Saints suddenly looking like a contender in weak NFC (article) (1 Viewer)

St. Geezy

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You might not have noticed but the NFC, besides the Dallas Cowboys, is a hot mess of mediocrity. The 2016 NFC Champion is just as likely to be the 13-3 Dallas Cowboys as it is some random 9-7 team who gets hot for three weeks in January. Since the Saints started 0-3 and have fought back to 4-4, let’s take a quick tour around the NFC, disparage all the teams ahead of the Saints, and get maximum delusional enjoyment out of 4-4 while it's here.

Forecast: Saints suddenly looking like a contender in weak NFC | wwltv.com


We truly are slowly and quietly moving up with hardly anyone noticing. With Brees playing arguably as well as ever, the running game stepping up, and the defense looking at least halfway decent - we really have a shot at this thing.

Not every Super Bowl/deep playoff run year is going to look like 13-0 or 7-0 or 5-0.
 
Forecast: Saints suddenly looking like a contender in weak NFC | wwltv.com


We truly are slowly and quietly moving up with no one noticing. With Brees playing arguably as well as ever, the running game stepping up, and the defense looking at least halfway decent - we really have a shot at this thing.

Not every Super Bowl/deep playoff run year is going to look like 13-0 or 7-0 or 5-0.

The next two games will really tell the tale of the season. If we can come out at least 2-0, I think we have a good shot at postseason success. 1-1 and we are still riding the numbers game. 0-2 we will probably miss the postseason.
 
I think we need a good 3-1 stretch coming up here to keep us in the conversation. But it's going to be difficult with Denver followed by Thursday night football. And that's the crushing thing about starting off so badly. Just one of those games going our way would have made our season so much different right now.

But we are where we are and I'm cautiously optimistic. I think we can win this week.
 
Pat Kirwan said yesterday, "If the Saints win on Sunday, they're going to be a team that everyone has to put in the playoff picture". He later noted how well our offense is playing.
 
Forecast: Saints suddenly looking like a contender in weak NFC | wwltv.com





We truly are slowly and quietly moving up with hardly anyone noticing. With Brees playing arguably as well as ever, the running game stepping up, and the defense looking at least halfway decent - we really have a shot at this thing.



Not every Super Bowl/deep playoff run year is going to look like 13-0 or 7-0 or 5-0.



Man I am such an optimistic person and keep thinking we will win the south BUT whenever I see 4-4 I throw up a little in my mouth and fight hard to keep the past out of my head!!!


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The next two games will really tell the tale of the season. If we can come out at least 2-0, I think we have a good shot at postseason success. 1-1 and we are still riding the numbers game. 0-2 we will probably miss the postseason.

atleast 2-0? how can you get any better?
 
Gets my stomach turning thinking that 1 week and 12 hours from now the Saints could be 6-4 and squarely in the mix, or 4-6 and all but done. That's a hell of a swing in 4 days time.
 
I think there's a chance this year is different than the other climbs back to 4-4 only to crater after.

The offense is actually ridiculously elite this year and we have skill position talent that can beat up on even elite defenses. In those other years, it was inconsistent even as we snuck out some wins. The defense this year does look much different, despite being a work in progress. It's also much more talented (IMO) than the defenses of 2014/2015 so their ceiling is higher.

We'll see though.
 
I think there's a chance this year is different than the other climbs back to 4-4 only to crater after.

The offense is actually ridiculously elite this year and we have skill position talent that can beat up on even elite defenses. In those other years, it was inconsistent even as we snuck out some wins. The defense this year does look much different, despite being a work in progress. It's also much more talented (IMO) than the defenses of 2014/2015 so their ceiling is higher.

We'll see though.

There's a Deke article on WWL that compares the 2011 offense to the 2016 offense and its pretty darn close. Shy of maybe 3pts per game and a few yards. Lower turnover #'s and a much higher 3rd down conversion rate. His suggestion was in the same vein that this team could be on the cusp of a run.

edit: It was Kristian
2nd Edit: It's the redzone rate thats much higher, not 3rd down.

http://www.wwl.com/pages/10773651.php?pid=529117


2011 Saints (through first 8 games ONLY):
Points: Averaged 32.5 per game
Total Yards: Averaged 444.1
Rush Yards: Averaged 117.4
Pass Yards: Averaged 326.8
3rd Down Conversions: 63/112 (56.3%)
Total Turnovers: 13 (10 INT's, 3 Fumbles Lost)
RedZone Offense: 21/38 (55.3%)
Total Offensive Plays: 574 plays for an average of 71.8 plays per game

2016 Saints
Points: Averaged 30.3 points per game
Total Yards: Averaged 434.5
Rush Yards: Average 108.1
Pass Yards: 326.4
3rd Down Conversions: 62/117 (53%)
Total Turnovers: 9 (5 INT's, 4 Fumbles Lost)
RedZone Offense: 24/34 (70.6%)
Total Offense Plays: 571 plays for average of 71.4 plays per game
 
The next two games will really tell the tale of the season. If we can come out at least 2-0, I think we have a good shot at postseason success. 1-1 and we are still riding the numbers game. 0-2 we will probably miss the postseason.



I pretty much agree with everything here. We can survive 1-1, but we really need to win these next 2 to have fully turned the season around.
 
Rankins just got his first taste of action and there's a very Michael Thomas like buzz around him. If he has an equivalent like rookie campaign as our new #1 receiver then yeah. Things could get REAL interesting.
 

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