New Orleans Saints will repeat as NFC South champions in 2012

SmashMouth · 07-26-2012, 10:24 AM

The New Orleans Saints were the biggest "losers" in the NFC South this offseason. In fact, it's quite possible that they had the worst offseason of any team in NFL history, from the unprecedented bounty punishments to the lingering Drew Brees contract standoff to a handful of key player departures in free agency.

Drew Brees and the Saints will look to be the first team in the history of the NFC South to repeat as division champions.
Yet now that we've finally arrived at the start of training camp, the prediction here is that the Saints will keep winning when it really counts.

They'll win the NFC South again. And they'll make a serious run at becoming the first team ever to host a Super Bowl in its home stadium.

Obviously the Saints are facing some unprecedented hurdles, the most glaring of which is the loss of suspended coach Sean Payton for the entire year. But many of those preseason predictions that the Saints will finish 9-7 or drop to third place in the division seem way off base.

Have people forgotten how insanely good this offense was last season?

The Saints won their final eight regular-season games, shattering several NFL records in the process, and finished 13-3 before that gut-wrenching second-round playoff loss at San Francisco.

They were even better over those last three months than they were in their Super Bowl-winning season of 2009. And had they survived that trip to San Francisco, there's an excellent chance they would have won another title.

Brees, 33, is in his prime. And the emergence of breakout stars Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles has made the Saints' dynamic offense even more potent.

The defense, meanwhile, has a chance to be even better in 2012, under the direction of new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who was the most coveted assistant coach in the league.

And it's even possible that the Saints could turn the bounty scandal into a source of motivation.

That's not to suggest that the "us against the world" mentality will lift the Saints to new heights. But that kind of defiant attitude is much more likely than a defeated, "woe is us" approach.

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07-26-2012, 10:24 AM	#1
SmashMouth I donated, did you? Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Mandeville, LA Posts: 38,477 Blog Entries: 29	New Orleans Saints will repeat as NFC South champions in 2012 The New Orleans Saints were the biggest "losers" in the NFC South this offseason. In fact, it's quite possible that they had the worst offseason of any team in NFL history, from the unprecedented bounty punishments to the lingering Drew Brees contract standoff to a handful of key player departures in free agency. Drew Brees and the Saints will look to be the first team in the history of the NFC South to repeat as division champions. Yet now that we've finally arrived at the start of training camp, the prediction here is that the Saints will keep winning when it really counts. They'll win the NFC South again. And they'll make a serious run at becoming the first team ever to host a Super Bowl in its home stadium. Obviously the Saints are facing some unprecedented hurdles, the most glaring of which is the loss of suspended coach Sean Payton for the entire year. But many of those preseason predictions that the Saints will finish 9-7 or drop to third place in the division seem way off base. Have people forgotten how insanely good this offense was last season? The Saints won their final eight regular-season games, shattering several NFL records in the process, and finished 13-3 before that gut-wrenching second-round playoff loss at San Francisco. They were even better over those last three months than they were in their Super Bowl-winning season of 2009. And had they survived that trip to San Francisco, there's an excellent chance they would have won another title. Brees, 33, is in his prime. And the emergence of breakout stars Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles has made the Saints' dynamic offense even more potent. The defense, meanwhile, has a chance to be even better in 2012, under the direction of new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, who was the most coveted assistant coach in the league. And it's even possible that the Saints could turn the bounty scandal into a source of motivation. That's not to suggest that the "us against the world" mentality will lift the Saints to new heights. But that kind of defiant attitude is much more likely than a defeated, "woe is us" approach. read more Attached Thumbnails papz likes this.