Forecast: Don't believe the hype, Saints face tough test in Rams (1 Viewer)

[neworleanshoo]

http://www.wwltv.com/sports/Forecas...n-NFL-despite-what-youve-heard-111599374.html

Nothing is decided in the NFL yet. NOTHING. Listening to media, fans, and even my delivery guy you’d think the Saints are definitely going to the playoffs but definitely aren’t going to playing at home. The Falcons schedule is so easy and the Saints one so hard. If I know one thing about Sundays in the fall besides artery clogging foods make them better is pretty much every analyst on the pregame shows has no idea what’s going to happen.

But Ralph, the Saints chances of winning the NFC South are DOOMED! DOOOMED!, you say. Atlanta gets to play the Panthers twice this month. Did you know the forecast Sunday in Charlotte calls for a high of 50 with rain changing to an icy mix. Let’s see how good Matty Ice is when he has to play in it.

The Eagles play the Cowboys twice, the Bears play the Patriots and Packers, and the Giants play the Packers and Eagles. The point is the last four weeks will be spectacular because it’s about to get crazy up in here.

so first he says nothing is decided yet & implies the Saints are still very much in it... then he picks the Saints to lose & Falcons to win. interesting.

wish we got that falcons-panthers game on TV in new orleans this week. HATE when CBS gets the double-header & the saints are on Fox. (meaning we only get 1 other game televised, and it's an AFC matchup).

 

[KikkomanSauce]

I don't think that the Rams are gonna be too much of a road block on Sunday. They're on the right track, but they're not there yet. And I do believe the Falcons have a good chance of losing at Carolina, though that may just be my homer talking.

Best decision ever -- when the Saints have late games especially.

 

[MJ in Calif]

I think he is right on for the most part. The last 4 weeks are going to be crazy to say the least and no one knows what is really going to happen. And I, lik ehim, do not turn into the pregame shows. They are all blowhards, although I do like the ESPN segmen "come on Man".

I do disagree with him on this coming Sunday's game against the Rams. For the Saints to lose, they will have to turn the ball over a lot and the Rams are going to need additional help with some flukey plays, all of which are certainly possible. I think the Saints are focused an dknow what they have to do and the offense is seeming to hit its stride at the right time. Saints 31 Rams 16.

 

[neworleanshoo]

I think he is right on for the most part. The last 4 weeks are going to be crazy to say the least and no one knows what is really going to happen. And I, lik ehim, do not turn into the pregame shows. They are all blowhards, although I do like the ESPN segmen "come on Man".

the forced fake laughter is too much for me. drives me NUTS.

ESPN is not quite as bad - they actually talk football sometimes. But the network shows are both huge fake yuck-fests.

 

[BCK30]

I'll say this much...the Saints defense has to get off the field on 3rd down...they let the Bengals convert a little too much for my liking and if they repeat that effort against the Rams the end result may be different.

 

[justdave]

New Orleans Saints vs. St. Louis Rams preview
The Associated Press

The New Orleans Saints' ground attack and Drew Brees' big plays late in games have allowed the defending champions to extend their winning streak to five.

The team's defense, though, may need to step it up if the Saints hope to extend their longest run of the season Sunday against the visiting St. Louis Rams.

After leading New Orleans to a 30-27 victory over Dallas with just under two minutes left Nov. 25, Brees again rallied his club last week as he recorded the 14th regular-season comeback of his career.

The Saints (9-3) blew a 20-6 third-quarter lead at Cincinnati and trailed by three with 4:25 remaining, but Brees responded by leading a 68-yard drive that ended with a 3-yard scoring pass to Marques Colston. Brees was able to get the Bengals to jump offsides on the previous play, converting a fourth-and-2 situation, before lifting his team to a 34-30 victory.

http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2010/12/new_orleans_saints_vs_st_louis_3.html


Saints Black and Gold Report video: the Rams
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http://videos.nola.com/times-picayune/2010/12/saints_black_and_gold_report_v_1.html

 

[Sarcastic]

the forced fake laughter is too much for me. drives me NUTS.

ESPN is not quite as bad - they actually talk football sometimes. But the network shows are both huge fake yuck-fests.

I disagree. I think for the most part that they actually find themselves that funny.

But, yeah, close to unwatchable.

 

[Bill]

The most correct thing that any of us can say for sure is that we will all be eager to see how the games turn out each and every week of the remaining regular season because the complete playoff picture won't be revealed until the end of Week 17.

No one can know how the ball will bounce in the next four weeks and this is what adds to the anxiety and excitement of this NFL season. Yes, it's fun to speculate and talk about what may happen, but as coach Mora (Sr.) once said,
"You REALLY don't KNOW!"

Fortunately, within the next 4 weeks, we WILL!

 

[9thward]

Us losing to the Rams by a score of 27-24 has me speechless. First, we have Drew Brees(third best QB) that, along with Payton, is aggressive. Secondly, we have to become 10-3 to remain in the hunt for, if not the first round bye, atleast second ( I cant believe we are coming from bags on our head, then to, Josh Bullocks and Jason David to hoping to get a bye in the playoffs let alone playoffs, sorry I had to throw that in there). We can not afford to go to Chicago this time of year. Rams secondary sucks as well so I see this as an easy 31-17 win.

The one element that worries me tho is we may still hold back some new plays from the Rams just to hold that trickery in the playoffs and Payton tends to put everything on cruise control with the play calling.

 

[State Of Affairs]

If you take out the 2009 Saints first five games their games look almost identical to this year’s team. I believe the 2009 first six games were the best Saints team in history. They didn’t trail the first five games and in the sixth game in Miami had a comeback for the ages. We may never see a Saints team play that good again.

I was making this point when debating stats in another thread... It's a battle every week and I think being a Saints fan, you look at those 6 games and think that's how superbowl caliber teams play but the truth is, they play just like we played last year after the 1st six games and this year over the last 7 games or so....

Once you get to the best teams, the difference is turnovers, heart, a play here or there... The difference between winning and losing is maybe the differance between having Drew Brees or Manning and having the next level of QB that converts 2 less 3rd down attempts or something...

Bottom line is cliché, once you get in, anything can happen....

 

[State Of Affairs]

http://www.wwltv.com/sports/Forecas...n-NFL-despite-what-youve-heard-111599374.html



so first he says nothing is decided yet & implies the Saints are still very much in it... then he picks the Saints to lose & Falcons to win. interesting.

wish we got that falcons-panthers game on TV in new orleans this week. HATE when CBS gets the double-header & the saints are on Fox. (meaning we only get 1 other game televised, and it's an AFC matchup).

Some of you guys confuse me... I alway see posted titled "HELP, where can I watch the game..." or something like that... Any place with Direct TV, nowadays = everyone, will show all the games...

go get a burger and a beer and you can see all the games... Helps the economy too.... Haha... This is from a pub owner by the way...

 

[bornnraisedwhodat]

This dude is the ultimate negative nelly, I cant even listen to his podcasts.

 

[Showle]

They don't have a clue.

That said, yes, the Saints are facing far more of a challenge than the Falcons are this week, so only in a very general way is he correct. If you really needed a win and could pick any NFL team as your opponent, who would you pick? Most would pick the Carolina Panthers.

There's probably better than a 90% chance that both Atlanta and New Orleans win this week. In any event, yes, there's a slim possibility that the Panthers somehow manage to beat the Falcons at home in Charlotte. There's also a slim possibility that the Rams, clearly a better team than the Panthers, upset the Saints. In fact, I'd say that the Rams had a better shot at the upset, but it's partially offset by the fact that the game is in the Superdome. So it's roughly equal.