TheOak

When can we stop referencing out 2012 defense (which is what 70% of the OP is based on) when predicting performance in 2013? New Coach, new scheme, and enough changes in players to make the 2012 season irrelevant.

Thomas put up more yards against Carolina than any other team we played and his YPC ave was higher than any other team we played yast year.

Sproles did better against Carolina than ATL or TB.

Ingram put up more 1st downs and matched production against Atl and Car.

Newton did better against ATL and TB than NO.

Williams ran better against us but then again it was 2012!

Mardigras9

The Saints killed themselves against Carolina. but then again, Carolina really should have beat Atlanta, if I'm thinking of the right year, except Cam fumbled late trying for the extra yard.

homerj07

Yeah just stop Cam.

SaintsBro

I can't believe you people are scared of Carolina. Last year was a hot mess, really ugly, but look at the facts -- under Payton we have consistently handled them, and quite often beat them by like 31-17 type scores, where we outscore them 2 to 1. Up until last year, Drew had won five in a row against the Panthers.... Sean Payton has an amazing record versus "mobile" quarterbacks, when MIchael Vick was in Atlanta he was useless and we owned them...Payton is mostly known as an offensive genius, but Sean Payton has the eye for detail to make the pre-game adjustments, without him we were lost defensively last year. He is not the guy who invents the whole defense and does everything, but he sets the tone and gives the concepts to the DC and makes suggestions during the week leading up to the games, which is critical for our game planning.

Sean Payton is like the interior decorator who comes in the room and says, "put the couch over there, and the dresser here" and changes two things and suddenly the room is much more awesome. He's an idea guy. THAT absence is a big part of what made our defense plummet from decently average to miserable last year. You had people trying to think LIKE him, to ask each other and guess what he would do, and of course that is never gonna work. Hence the defensive fiascos against mobile quarterbacks last year, RGIII, Cam, etc.

Look at the box scores. For every close game with Carolina, there is one that is a complete and other Saints blowout. Last year Drew had that pick 6, which caused the collapse, it was a complete outlier.