There is probably no city with as much anticipation for the 2013 NFL season as New Orleans. Last year was a complete writeoff with Bountygate leading to a 0-4 start that had the Saints eliminated from contention before October. This year things should be much different.
2013 New Orleans Saints Preview/Predictions
2012 Record: 7:9
ATS Record: 8-8
2013 Team Futures
Super Bowl Odds: +1500
Conference Odds: +1000
Division Odds: +150
The New Orleans Saints are hoping for some big changes this season. They want to get back to winning and need to improve on defense, plain and simple. The biggest change for the team is the return to the fold of head coach Sean Payton, who proved his worth while away from the club last season, but they also brought in a new defensive coordinator in Rob Ryan, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys.
Check out our in-house Handicapper!!! Buy Razor Ray’s Sports Picks Today!
For as long as Drew Brees is quarterbacking the Saints they are going to be a pass first offense and one of the best. Brees did not shatter any records last season but New Orleans was again first in passing offense with Brees connecting with WR Marques Colston and WR Lance Moore on the outside as well as Jimmy Graham, who in a Gronkless world can easily be considered the top tight end in the NFL. Throw in the impossible to cover RB Darren Sproles and the Saints will again rack up yards through the air this season.
When rushing the ball the goal of the Saints is to do just enough to keep defenses honest. Last year they were 25th at just under 100ypg but since they still wound up second in scoring (28ppg) I don’t think they are going to change things up all that much. Having Payton back with his creativity should help and so will playing from the lead more too. Believe it or not there is a fullback on the roster this year in Jed Collins. I can’t recall them having a blocking back much lately so that could be a factor too. [soliloquy id=”82219″]
New Orleans’ defense was terrible last year. They were second worst in the NFL in scoring and against the pass and worst in the league in rush and total defense. Reviewing those numbers you can see how Payton needed to make a change at DC bringing in Ryan. The lone top half of the league measure for the Saints was in takeaways where they were 12th with 26 – a number that could improve if Ryan is able to execute the kind of defense he prefers, which is to be as aggressive as possible. Unfortunately for Ryan there have not been a huge influx of new defensive talent that can be expected to make a difference though they are expecting top pick Kenny Vaccaro to be a big hitter in the secondary and start from day one. I like the change in philosophy even if the talent is probably still mediocre.
Outlook: There are so many reasons to think the Saints will be better this year then they were last year when they were behind the eight ball before the season even began. First of all they are unlikely to start the season 0-4 like they did last season. Second with Payton back and Ryan in the fold they should be improved significantly on the sidelines – and it makes a difference. I absolutely love the pairing of a really aggressive DC on a team like the Saints. Its OK for those guys to give up some points because they know their offense can get them back. Also, I love them being able to quickly convert stops and turnovers into points. New Orleans was a winning team after that awful September last season. They start the season hosting last season’s champs Atlanta at home. After they win that one they will have the confidence that we have expected from this team over the last several seasons. There are your NFC South Champs this year.
2013 Saints Predictions:
Place they will finish in the NFC South: First
Place they will finish in the NFC: Fourth
