Tobias-Reiper

.. I'll tell you.. right out of the gate @ Carolina is one of those games that can set the tone for your season for a myrad of reasons...

.. first, the emotions are going to be high, with the passing of Mills and Mark Fields' condition. Side note: sad to see that Mills' passing means nothing to our current Saints.. I digress...

..then you have the Panthers (most likely) at full force, remembering who put them out of the playoffs last year...

..and I would not want to be Aaron Brooks on 9/18 should the Panthers win and should Jake have a better game...

..lastly, a bad loss, and I don't mean scorewise, but those losses when you get your butt manhandle, could really hurt the psyche of the players, should they be still "riding the wave" of last season's finale. I surely hope the coaches are stressing that 2004 was 2004, and that this is a new season...

... I want the Saints to win the game, but I don't expect them to... I just hope that it is one of those close games that build up for the next one..

saintswhodi

Exactly my feelings TR. Season opening division game? IT doesn't get any bigger. Best possible way we could open the season cayse it sets the tome right off. Should we win, and I don't expect us to, that could carry our young guys, and our vets, for most of the season. It would be huge to open the season one game up on Carolina in the division win column. Alas, the fall from a loss could be precipitous. All that talk of the last 4 games could be exposed for the smoke it was. But the more I think about how much that one game means, the more excited I get. This is a huge game right out the gate. That can't be stressed enough. IT could give us the mo we need for a special season, or rock us into one of those funks that takes two or three games, some threats, some false love, and some boos to get out of.

xan

0/1 Carolina - Loss: Panthers upgraded on both sides of ball
0/2 Giants - Loss: Active free agency, good draft, Eli's soph year
0/3 Minny - Loss: Beat Saints with less last year
0/4 Buffalo - Loss: Better defense, improving offense
1/4 Green Bay - Win: Haslett fighting for life
1/5 Atlanta - Loss: 2nd year in D system and newer, better parts
2/5 St. Louis - Win: No real improvement in Rams vs. last season
2/6 Miami - Loss: New coach, new attitude, host of new and better players
3/6 Chicago - Win: Tougher game than anyone would think, both last in divisions
3/7 New England - Loss: The yardstick game. How far does this team/organization have to go to get to the elite level
3/8 New York - Loss: Jets will contend for wildcard again
4/8 Tampa - Win: Only team worse in NFC
4/9 Atlanta - Loss: Repeat of 1st loss, only ATL will learn something
5/9 Carolina - Win: Some players playing for next year, rivalry
5/10 Detroit - Loss: Too much offense for undermanned Saints D
5/11 Tampa - Loss: Meaningless game

I predict that Haslett will not be the coach in 2006. The defense will be sieve-like, even more than 2004, and several injuries will contribute to the performance. Brooks will not fare well against an all around upgraded NFC South defense, and playing against the toughest division in the NFL (AFC East), will have his worst season as a pro. A simplified offense will translate into a more predictable one, yielding a scenario where Brooks has to be smart for an entire season. A better offensive line on paper doesn't manifest itself on the field as the offense faces 8 in the box. Defenses will accept an inconsistent Brooks rather than a consistent Deuce. McPherson's #5 will be seen in the huddle as early as the loss to New England, where the final playoff nail will be driven. 10-6 makes, with Atlanta (13-3), Minnesota (12-4), Seattle (12-4), Philly(13-3) winning divisions and Carolina (10-6) and Arizona (11-5) pulling in WildCard berths. Saints get top 4 pick in 2006 draft and win the Leinart derby by trading up for 1st pick.

DaRealAbdul

I beg to differ...
Week 1 --> Saints win... Never been a Delhomme fan, and both RB's are coming off injured seasons... Deuce goes buck wild... Panthers DE's tamed by the new O-line and everyone buys Brown jerseys...
Week 2--> Eli gets spanked... Horn fights urge to pull out laptop...
Week 3--> Everyone realizes by this week what Moss did for the Vikings... they get kicked in the Whizzinator... Saints win... big, too... WhoDat mentioned above, McKenzie vs Burlesson or Williamson... please...
Week 4--> Bills go down... Losman or McGahee breaks a leg...
Week 5--> Farve decides he really should retire... McKenzie and Brooks have a big day against their former team... Gumbo Ya-ya all over again. (5-0)
Week 6--> Saints finally lose... I dunno why everyone thinks Carolina will win the South... I think it's the Cancer pity other posters were talking about... Falcons have a better shot at winning the division than the Panthers...
Week 7--> Saints come back and barely win to avoid two losses in a row...
Week 8--> Saints beat Saban's team... even though Brown racks up some serious yardage...
Week 9--> Horn gives into temptation, busts out the laptop, Burberry, and Fax machine in the end zone...
Week 10--> Bye week
Week 11--> Spank the Patriots, who by this time, everyone realizes stink this year without their coordinators...
Week 12--> Saints lose to the Jets... who I think may get to at least the AFC championship game... maybe one further...
Week 13--> Saints take this game easy, because the Bucs have a pitiful record at this point, and BARELY avoid losing to a cellar team...
Week 14--> Saints at 10-2, after getting a scare almost losing to a pitiful team in Week 13, come back and beat the Falcons getting their revenge from Week 6...
Week 15--> Roll over the Panthers again... Clinch NFC South?
Week 16--> Saints lose this one... to the Lions behind Garcia... Fall to 12-3.
Week 17--> Deuce and Horn play sparingly to rest for the playoffs, but the Saints still roll over the Bucs who are one of the three worst teams in the NFL... end regular season at 13-3...
Don't wanna predict any further... but at 13-3... it's pretty obvious we may have the next week or so off...
Don't laugh... Sticky this thread so we can see who got it somewhat correct...

spkb25

CAROLINA-WE WIN. I AGREE WITH WHODAT THEY HAVE SOME LOABLE PLAYERS AND A LOVABLE SITUATION. EVERYONE WANTS THEM TO WIN. BUT THEY WONT

GIANTS-EASY WIN. WHICH IS WHY IF WE FOLLOW OUR PAST WE WILL LOOSE THIS GAME. BUT I WILL SAY FOR NOW WE WILL WIN

MINNESOTA-WE LOOSE. THIS IS A BETTER TEAM THEN LAST YEAR DESPITE THE LOSS OF MOSS. BUT THE LOSS OF MOSS IS WHY WE COULD WIN. FOR NOW IT'S A LOSS

BUFFALO-TOSS UP. COULD GO EITHER WAY. TOUGH GAME. THIS WILL BE A TOUGH TEAM BUT IT ALL DEPENDS ON J.P.

GREEN BAY-I THINK WE WIN. THIS WILL BE ANOTHER TOUGH GAME BUT I THINK WE CAN WIN.

ATALANTA-I DONT SEE ANYTHING BESIDES VICK AS SPECIAL ABOUT ATLANTA. BUT AT THE SAME TIME WE LOOSE THIS ONE. NEVERMIND THE FACT TO ME THAT VICK IS OVERRATED

ST.LOUIS- AND WE ARE THERE FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW. WE WIN AGAIN. THEY HAVE LESS OUTSIDE OF JACKSON. WE WIN

MIAMI- WE WIN. I JUST DONT EXPECT THEM TO DO MUCH. BUT THEY WILL BE BETTER THAN LAST YEAR

CHICAGO- WE WIN., THEY HAVE A VERY COMPETITIVE TEAM BUT THEY LACK IN THE QB POSITION. IT IS JUST INEXPERIENCE

NEW ENGLAND- WE HAVE TO LOOSE. WE MAY BE SHOWN UP BAD

NEW YORK JETS- IN NEW YORK AND ITS COLD. IT COUKLD BE BAD.

TAMPA BAY- THIS COULD BE THE GAME THAT MAKES OR BREAKS US. DO WE REBOUND OR DO WE FALL BECAUSE WE HAVE LOST TWO IN A ROW. WE ARE HOME AND DEUCE GFINDS A WAY TO CARRY US.WIN

ATLANTA- WE WIN. WE SPLIT. I WOULD PREFER TO WIN THIS ONE THEN THE FIRST

CAROLINA-WE LOOSE. IF THEY ARE STILL PLAYING FOR A SPOT OR NOT WONT MATTER. WE LOOSE. TOUGH DIVISIONAL GAME

DETROIT-WE WIN. TOUGH CLOSE GAME BUT WE WIN THIS ONE.

TAMPA BAY- WE WIN BUT BARELY. WE WIN IN OT BY A FIELD GOAL
10 OR MAYBE 11 WINS

saintswhodi

WTF?? Did Carolina not go to the Superbowl two years ago? Were they not picked to compete to go back last year if not for almost every starter getting hurt? Didn't they beat us with 1/16th of the team the first time we played them? And now they are fully healthy, and got better and somehow they are a cake team? I think division hate is blinding some about their chances. Carolina will be right up there with the elite again. I hOPE we beat them, but in what way are we CLEARLY better than them like some are suggesting? I hate Delhomme is not a valid answer. The guy didn't choose to leave, he was allowed to.

DaRealAbdul

my 2 cents... not attacking anyone... just noticed this a lot on this board...
We LOSE a game.
Drunk girls are LOOSE.
Let's continue the discussion.

WhoDat

LOL - Thanks Abdul. I was just about to say that.

Whodi - I think Carolina is a good team. There is no question that their significant fall from grace last season was due in large part to injuries. However, I think there are a few reasons not to fear them as a Super Bowl caliber team.

1. Their Super Bowl run was somewhat miraculous. There are people on this board who place "luck" as the second or third biggest contributor to that SB run behind Defense, and maybe a strong running game. I think that they were a very good team that year - but I would call them a "team of destiny." Everything went their way that year. I doubt they'll be that fortunate again any time soon. Like the calls that they got in a number of games. The 6 OT games they won, or whatever it was. The fact that that was Stephen Davis' only year without being hurt. Etc.

2. Carolina's staff has changed. An o-line that was a major strength has become a weakness. There are a lot of questions up front for them.

3. They are about the most predictible team in football. Scheming to beat them is pretty easy, it seems to me. Executing is another thing, but they don't strike fear in my heart (as the coordinator that we all know I am. LOL).

4. LOTS of injury questions. Will Davis be the same? Foster? Smith?

5. Call it "corollary" if you must, but simply put, other than New England, Super Bowl teams haven't faired well since going to the big dance in recent years. Carolina, Tampa, St Louis, the Giants, Oakland, Baltimore, Tenessee... it seems that what goes up comes back down... hard.

Carolina should be tough, but I wouldn't be at all surprised to see them hover around 8-8 or 9-7. Of course, 11-5 wouldn't be all that shocking either. That said, I think the pecking order in the NFC South right now is probably Atlanta, Carolina, Saints, Bucs.

\"Excuses, excuses, excuses. That’s all anyone ever makes for the New Orleans Saints’ organization.\" - Eric Narcisse


\"Being a Saints fan is almost like being addicted to crack,\" he said.[i]\"You know you should stop, but you just can\'t.\"

DaRealAbdul

It's not about hating Delhomme... i said i've never been a fan...
that means of the games i watched of him, he didn't seem like an AMAZING quarterback like a Brady or a Manning... he just seemed competent... the running game carried them that year... just don't see it happening again.

WhoDat

Well - I don't see the running game carry the Panthers this year either - their defense will. That's what really led to their SB run... and I disagree that their running game carried them last year. They has a FB starting at RB most of the year. They lost 3 starting RBs. Last year most of their success late in the season, IMO, was due to a combination of A) Delhomme/Mohammad carrying the O on their backs, and B) the return of injured defensive players that helped to re-ignite that D.