to improve their defense. That leaves Carolina. Payton has had two cracks at the apple with Carolina, coming close in the significant game in Carolina and conceeding the last game in New Orleans. Both games are significant this year. I predict at least a split. So it's likely the team will go 5-1 or 6-0 against the division. That'll pretty much wrap up the South.

AFC South vs. AFC North: The North last year had two top 10 defenses and two top 10 offenses. The South has only one top 10 defense (Jacksonville) and only one top 5 offense (Indy). The team has shown they can compete against top offenses as long as the corresponding defense is lacking. That's exactly the case in Indy. It's likely that instead of 1-3 like last year that the count here will be 3-1 splitting the two games against Indy and or Jacksonville.

NFC West vs. NFC East: Philly was a top 5 offense last year. The team took them twice. Dallas was completely dismantled and at the time they were a top 10 defense though they were never the same after the Saints' beatdown. The NFC West is a defenseless division except maybe for San Francisco. It's likely that the Saints may lose one in a shootout with either the Cards or St. Louis, but unlikely to go less than 3-1 in this group.

Chicago vs. Green Bay: The game may be meaningless by week 17 for both teams. If not, then the Saints are well aware the implications of having to play Chicago in Soldier Field in late January. Payton will have learned his lesson about abandoning the run. It'll be a tough fight.

Philly vs. San Fran: The Saints beat Philly with and without McNabb. They beat Philly with McNabb when he was having a MVP type season. Philly hasn't done any significant upgrades on the defensive side of the ball. In fact they have let both Jones (who we have) and Trotter go. No reason to think that they'll have a significant advantage this year.

The Saints will probably pick up 3 games over last year's schedule because the teams weakness is sound defenses. There are only 3 of them on the schedule this year (using last year's numbers): Carolina, Jacksonville, and Chicago.

And let's not forget that even with Freddie "GameShow" Thomas getting toasted all over the field that the Saints' finished 11th in total defense last year. We've brought in better players (David, Simmons) that will start sooner or later and have former starters
(Siminou?, Thomas, Dhani Jones, KK) that will bolster the defense.

Payton and Gibbs did not sit on their heels in the offseason on defense. They will play better and the offense having a year under their belt will make life even easier for the defense.

Tweaked the offense how? Adding Johnson at the TE position? Starting Henderson? Neither really matter because Brees has shown that if you're on the field, you're going to get the ball. We have 6 quality receivers, 3 quality TE, and 4 quality RBs, and starting quality backups on the OL. The only dropoff is at the QB position after Brees.
There are simply too many weapons, too good a field general in Brees, and too good a playcaller in Payton to expect anything other than total offensive domination over everyone except the very best NFL defenses.

The defense only has to do three things:

1) Not give up the big play.
2) Stop the run consistently.
3) Generate more turnovers

I think that the combination of David, Harper, and KK will help with the first. Clancy will be starting in the middle eventually to help with the second. KK and David are ballhawks. Not sure about Harper yet.

The defense is going to be better. And they don't need to be very much better in order for this team to be very successful this season.

If the Colts can somehow recreate the defense they generated during the playoffs I may agree with you. But they have lost their starting corners, LB (June), tackle (McFarland), and pro bowl LT from last year. They are going to be a completely different team. They are going to need time to gel defensively and somewhat offensively.

The Saints have none of those issues. The first team offense is already clicking at a midseason form, even with backups in key positions. The defense will be good enough to make some stops. And that's all they need to do.

I expect the Saints to take the Colts by 10 points or more. This isn't the same Colts teams you saw leaving the field in Miami. But it's a better Saints team than you saw leaving the field in Chicago last January.

SFIAH

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

Man, that sure does sound convincing to me. Ever thought of being a politician?

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

Its about Manning!!! What happens when the Colts D isn't doing that great... Manning has to open it up and that isn't good for any team. As soon as we line up in a man 2 man we are going to get toasted. Sean has got to have something up his sleeve. I think we ill fair better than past games vs the colts but we have to eat the clock and score a lot of points. This could be the highest scoring game of the year.

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

Maybe I'm drinking the KoolAid. Our offense is better than theirs. Our defense is better than theirs. Brees outperformed Manning last year over a 16 game season. We have our All Pro left tackle. Tarik Glenn as gone fishing. We have a starting SB corner. Oh yeah, we got him from the Colts, who lost both corners to free agency.

The Colts defense can't stop the run at all. They were decimated over the offseason.

Hell, even our kicker has the stronger leg.

I'd be disappointed if the Saints didn't come away with the W. The Colts are overmatched, Manning or no Manning.

SFIAH

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

I agree with a couple of the posts on here, that we need to get pressure up the middle forcing Peyton Manning out of the pocket and not be able to step up in the pocket. By having pressure in the middle, This will flush Peyton out and that play into our strength on the dline when Will and Charles can have chase.

Saints have to keep the Colt receivers in front of them. Make sure that we hold them to field goals in the red zone.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Saints need to come out like the Steelers did a couple of years ago and have silent counts so the crowd is not a factor. Maybe throw some type of trick play first or second play, like a flea flicker.

with all that said, I still think our Saints come up a bit short because the Saints' secondary will need time to grow with one another.

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

Yeah, no one thought we could beat the Eagles last year the first time we played them either, when they were the team to beat. And look what happened. And yes, they were the cream of the crop when we played them the first time.

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

We'll get hit with some big plays that will make the game close. I think it will be a fight till the end.

Re: can the saints beat the colts in the opener?
 

I think they can, if the DEs play like they have this preseason. And I have no reason to think that they wouldn't. Will Smith and Charles Grant are all over the place.