With all the hysteria over the Saints the last few days (Seriously Saints fans, its ONLY training camp) I thought I would try and bring a little positivity to the Who Dat Nation. The NFC South, in my opinion, is one of the hardest, if not the hardest, division in football. To win the South is going to be a fight. Sean Payton likes to say that you have to look at the season in 4 sections and try to come out of each section with a winning record. Drew Brees likes to say that the focus is winning the division before thinking about the playoffs and postseason play.
In fact, for the Saints to win the NFC South this year the young players are going to have to listen to their coach and quarterback. The team will need to focus on just getting out of each 4 game section of the season with a minimum of 2-2 record, with some sections going 4-0 or 3-1, and focus on the prize of reclaiming the NFC South as theirs. Possible? Yes. Probable? Well if recent history is any clue the task seems near impossible. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a young team on the rise. The Atlanta Falcons are the defending NFC South and NFC Champions. And the Carolina Panthers are only two years removed from their appearance in the Super Bowl. But don’t fret Saints fans, there is hope for this team and here are five reason why the Saints could win the NFC South.
1. Quarterback Drew Brees
This one is almost to easy and I thought about leaving it off since its such a given. But what we have witnessed as Saints fans with Drew Brees as our quarterback is so impressive it deserves to be talked about. Since Drew Brees and Sean Payton arrived in 2006 the Saints have been #1 in total offense SIX times. In fact, in 10 seasons the Saints have only fallen out of the top 5 one time. I think its safe to say that as long as Drew Brees is healthy and playing well the Saints will always be able to score points. Honestly, its because of Brees the Saints have managed to be 7-9 for three years and not worse. Brees has been able to carry this team for 10 years, can he do it once again? I think the answer is yes.
2. Solid Draft Classes
Remember that 2006 draft class? Bush, Harper, Evans, Rob Ninkovich, Mike Hass, Josh Lay, Streif and Colston. That is a whose who of Saints players. Ninkovich, Hass and Lay were all released in 2006. Ninkovich would go on to have a great career with the New England Patriots while Hass and Lay would bounce around a little bit before being out of football altogether. That draft class has been talked about ever since. It was that draft class that brought the Lombardi trophy to the Big Easy for the first time ever. However, after that class it gets bleak for the Saints. They hit on a few here and there throughout the years but never had a solid class like that 2006 class until 2015. Whats interesting to note here is that as awful the 2014 class was we needed it. We needed it because it was the last straw for Loomis and Co. to transform the scouting department from top to bottom. They did that and the 2015, 2016 and 2017 draft classes all look solid (2016 and 2017 more so). Solid draft classes mean the team isn’t relying too much on a bunch of UDFAs. Yes they have some, and looks like at least one might be a starter at CB with the Delvin Breaux injury, but they aren’t starting throughout the whole roster. The Saints have quietly been rebuilding for the last three years. Could this be their breakout year?
3. Improved Outside Pass Rush
If you would have asked me before the start of training camp if the Saints did anything at all to address the pass rush opposite of Cam Jordan I would have not only said no but HELL NO. I’m glad no one asked because the outside pass rush seems to be much improved. Its only preseason but reports from camp are that Kikaha is showing speed that he never even showed during his first season with the team. Thats crazy for someone recovering from their third ACL tear. Okafor seems to be a solid option to start. In 2014 Okafor played in 13 games with 12 starts. He had 30 tackles, 8 sacks, 3 passes defended and even 1 interception. Its a shame that he got hurt but now in New Orleans he has the opportunity at a fresh start. If Okafor can replicate his success in 2014 the Saints will have a much improved outside pass rush.
4. Will Lutz/Thomas Morestead
I am putting two specialist in the list and for good reason. Morestead is one of the best punters in the NFL. Though his leg isn’t the strongest he has a knack for his accuracy and trajectory, giving the ball perfect flight. The majority of his punts are downed inside the 20 yard line. If the offense can’t get within scoring range you can almost always count on Morestead to give the opposing team a long field to work with. Will Lutz on the other hand has a firm grip on the place kicking position. Its been years since someone has been able to write that sentence. Lutz struggled at the beginning of last season but after the Saints brought in Kevin O’dea, Lutz connected on all of his kicks throughout the rest of the season. Lutz has the leg to drill a 60 yard field goal taking a little pressure off of Brees when a field goal is all that is needed to win a game.
5. Coaching staff
I had a debate with a friend of mine yesterday about this topic. I firmly believe that your head coach and coordinators are so vital to your success. Look at New England. They have been the top of the NFL for years now thanks to good coaching. The Saints have retained their head coach, for now, and both of their coordinators while the falcons loss their offensive coordinator and the panthers loss their defensive coordinator. Tampa Bay also will go into the season with their coaching staff fairly intact but their defensive coordinator is Mike Smith, formally of the Atlanta Falcons, who Payton has been able to have the better of for the last decade. Where the Saints did have turnover in the coaching staff was where it was needed the most. By all account Mike Nolan has been a terrific hire at the Linebacker coaching position. Needless to say the Saints have a better coaching staff today than they did a year ago. I envision that Payton will give full control to Dennis Allen, something he has been reluctant to do ever since the Gregg Williams fiasco.
Have the Saints made enough moves to finally get back to the top of the division? Maybe. As they say any given Sunday anything can happen. Theres no question that the Saints have the talent. The only question is whether or not they will be able to put it all together.
Next week I will have FIVE reasons why the Saints won’t win the division. Stay tuned.
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