WhoDat!656

2. New Orleans Saints

MA: It was an offseason full of turmoil for the Saints as the bounty scandal hit the news and will continue to impact them as the season goes on. The team will definitely miss the play of both Jonathan Vilma and Will Smith on the defensive side of the ball. Those two are key ingredients to the team, but it will be much tougher to replace head coach Sean Payton. It will be interesting to see the mentality of the Saints heading into the season and if they take the us-against-the-world approach that we saw the New England Patriots take back in 2007.

One of the things you can always count on if you are a Saints fan is the play of quarterback Drew Brees. I cannot see that changing anytime soon, even with the loss of guard Carl Nicks or receiver Robert Meachem. Brees may not duplicate his record-breaking 2011 season, but with dynamic weapons in Jimmy Graham and Darren Sproles who could be in for a good year, do not expect Brees to miss a beat.

I do not expect the offense to be a problem for the Saints, but the defense is a different story. Not only will they be without Will Smith and Jonathan Vilma as previously mentioned, but also defensive coordinator Gregg Williams. Much can be said about his legacy now that bounty gate has occurred, but few will doubt his impact on the defensive side of the ball. The Saints did alleviate some of the pain in losing Vilma as they went out and signed Curtis Lofton, who will undoubtedly help shore up the linebacker position. Lofton recorded 147 tackles last season and along with newly acquired defensive tackle Brodrick Bunkley the Saints should be able to stop some of the game’s better running attacks.

A definite area of concern has to be the secondary for the Saints as they allowed a shade under 260 passing yards per game, which ranked as the 30th in the league last season. Some of that can be contributed to the lack of pressure from the front seven, which will not improve (at least until defensive end Will Smith returns from his suspension). Part of the blame has to fall on the secondary as well. After losing starting cornerback Tracy Porter, the Saints will have to rely on someone to help pick up the slack in the secondary and it could be up to Patrick Robinson. The problems do not stop there as the safety position- mainly Roman Harper- is weak in coverage as well.

With all of the negatives heading into this season it will be tough for the Saints overcome it all, especially considering the heart and soul of the team will not be with them. In the end, I can see the Saints fighting for the last Wild Card spot in the NFC, but in a loaded conference it will be tough for them to sneak in.

Season Projection: 10-6

NFL 2012 Season Preview: NFC South

"A Veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life."