Playoff contenders
 

I'm curious, I personally think we're as good as any team in the NFC not named Arizona, Carolina and Seattle.
Can anyone name 6 NFC teams that are obviously better than our Saints?

Re: Playoff contenders
 

No.

Re: Playoff contenders
 

How about I name the ones that are worse it would take less time.

Re: Playoff contenders
 

Not 6 but you forgot GB. So if everything works out like a boss, we are 5th best.

Re: Playoff contenders
 

We're better than Arizona.

But Green Bay has had our number in tight games and the Vikings should not be overlooked...

Ryan Pace is a year away from having the Bears making noise despite all the hate on Cutler...

And then there's the Redskins who've put it on us a few times even though we should be better...

But Seattle and Carolina are who we need to smack in the mouth if we want to reaffirm our contender status...

Re: Playoff contenders
 

Guess we gonna find out huh.

Re: Playoff contenders
 

No. We are #1. We are the best. I just drank 3 Obtoberfest Sam Adams. Once that fades out I may have a change of heart but right now; No.

Re: Playoff contenders
 

Try Mead.

Re: Playoff contenders
 

GB, Dallas, Washington, Minnesota

Possible, don't know yet, Eagles and Bears

Other possibilities include:

Rams, Atlanta, and the Bucs

Re: Playoff contenders
 

Im not happy but worse than the Bears snd Eagles!

The Eagles dont have a QB and the bears are the bears.

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I am sorry, did you not watch our oline in preseason?

Re: Playoff contenders
 

Yeah
I've been very vocal on here too but i still expect 6-8 wins and less for the Eagles who are starting Wentz and the Bears who have one receiver that doesn't want to be there and is a walking IR man and another a massive combine hype job who cant seem to run a route or catch according to reports. The Bears been worse thsn us at running

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we couldn't move the ball...like at all. Even against 2nd and 3rd string guys we managed a fg. I feel ya, but I have never seen this team look worse under sp

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Have i said we are good or msking the playoffs.

But come the Eagles barring Jordan Mathews have nothing at WR. Mathews at RB and Wentz under centre.

The Bears still have a poor line
The have little at RB or WR outside of Jeffery who is a massive injury risk. The avg 250 yards per game. Less rushing than us.

As i said good,no not at the moment but better than them.

Re: Playoff contenders
 

hey I hope we are better than everyone

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Well at least it starts soon.

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The Saints have a lot of proving to do before I make any commitment to answering that question.

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I don't know. We've ignored the online for one season too many it seems. We have the talent to contend. But we don't have a playoff caliber oline.


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Re: Playoff contenders
 

I think its hard to get out the South if you dont win it. We take so many games off each other most years that grabbing a wild card sport can be difficult.

Re: Playoff contenders
 

Is this a serious thread....

Re: Playoff contenders
 

Buccaneers, Redskins, Packers, Vikings.....

Re: Playoff contenders
 

There are four teams ahead of us. Those four are Seattle, Arizona, Green Bay, and Carolina. Now factor in the winner of the NFC East, which I think is giants. Now you have us contending with Washington, Chicago, and LA. LA is a 6 win team at best this year. Minnesota has Sam Bradford now at QB they are not gonna win 8 games. And Chicago while they finish second in north they may not do better than 8-8 unless they sweep Minnesota and beat Green Bay once. Washington is likely a 9-7 team again. They also are guaranteed to have a better conference record than us. We have to win 10 games. As of now I see us 8-8 and losing to Oakland, NYG, SD, Seattle, @Carolina, @Arizona, TB, and @Atlanta. Some of those are actually winnable with good protection.

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Neither did you. They weren't all on the field at the same time and were playing simplistic blocking schemes with various RB's that will not see any significant playing time because they can't pass block worth a damn. It was frickin' preseason and more than half of the league's olines looked as bad or worse. Wait until real games are played to judge.

Re: Playoff contenders
 

i dont understand then why did we dominate in 2009, did we run complex blocking schemes that preseason? Why was Pittsburgh doing so well, were they running complex schemes too? So in 09 we dominated in preseason and ended up 13-3 and winning the super bowl and SP thought to himself don't do that anymore, instead look like **** in preseason so you can trick everyone?

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i have two years of 7-9 to show me what we look like in real games

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yet another year were the the dreaded words " Need Time to Jell" will be heard all to often. That is why I wish the saints would stop jumping one or two players all around. Ir effects all 12 on the field.

Re: Playoff contenders
 

Nothing is "Guaranteed" especially when dealing with the Skinz

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Hard to say, we are just too shaky and unpredictable. You never know which team is going to show up from week to week.

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I think there are at least 5 in the NFC and 5 in the AFC maybe more. Our O isn't the quick strike O of old anymore and might never be again with the teams building solid defenses and our defense has never been a solid consistant unit year after year. We may be able to beat lesser teams this season but I can't see us beating contenders unless they beat themselves with mistakes. Those close games last season might not be so close this season.

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in my opinion the entire things hinges on our oline. We have talent at the skill positions, but our oline looked like absolute shat. Our defense will be what they are, not great, but improved from the previous two years, at least that is my feeling. All hinges on the oline in my opin

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I agree with Danno

Re: Playoff contenders
 

That 2009 offensive line WAS better than our current line. Way better. That doesn't mean our current line sucks. It is NFL average most likely. With Brees under center he can still turn that into 40 TD's and 5000 yards, especially if the defense isn't performing at a historically poor level.

Don't forget about 2006, the year that Payton is comparing to this year by wiping the slate clean and starting from scratch. The Saints sucked in preseason and still went out and went the same 13-3 and made it to the conference championship game.

As for Pittsburgh, once again you can't tell anything about preseason. They may or may not have been running regular season blocking schemes at times. Preseason isn't about winning at all. It is about evaluating players even if it means putting them in situations doomed to fail to see how they respond.

Re: Playoff contenders
 

How do you know our offense isn't quick strike? You haven't even seen it yet. It hasn't been on the field yet. Bits and pieces running vanilla plays, yes, but not the regular season offense.

Re: Playoff contenders
 

Exactly, so the fact that we could not move the ball at all should be more than concerning, especially since our last two seasons have been just as bad.

That's an opinion that I cannot be certain is true. Possible, sure, but I do not know that right now and neither do you. This team looked, offensively, as bad as I have ever seen under SP.

No we went 10-6 in 2006, and to be honest I don't even remember the preseason that year, but I remember (I think) we played Cleveland to start the season and came away with a win and the team seemed to get better as the year went on. We had some scrappy players, so it is possible if we can win and build confidence, but right now I see nothing about this team that leads me to be optimistic. I hope we steal a win or two to start the year and build that momentum, that may be more important than anything.
I do think we are building a good team and are a few key pieces away.

Not likely Pitt was running anything but vanilla, they just kicked our ass up and down the field. And the worse part is the offensive performance against 2nd and 3rd stringers for Baltimore, our 1's managed a FG

But let's hope we get off to a good start at home and build some momentum. That might get us 10-6 and the playoffs.

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You're right, my bad. But we do agree, and you make my point, we "do not know that right now" and will only know for sure when regular season is underway. And I repeat, we haven't even seen the offense on the field yet, at all. Bits and pieces, yes, but not all of the key players. Of course we are going to suck with Cook, Snead and/or Thomas on the sideline. Of course we'll look bad with Greyson or McCown taking all of the snaps. Of course we'll look bad with Murphy or Cadet running the ball up the gut on first or second down. None of that will be the case once the season starts for earnest.

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If Armistead comes back fully healthy and Peat settles in at LG, might be serviceable enough. A win to open the season would be good, very good

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Guido, running vanilla plays are usually getting the team to work out some kinks, they have in no way shape or form worked out those kinks and watching that O-line get manhandled more plays than not has put an exclamation point on it for me. It amazes me how you don't see this. I love my Saints good or bad but this team needs more help than what they have now on the O-line. Buy into it if you want but I have a hard time seeing a good O let alone a quick strike O. Their not close to passing the eyeball test out on the field. I might ask you the same question a few games from now?

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I agree with the O-Line guys here. If our O-Line doesnt get better fast,
and if they let someone come in and knock Brees out of 2016, we will be
the worst team in football.

Re: Playoff contenders
 

Yes, ask me a few games in when the starting offense has actually played in meaningful games. That's what I have been trying to point out. None of us truly have a clue of exactly what we are going to see.Projecting gloom and doom is counterproductive and simply brings on ulcers. Lighten up and spend less time expecting the bad. Enough bad comes our way anyway in life without worrying about something which we have no power over at all.

Re: Playoff contenders
 

Washington has done no better than 2-2 against an AFC opponent dating back to 2002. They usually go 2-2, with 1-3 and 0-4 thrown in occasionally. Washhington should beat Cleveland one of Pittsburgh at home or at Baltimore. If we do not go 3-1 against AFC we will not even go 9-7 unless we go 3-1 against NFC West(meaning beating both Seattle and @SF) or win in NJ. I believe we will go 2-2 again against the other NFC division as we have gone 2-2 or 3-1 since 2005. Still it's best to get 3 wins or more against the AFC to have a chance and that means having to win 10 games.

Yes Washington can crap the bed as they have done so after every playoff season. But we'll see. It would take a Couins injury for it to happen.