I am proud of this offseason (1 Viewer)

ELLIASJWILLIAMS

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Listen, full disclaimer. I wanted us to land Watson if nothing more than realizing the fact that if you can snag an elite QB in the NFC you are the new version of the Patriots. With the landscape of the QB talent mostly shifted to the AFC...a great team w/ a great coach, above average QB talent and drafting ability can be perennial NFC/SB representatives. Jameis Winston is the biggest lottery ticket from a sketchy 2015 draft QB options (Falcons have their own in Mariotta) and if he truly has a second act as Sean Payton mentions, and can play up to his #1 draft pedigree...WE ARE GOLDEN.

If they haven't done anything, they've built a team around Jameis that is almost SB or bust or, at very least deep playoff contention level worthy. This is a team that won 9 games with four different QB's as starters and about a worst luck season you can have. Hurricane adversity, injury adversity, like that was a bonkers season.

Winston for a full 16 games is damn near 13 wins signed sealed and delivered and they've gone an upgraded their weakest position by far in WR in a huge way. The defense has two new pieces at Safety, and that's a legitimate question mark but the talents they brought in should be be a top 5-8 safety unit, though the jury is still out on if they can be as good as their predecessors together. Still, something as simple as getting Will Lutz back maybe adds a game or two last year if you have a Kicker.


The 2022-2023 narrative is simple, this is a team that people are going to write off and they are going to have a 9 game winning streak to start the season and everyone's saying "Wow surprise team look at record a year ago, yada yada yada" When truth is this was a team that shouldn't have been picking 16. We got a bonus year with good draft positioning and we tried to maximize by getting 3 top 50 picks because good teams usually draft in the high 20's and may have 1 top 50 selection.

Allen as a HC and Kamara are the two question marks but if the depth chart behind this team can shake forward a #2 runner and Allen has truly learned from his Raiders run.we ARE FN....STACKED.

Another random question mark...is a good deal rides on Olave/Penning being hits. They don't have to be all pro's but if either one of them struggles...I feel like Penning more....it could set them back a bit. Alontae Taylor may prove to be a luxury pick or a golden pick because you can never have enough good corners. Remember 09 we were down to aged versions of Chris McCallister Mike McKenzie and boundary corner Malcolm Jenkins (ouch). Nothing can derail a defense more than injuries at corner. Otherwise, we did a good job at taking advantage of the fruits delivered by a rare down year to make a dominant roster even better with young cheap talent.

13-14 wins is my call here and a SB appearance wouldn't surprise me but #1 or #2 seed...absolutely expected. Who Dat!
 
There are a some of "ifs" to this team, but not as much as last year. Last year, the most obvious was transitioning from Brees to Winston or Hill. This year, it´s going from Payton to Allen.

I´m not worried, since Carmichael is still here. Plus, he has proven he can handle the playcalling back in 2012.

That was certainly a bad year for the team, but the offense did not take a step back. It was having the worst defense in league history on one hand, and flucky plays or bad luck at the end of games that made it one of the worst seasons in this era of saints football. The team finished third in scoring offense, first in passing and 25th in running O.

All in all, Allen has inherited the best team and coaching staff anyone could hope for.
 
There are a some of "ifs" to this team, but not as much as last year. Last year, the most obvious was transitioning from Brees to Winston or Hill. This year, it´s going from Payton to Allen.

I´m not worried, since Carmichael is still here. Plus, he has proven he can handle the playcalling back in 2012.

That was certainly a bad year for the team, but the offense did not take a step back. It was having the worst defense in league history on one hand, and flucky plays or bad luck at the end of games that made it one of the worst seasons in this era of saints football. The team finished third in scoring offense, first in passing and 25th in running O.

All in all, Allen has inherited the best team and coaching staff anyone could hope for.
Good comments, EJW.

If I was a “betting man,” I’d put at least a Benjamin 💵 on the over of 7.5 wins for the Saints in ‘22.

:gosaints:
 
Our fate still heavily relies on the health and play of Winston. If he is even average we have a really chance.
 
Health and Winston and how quickly our defensive back-end gels. The talent is there to throw the rest of the NFC out the bar.
 
I too am pleasantly surprised with this offseason.

It's simple.
1. Jameis. It starts and ends here. If he is successful (68% completion and 2-1 TD/INT ratio I like our chances.
2. Kamara - it's not a question if but how long he will be out. It could be 6-8 games or longer depending on what happens with the court case.
3. Secondary - can we gel at the safety position as the OP suggest. Communication will be key.
4. Biggest question mark - We are missing a strong leader in CSP. He was our voice. Did DA learn from his first go round? Can Pete Carmichael gets Jameis attention? CSP demanded respect. Pete does not have that personality.

Overall, I do think we are stacked. It comes down to the most important position on the field (QB) and off the field (Head Coach).

Most pundits are picking us to win 7-9 games. I think we surprise. I'll say 10.
 
If healthy I'm confident JW will be just fine....the key to this season will be team health....If this team can stay relatively healthy they will win 12+ games IMO....
 
I honestly feel as good about this team going into the season as I’ve felt about a team since 2009. Not saying the results will be the same - just that this team feels really solid and dialed in.

The 2018 no-call and then Covid really dampened my enthusiasm for going to the games so I was actually deeply contemplating letting my season tickets go after 20+ years.

But I’m so excited now that I actually upgraded my seats and can’t wait to get my butt into the Dome.
 
I do not think they have built a Team around Winston more-so they have assembled a competitive Team with solid pieces. Winston is a Solid QB if nothing else and guys like Maye, Mathieu, Wilson, Landry are players that (more specifically Maye, Mathieu) share a familiar skillset of players that left and fit the defense and what the defense does, even Josh Evans who the Saints are kicking the tires on fits well with that we do on defense in terms of having players who are multiple.

On offense the Saints drafted a starting left tackle and wide receiver. The offense gets back Thomas and Winston and have now added Landry so there is a great mix of veteran football players mixed with some solid young players who are ascending (Harty, Calloway).

This offseason just reminds you of the football genius of one Mickey Loomis.
 
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