Saints an elite team?

BillyCarpenter1 · 08-01-2003, 08:04 AM

Before the days of free agency, you had teams in the NFL that were dominate. Teams such as the 49'ers, Cowboys, Bills, etc.. Back in those days ,if opposing teams were going to win it all, they could hold nothing back on the offensive side of the ball. If your team was lucky enough to make it to the playoffs, you would ineviatiably run into one of the elite teams. Because of the high powered offenses of those teams, you simply could not rely on playing not to lose on the offensive side of the ball, like teams can today, unless of course you were one of the elite teams.

Now with more of the talent being spread out across the NFL , instead of being concentrated on a few teams, offenses seem to play not to lose, rather than playing to win. The old saying that defenses wins championships seems to hold true more now than ever. Not that it wasn't true then, but offenses like the championship teams of the 49'ers and Cowboys certainly did more than their fair share to win games, unlike the Bucs and Patriot teams of late.

Jon Gruden gets much of the credit for the championship that the Bucs won, and rightly so, but when Gruden was with the Raiders he was not able to take them to the Superbowl and he had one of the most potent offenses in the game, but did not have a dominate defense.

All of that brings me to my point, which is, they say there are no more dominate teams in the NFL, but the Saints have put together one of the best offenses and special teams in the league. If the rebuilt defense pans out like the other two units, IMO, the Saints have a chance to be an elite team for the next 3 or 4 years. Considering the great job the team has done with the salary cap and the young age of the team, the Saints front office has built this team for years to come, unlike some teams who sign high price free agents and dismantle the following year.

Because the Saints have assembled an offense that can probably measure up to some of the eltie teams of the past, maybe the Saints can be an elite team for years to come. It all rides on the defense coming around.

[Edited on 1/8/2003 by BillyCarpenter1]

[Edited on 1/8/2003 by BillyCarpenter1]

08-01-2003, 08:04 AM	#1
BillyCarpenter1 Banned Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2,209	Saints an elite team? Before the days of free agency, you had teams in the NFL that were dominate. Teams such as the 49'ers, Cowboys, Bills, etc.. Back in those days ,if opposing teams were going to win it all, they could hold nothing back on the offensive side of the ball. If your team was lucky enough to make it to the playoffs, you would ineviatiably run into one of the elite teams. Because of the high powered offenses of those teams, you simply could not rely on playing not to lose on the offensive side of the ball, like teams can today, unless of course you were one of the elite teams. Now with more of the talent being spread out across the NFL , instead of being concentrated on a few teams, offenses seem to play not to lose, rather than playing to win. The old saying that defenses wins championships seems to hold true more now than ever. Not that it wasn't true then, but offenses like the championship teams of the 49'ers and Cowboys certainly did more than their fair share to win games, unlike the Bucs and Patriot teams of late. Jon Gruden gets much of the credit for the championship that the Bucs won, and rightly so, but when Gruden was with the Raiders he was not able to take them to the Superbowl and he had one of the most potent offenses in the game, but did not have a dominate defense. All of that brings me to my point, which is, they say there are no more dominate teams in the NFL, but the Saints have put together one of the best offenses and special teams in the league. If the rebuilt defense pans out like the other two units, IMO, the Saints have a chance to be an elite team for the next 3 or 4 years. Considering the great job the team has done with the salary cap and the young age of the team, the Saints front office has built this team for years to come, unlike some teams who sign high price free agents and dismantle the following year. Because the Saints have assembled an offense that can probably measure up to some of the eltie teams of the past, maybe the Saints can be an elite team for years to come. It all rides on the defense coming around. [Edited on 1/8/2003 by BillyCarpenter1] [Edited on 1/8/2003 by BillyCarpenter1]
BillyCarpenter1 Banned Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 2,209