NYT Fifth Down Blog Preview on Saints Out

RJ in Lafayette · 08-23-2012, 06:13 AM

The Fifth Down Blog preview of the Saints came out today, which means that Andy Benoit picked them to finish second in the division. His preview of Atlanta will appear tomorrow. I have been posting for a year about the excellence of Benoit's work, and his team previews have been uniformly first-rate. If the link below for the preview does not work, go to The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia, click on sports, and you can find it. New Orleans Saints, 2012 N.F.L. Season Preview - NYTimes.com

SaintsW1n · 08-23-2012, 07:46 AM

Agreed. It's well-done.

I don't necessarily agree with everything in it, but it's probably the best Saints' preview (along with PFF's) out there.

Joseph Guidry · 08-23-2012, 07:58 AM

Benoit is very good, and I respect him. However, I disagree somewhat with his analysis of our D. Our D line is going to be better than he makes out, and Lofton is not a downgrade from Vilma since Vilma was at best playing at 75% last season.

RJ in Lafayette · 08-23-2012, 08:20 AM

Good observations.

I have some quibbles with the article. Bress's mental and emotional attributes, though honed by dedication and long hours, are as God-given as physical attributes. There is a typo where the name "Jackson" appears instead of "Jenkins". I frankly am not sold on Patrick Robinson. In the beginning, he does note that Vilma was being phased out before the suspension, though Benoit obviously thinks less of the Lofton signing than many on this forum.

What the preview makes clear is that a creative, fit-focused offense with a great quarterback can be incredibly productive with players who were not high draft picks--our offensive line is not as good as people think--but that great defense requires great athletes who go quickly in the draft. When it comes to defense, God clearly favors the bigger battalions. It is on defense that we will see the effect of the two-for-one deal involving Ingram and the loss of draft picks because of sanctions.

PayOrPlay · 08-23-2012, 09:24 AM

I don't have major disagreements with his analysis of the Saints; if anything I think he may be understating the potential effect of the coaching and player disruptions on the team's performance.

However, I suspect that tomorrow I am going to think he's over-estimating the Falcons, if he's picking them first.

cki3915 · 08-23-2012, 10:12 AM

Having seen this D-Line through 2 pre-season games and 1 undefined game, it is more clear to me that ever that our D-Line problems were technique-based problems that were casue by bad coaching. Somehow, the same lineman who could never get to the QB under GW and getting there under SS. That tells me that they are better than the writer is giving them credit for.

But, the writer is basing his analysis on past performance rather than the 2012 pre-season, which I have no problem with. This is sensible and well researched.

And yes, looks like he will vastly overrate Atlanta. Most people do.

Whodat GT · 08-23-2012, 11:57 AM

What I liked about the article is how he describes Spagnuolo's use of secondary blitzers, since we know that if anything, Harper and Jenkins are top notch at that. It reminded me that Harper was once mentioned as a possible inclusion in the Shockey to New Orleans trade, at the time Spags was in New York. Anyways, I believe that if the front four underwelms, Spags will still find a way to generate pressure and force the quick decision, with a better overall scheme in place (mainly, the secondary facing the qb).