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ESPN FPI disrepsects Saints’ defense, again

By JAMES PARKS 20 hours ago



In 2017, the New Orleans Saints were among the class acts in football.

After sludging through three straight 7-9 seasons, the team raced out to eight straight victories, won the NFC South, and got into the playoffs, a reign of success that now finds them ranked among the elite when making predictions for the 2018 season.

The Saints are routinely found among the favorites among analysts and odds makers when accounting for which teams are in contention to win Super Bowl LIII. That promise is based around one of the league’s most balanced offenses and one of its most improved defenses.

Defense is now heralded as a Saints strength for most observers.

Except, that is, for ESPN’s Football Power Index, which in addition to their other predictions for the coming season, inexplicably ranked the Saints’ defense as the second worst in football.

“For once, [the defense] was a mega liability the way it had been in 2016 and 2015 and 2014,” ESPN noted. “But FPI just is not buying the turnaround going forward. It thinks New Orleans is a playoff team, but that it will get there via the best offense in football and the second worst defense in football.”

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“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill