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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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jeanpierre

Dropped all ESPN compensated services months ago with my only relationship with ESPN now is Kevin Hagan's Joe Sam League...

Out of respect for my late friend, Saints fandom brother, and draft guru partner, I'll keep that service until circumstances make it untenable...

and I don't miss the ESPN hypocrisy and bullshinski one iota...

jeanpierre

Oh, and right on cue, another ESPN gaffe...

spkb25

look teams catch lightening sometimes and last year we were playing some damn good football and maybe a little above our heads...who knows. That said, we are not anywhere near the 2nd worst defense. My guess would say that was due to our horrendous output vs the run the other night. I do wish we had a solid DT though, man we would be nasty.

By the looks of our team we are set up to stop the pass, meaning we expect to be leading quite a bit

K Major

Prove em wrong.

MarchingOn

Every year, we are consistently gashed by the run even up the middle yet insist on not investing in at least 1 big body NT. People come to expect that.

RailBoss

second worst defense in football, really.....

Barry from MS

A slightly above average run blocking O Line will gash us between the hashes. I'm fairly confident in the pass defense, but who needs that if they're stuffing it down our throat. We're not 2nd worst, but if we don't get the run defense fixed we're in the back third of the NFL cause we'll never get off the field.

SaintFanInATLHELL

For all ESPN analysts:



SFIAH

RailBoss