Here’s what I don’t get re Saints ranking predictions (3 Viewers)

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guidomerkinsrules

guidomerkinsrules

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So most national punditry, majority of Saints fans and even Nick and Tripp, et al have the Saints doing no better than they did last year and a good chunk saying they’ll do significantly worse
And I guess the question is ‘based on what’?
Most all have concluded (rightly, imo) that bad Oline play AND bad play calling/personnel usage were the reason we were AVERAGE

Obviously losing Ram is significant BUT he played on one leg last year and we ‘replaced’ him with a top draft choice (yes he’ll need some seasoning)
I feel Oline play is probably going to be same level as last year with maybe a 25% chance of getting better
BUT almost certainly O play calling and personnel usage gets SIGNIFICANTLY better
And with slight upgrades on D, I just don’t see how all that adds up to ‘same or worse’

Is there anything other than blinding DA hate fueling these predictions?
 
Brandon13 said:
I think we're largely just in "gotta see it to believe it" territory. I think we'll be better but... It has to actually come together this year before it's too late.
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And I guess I can see that (makes sense), it’s the ‘bottom falling out’ takes that confuse me
 
We didn't really improve and may have gotten worse personnel-wise on paper. Everyone else is improving in the offseason. I don't think anyone is going to put stock in a new young coordinator turning it around.

I'm excited to see the new offense, and I'm sure the defense will be good as always. But I understand why people wouldn't be optimistic. Especially nationally.
 
guidomerkinsrules said:
And I guess I can see that (makes sense), it’s the ‘bottom falling out’ takes that confuse me
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I definitely had that take when we were struggling late into the season last year lol, that the bottom would fall out if DA returned.. this here is my slightly more optimistic off-season self.
 
Stalwart385 said:
We didn't really improve and may have gotten worse personnel-wise on paper. Everyone else is improving in the offseason. I don't think anyone is going to put stock in a new young coordinator turning it around.

I'm excited to see the new offense, and I'm sure the defense will be good as always. But I understand why people wouldn't be optimistic. Especially nationally.
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Which positions look worse on Paper?
 
I agree with all of the above posts and I think that the other driving factors are that the Saints are........boring.

The "high octane offense" is gone. Sean Payton's pettiness is gone. There are no NFL superstars on the team. And I think the biggest thing is it is perceived that the morale is gone from the building. And yes, these are all subjective and have no quantitative reasoning but those seem to be the reality.

The Saints played a lot of backup QB led teams last year and while they won, they didn't win in huge fashion like they would have in the past.

Couple this with the Derek Carr and his teammates drama, the team not playing to the level they could, boring play calling and then ending the season with a definitive win only for Dennis Allen to apologize for it left a very bad taste with not only Saints fans but the football community in general.

So, yes, the Saints are under the "you have to prove it to us" to believe mode.
 
Stalwart385 said:
Off the top of my head

Lost Mike, Ram and Maye
Gained Young and Gay

You can argue semantics but that is difficult to call an even swap much less an improvement. Other teams are only adding in the offseason.
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Let's be honest, losing Mike isn't really losing anything. since 2019 he averages 24 catches for 265 yards a year. Losing Ram is a legit concern, but we drafted Fuaga. Maye was outplayed last year by Howden, his younger and more inexpensive back up, it was absolutely not a loss.

We added St Brown, Cedric Wilson, Stanley Morgan, and drafted Bub Means, our WR unit is much improved from last season.

We added Will Harris, Kendal Vickers, Chase young and Willie Gay to the Defense, added depth to our Oline by signing Shane Lemieux, Justin Herron, Udoh and Lucas Patrick.

I really do not think there is any question that the roster has improved.

We have much of the same core from our top 10 defense from last season, and a new and improved play caller on offense.

Thinking we will do worse is weird.
 
Stalwart385 said:
Wr, safety and ol.
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We have a significantly improved WR room. Any other take is just hate imo.

Safety? We cut Maye because his backup out played him. It's not like he left a free agent. We signed Amadi and Will Harris to be back ups, I would say our safety situation is better, we have the de facto starters from last year (Mathieu and Howden) returning and bolstered our depth with veteran free agents.

O-line is tricky. Losing Ram is impossible to spin, but we drafted Fuage and expect Penning to do much better on the right side than he did the left, but there is no question we added quality depth with free agents who have starting experience.
 
Stalwart385 said:
Off the top of my head

Lost Mike, Ram and Maye
Gained Young and Gay

You can argue semantics but that is difficult to call an even swap much less an improvement. Other teams are only adding in the offseason.
Click to expand...
If you argue we lost Mike you can argue we gained Miller
We added top Otackle, top CB
 

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