On the day of the schedule release, I had drawn up my ideal schedule for the Saints and explained why I had each where they were. Whereas it doesn't matter now where I had the teams on the schedule, I would still like to share it with you guys. I'll keep it brief in the fact that I won't provide all the dialogue and reasoning.
Week 1: Cardinals @ Home – An offensive line that performs at an under par level.
Week 2: Jets @ New Meadowlands – Where do I start? Bad team, bad coaching, easy win.
Week 3: 49ers @ Home – First real test for the Saints in the Superdome.
Week 4: Bears @ Soldier Field – Get this game out of the way quickly so it will still be warm(ish)
Week 5: Patriots @ Gillette Stadium – Same with Bears, but on a higher level due to Brady.
Week 6: Bills @ Home – Decent team should be an easily dispatched team in the Dome.
Week 7: Dolphins @ Home – Upstart team, could surprise a lot of people. Would make a good game.
Week 8: Falcons @ Georgia Dome – Always play the Saints good, and this time the 1st is in ATL.
Week 9: Seahawks @ CenturyLink Field – Hardest game of the year for the Saints can't be in December.
Week 10: Buccaneers @ Home – Should be a good way to go into the bye, with a W at home.
Week 11: BYE – I love late bye weeks.
Week 12: Panthers @ Home – Coming up in the South, and Saints should beat them at home this year.
Week 13: Buccaneers @ Raymond James Stadium – Buccaneers twice in 3 weeks? Should be 2 W's.
Week 14: Rams @ Edward Jones Dome – Good team in the making, and it's a revenge game from a couple years back.
Week 15: Cowboys @ Home – Always a big game. Rob Ryan looks to get revenge on his former team.
Week 16: Panthers @ Bank of America Stadium – Always play them at the end of the year, maybe making a push for the 1-seed here.
Week 17: Falcons @ Home – Fantastic way to close out the season, with a W at home.
In my schedule, I believe that the difficulty of the overall schedule is evenly spread out across the year with the harder teams that usually play in colder weather at the beginning of the year. The actual schedule differs pretty significantly from mine, and I can't stand it. The schedule hits on what I wanted to avoid so bad, that being a gauntlet of hard games in which the Saints have several with San Fran at home, Atlanta at home, and then Seahawks away. The other one I don't like too much is Dolphins at home, Bears Away, and Patriots away. That's brutal for a team with a horrible defense that is playing upstart offenses. One has to wonder if the NFL does this on purpose to see what "cream" rises to the top and who are the real contenders and pretenders.
The verdict for the season, in my opinion, is that the Saints CAN go 13-3, providing they play well all year. The teams I have the Saints losing to are Seattle, Patriots, and either split with the Falcons or lose to the 49ers whilst sweeping the Falcons. That being said, I honestly am predicting a 11-5 record due to the fact that all teams drop a couple games they should win. My hope, however, is that the Saints can get the 1-seed and have home field advantage throughout the playoffs because the Saints have proved time and time again that they can't win in the playoff while on the road. If the Saints get the 1-seed, I believe they can and will go straight to the Super Bowl.
That's all for my opinion on the schedule and how it shakes out; What do you guys think? I would love to hear your opinion!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
