The rehearsals are finished, the players are selected, the stage is set… now let the games begin. We are one week away from the first game of what promises to be one of the all time great seasons in New Orleans Saints history, and what a better way to start things off than with Falcons hate week. We have endured four weeks of fake football, we have had to sit through third string versus third string games, and we even discovered that Johnny Manziel is a bit of an aviphile. All of that is well and good, but what we as Saints fans are looking forward to seeing is the finished product; what do our starters actually look like when they take the field, and can this team live up to the kind of expectations that this franchise has never faced?
I for one think that the Saints have what it takes to go all the way this year (and I am not alone in that regard). I have already predicted that the Saints will win the Super Bowl and even in my most objective moments I truly believe that the Saints have as good of a shot as anyone… in a vacuum. But, if we are going to start from the premise that the Saints will win the Super Bowl, then what needs to happen for them to get there? Obviously the coaching staff, as well as the entire NFL, is aware that while the Saints had a historic turn around on defense last year, their biggest weakness was that they simply could not take the ball away. The signing of Jairus Byrd as well as the evolution of Kenny Vaccaro, Cameron Jordan, Akiem Hicks, and the other young rising stars on our defense should not only alleviate that particular problem… but should also lead to an even greater defensive effort from last year. That is what makes this year’s Saints team so dangerous; they may have the best offense they have ever had (potentially) and it could possibly be the second best units on the team… allow me to hand you a rag to wipe up your drool folks.
These are the expectations the 2014 Saints are living under. With that in mind I am going to outline my season predictions for the Saints as well as my predictions for the NFL as a whole.
Saints:
-The Saints will get over 30 takeaways and will get 6 touchdowns on defense in the regular season.
-Brandin Cooks will challenge Reggie Bush’s total yardage numbers from his rookie year and will break 1000 yards receiving.
-Jimmy Graham will have his best season yet in the regular season, and for once will be healthy entering the postseason. The now healthy Jimmy Graham will be the same player we saw against SF in 2011 and will dominate the playoffs (hopefully silencing the people who say he doesn’t show up…like a plantar fascia tear is a bruise you can just shake off).
-Keenan Lewis will not only accomplish his INT goal, but will make his first pro-bowl this year and get the recognition he deserves.
-Junior Gallete will get 11 sacks and will take out his frustration on teams throughout the playoffs tallying 7 more in the postseason.
-Akiem Hicks will have 50+ tackles, 6 sacks, and ten passes batted down.
– @harahanwhodat (Barry Hirstius) was dead on when he called Ronald Powell a jackpot…he will be in the rotation by seasons end.
-Joe Morgan catches 7 Touchdowns, 4 of which go for over 50 yards.
-Colston gets his 1k yards as per usual.
-Pierre works in the ‘Darren Sproles role’…but does it better.
-I shouldn’t have to say it…but it’s so fun to say: Saints win the Super Bowl over the Patriots 42-17
The rest of the NFL:
-the Packers win the NFC North and lose to the Saints in the Superdome in the NFC Championship game.
-the Cowboys break the Saints 2012 record and cleanse our names in the record books. (with a little help from us)
– The Eagles win the NFC East by default, but lose in wild card round to the Forty Niners
-Seahawks win the NFC West, but lose to Green Bay in the divisional round.
-Pats win the AFC East as always and go to the SB behind their defense.
-Broncos win AFC West, but lose to the Pats in the AFC Championship game.
-Chargers beat the AFC South Champion Colts as Luck once again throws multiple picks in the wildcard round.
-Bengals Win the AFC North and lose to the Broncos in the divisional round behind 5 INT’s for Dalton.
MVP: Kenny Vaccaro: that’s right I think Kenny is going to have a historic season and will make so many splash plays that he will captivate the voters (they also refuse to give it to Drew so Kenny gets it…so there!!!).
O.Rookie of the year: Brandin Cooks by a mile.
D.Rookie of the year: Justin Gilbert
O. POY: Adrian Peterson.
Comeback player of the year: Rob Gronkowski.
That’s a lot of predictions and I am sure more than half of them will blow up in my face, but that is half the fun of doing it. I absolutely can’t wait until the season opening against our little sisters (oops sorry brothers) and the carnage that is sure to follow. I’m already looking over their pre-season tape for the starters and trying to scout them for next week’s game (my eyes are burning guys…it’s bad). Stay tuned fellow WhoDat’s and get ready for one heck of a season!
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