Two Bold Predictions - Not the good kind

[Dome]

The 2018 Saints will miss the playoffs in Brees final season. 

 

I’m calling it folks. Never been wrong in my life! 

 

Someone shove some positivity down my throat. Never felt so embarrassed by a win. Their kicker gave us the game.

[Raves]

7 minutes ago, Dome said:

The 2018 Saints will miss the playoffs in Brees final season. 

 

I’m calling it folks. Never been wrong in my life! 

 

Someone shove some positivity down my throat. Never felt so embarrassed by a win. Their kicker gave us the game.

Our kicker missed at least 1 FG as well.  So then it should've went to OT at least as well

[Jlowe22]

53 minutes ago, Dome said:

The 2018 Saints will miss the playoffs in Brees final season. 

 

I’m calling it folks. Never been wrong in my life! 

 

Someone shove some positivity down my throat. Never felt so embarrassed by a win. Their kicker gave us the game.

He did, but also our offense came back when we needed it most.  And we shot ourselves in the foot early with fumbles and a wide open missed TD.  We had to know we'd eventually find the end zone.  The D showed signs of life throughout, and came up with the big turnover exactly when needed.

Also, the Browns look a lot better than they have been.  Browns and Bucs aren't the same garbage teams they were.  Bucs have a high powered offense and caught us off guard with Fitzmagic.  They just handed it to the defending superbowl champs.  Browns fought the Steelers to a tie. The new garbage teams are Cardinals and Bills.

So, I think our defense will get better, and our offense will look more like it did last year once Ingram comes back.  Cam Jordan is due a monster game. We look to be another 11-5 or 10-6 team at best IMO, but anything can happen once you get to the postseason.

[whodatworm23]

Anyone wanna revisit that Lattimore vs Mahomes discussion yet...?

 

Lol

 

Lattimore may end up being a multi pro bowler and elite corner but Mahomes will be considered a top 3 NFL QB as soon as next season. This kids talent is unreal.

 

Anyway... This win was embrassing, and if Davenport does not turn it on soon then the trade to go get him will look worse and worse as the weeks go by. Just like if the Saints keep playing awful and lose, the trade will be more highlighted. Look at it this way, had the Saints lost to the Browns and started the season 0-2 in a "all in" season and eventually ended up with a top 10 pick and had to send that pick to Green Bay while your team CLEARLY needs an answer at QB of the future... I just dont see how a GM survives that. Especially of the guy you traded for is average. 

 

I digress...

 

Facts:

1. The Saints arent as good as they/we thought they were.

 

2. Brees is much closer to the end than most of us (including Brees) realizes.

 

3. Davenport is a good player... But not worth what the Saints will eventually end up paying for him.

 

4. After a full offseason to study Dennis Allen's tendencys its clear that opposing OC's have found flaws in his deep coverage units.

 

5. The few Saints old guys on the team are starting to look REALLY old out there.

 

6. Saints have a SEVERE lack of athletisim at the Linebacker position.

 

7. This defensive personnel would be better served in a true 34 alignment.

 

8. Saints have a MAJOR hole at the strong safety position.

 

9. This team misses Mark Ingram.

 

10. We have no tight end!

 

[Jlowe22]

Mahomes looks good, but I need to see more.  We've seen rookie QBs start off hot recently.  Nick Foles had a 7 TD perfect passer rating game in 2013, then stunk up the place for years.  Had a moment in the sun last year, now looks to be very meh again.  Jimmy G looked unstoppable last year, now he looks very average.

Lattimore will be ok.  He's not the shutdown corner he looked like he was last year, at least not yet, but the talent is there.  

Brees is old, sure.  He's still capable of elite level production though.  He's gonna make mistakes, that's been true since he's been with the Chargers, the Browns just aren't as bad as people are used to them being.  

[Raves]

I think Mahomes is definitely not the "OMG I'mg glad the Chiefs took him and gave us Lattimore" situation that we thought it was, but I don't think having Lattimore is anything to scoff at either.  Lattimore has been playing well, but it seems like the scheme and the lack of pressure from our front 4 have been hindering our secondary and linebackers quite a bit.  Last year I remember Lattimore playing up on the line, locking the WR down from the line of scrimmage down the field.  This year it seems like they are doing more zone coverage and having him play off the ball more, just not really his strength.  Definitely doesn't help when our DL isn't getting enough pressure to make the QB even slightly uncomfortable.  I'm not sure if it's just uncreated scheming up front or some other issue, but something needs addressed.

[tyler735]

4 hours ago, whodatworm23 said:

Anyone wanna revisit that Lattimore vs Mahomes discussion yet...?

I think that is very premature at this time. Mahomes has certainly looked great to start the year, but we've also seen several young QB's struggle once teams get more tape on them to gameplan against their weaknesses. For us in our situation, Lattimore was still the right call with Brees on the roster. Mahomes wouldn't likely see the field until his 4th season at the earliest. Lattimore has stepped in from day 1 and been a great/elite CB for us.

 

 

Anyway... This win was embrassing, and if Davenport does not turn it on soon then the trade to go get him will look worse and worse as the weeks go by. Just like if the Saints keep playing awful and lose, the trade will be more highlighted. Look at it this way, had the Saints lost to the Browns and started the season 0-2 in a "all in" season and eventually ended up with a top 10 pick and had to send that pick to Green Bay while your team CLEARLY needs an answer at QB of the future... I just dont see how a GM survives that. Especially of the guy you traded for is average. 

It certainly wasn't a great win, but the Browns aren't the Browns of the past few years anymore. They have started to turn all those draft picks they have accumulated over the past few years into some solid talent. They have also made some quality free agent signings as well. Playoff teams find ways to win these ugly games, which every playoff team appears to have a few throughout the season. We have Bridgewater who very well may be our QB of the future. Honestly if Bridgewater is healthy again (which appears to be the case), I don't think there is a QB in this draft I'd take over him. Davenport is a bit concerning, but many did state he would be a project coming into the league as a small school prospect. It was nice to see Jordan/Okafor looking good yesterday generating pressure. Hopefully Davenport starts to improve as the season goes on to give us a trio of good pass rushers.

 

Facts:

1. The Saints aren't as good as they/we thought they were. Maybe? We are 1-1 right now. Last year we were 0-2 (I know, against better opponents), and our season was over and it was all Doom/Gloom on this forum. All I know is that if we win next week. I can almost guarantee the attitudes on this forum will largely change from "we suck" to "playoffs here we come". 

 

2. Brees is much closer to the end than most of us (including Brees) realizes. I think most of us thought he was in his last 1-2 seasons going into the year. However on the bright side for us. Brees still looks to be an elite QB even at this point in his career. His last 4 games he has accounted for 1352 yards (338 yards per game), 10 touchdowns (2.5 per game), 3 interceptions (Less than 1 per game), and has had QB Ratings of 129.5, 114.6, 89, and 115.2 in those 4 games.

 

3. Davenport is a good player... But not worth what the Saints will eventually end up paying for him. Maybe? We don't know what he is yet. We do know he has freakish measurables that are right there with the best in the league guys like Von Miller, Clowney, etc. It is just far too early to tell what we have with him as a football player.

 

4. After a full offseason to study Dennis Allen's tendencys its clear that opposing OC's have found flaws in his deep coverage units. There have certainly been some lapses in coverage to start the year on deep plays. However, I just watched the Bucs beat the Eagles for multiple 75+ yard passing plays yesterday as well. Maybe not a Saints issue as much as it is the Bucs have simply been playing phenomenal football to start the year with several talented WR's/TE's.  

 

5. The few Saints old guys on the team are starting to look REALLY old out there. Ted Ginn continues to make big plays (Minus the fumble) for us. Brees just missed him on a deep ball where he despite being "Really old" had 2 steps on a much younger DB. He also had a clutch 40 yard catch and run where he didn't look old at all to put us in FG position for the game winner. Week 1 Ginn had several nice catches and a touchdown as well. Drew Brees is elite. Coleman appears to be past his prime. Outside of that we are pretty young in most other starting positions.

 

6. Saints have a SEVERE lack of athletisim at the Linebacker position. Demario Davis is one of the most athletic LB's in the NFL. Anzalone possesses excellent athleticism. Robertson is also pretty athletic. Klein and Te'o do appear to be below average athletically.

 

7. This defensive personnel would be better served in a true 34 alignment. I disagree. Our LB's are our weakest unit on defense from both a talent and depth standpoint. We don't need more of them out there. We have heavily invested in our D-Line and need to utilize them. Cam Jordan has been a top 5 DE in this formation creating tons of havoc. Okafor is much better in a 4-3 formation, and has consistently gotten pressure since signing with us. Rankins is also better suited for a 4-3 formation.

 

8. Saints have a MAJOR hole at the strong safety position. I do agree that we could definitely stand to see some improvement there. I don't know if Vonn Bell is the long term answer there, but he's still young and has potential. 

 

9. This team misses Mark Ingram. It certainly wouldn't hurt having him back, but the biggest issue I've had is Sean Payton's tendency to not trust Kamara with more touches. We didn't give Kamara a single touch in the 3rd Quarter yesterday. When Kamara touches the ball good things happen for us. So if Payton was more willing to feed Kamara the ball I don't think we'd be missing Ingram that much over this 4 game stretch. However throughout the course of an entire season, I'd have to agree having Ingram there to take more carries does benefit us keeping both RB's fresh.

 

10. We have no tight end! I agree that Ben Watson wouldn't be my first choice, but he has certainly been serviceable throughout the first 2 weeks. I don't recall him really dropping passes. As it stand right now if our TE's stayed at the same pace they are for the rest of the year, they would still account for 600-700 yards receiving this year.

 

 

[Jlowe22]

Once thing I just noticed.  Through two weeks, we average 52 rushing yards per game.  Good for 32nd in the league.  That's awful, we need Ingram back ASAP.  That makes everyone's job harder, especially Brees, who is too old to be throwing for 5k yards again.  Although to be fair, the Bucs scored so often and so quickly we had no choice but to air it out.  Some might say just run Kamara more, but I don't think that's the answer.  Kamara is Kamara, he can't be Ingram and Kamara.  We need Gillislee to step up and run hard between the tackles until Ingram returns.

[SWATcha]

1 hour ago, Jlowe22 said:

Once thing I just noticed.  Through two weeks, we average 52 rushing yards per game.  Good for 32nd in the league.  That's awful, we need Ingram back ASAP.  That makes everyone's job harder, especially Brees, who is too old to be throwing for 5k yards again.  Although to be fair, the Bucs scored so often and so quickly we had no choice but to air it out.  Some might say just run Kamara more, but I don't think that's the answer.  Kamara is Kamara, he can't be Ingram and Kamara.  We need Gillislee to step up and run hard between the tackles until Ingram returns.

We need Gillislee to miss the plane flight to the next game.....the guy just doesn't look good, and runs like he has concrete blocks for shoes. Still not sure how he made the team over Williams or Scott.

I also don't get all the sacks on 3rd and short. GW is known for bringing the house on 3rd down, and Payton calls 5-7 step dropbacks on 3rd and short? Definition of insanity anyone? IT WILL WORK THIS TIME BECAUSE I'M SEAN PAYTON RAAWWRR!!!

[Mid Iowa]

Anybody have Devin Breaux's phone number? He's doing well in Canada.

[Mid Iowa]

At this point, I'm thrilled with the outcome of yesterday's game.

Remember John Carney blowing the River City Relay? How many times have we complained about the ball bouncing the direction of the other guy? We've missed on so many opportunities, even the end of last season with the wiff on Diggs.

This time, this one time, it finally went our way!

[saintsfan]

The best part is everyone was freaking out the same way last year. 0-2 we got smoked in both games and gave up a record amount of yards in the first two games. Look at the outcome of last season. Lets wait until at least week 4 before declaring all these wild thoughts a certain truth

[Dome]

1 hour ago, saintsfan said:

The best part is everyone was freaking out the same way last year. 0-2 we got smoked in both games and gave up a record amount of yards in the first two games. Look at the outcome of last season. Lets wait until at least week 4 before declaring all these wild thoughts a certain truth

We played and lost to two teams that went on to play in the conference championship game for their respective conferences last year and one that went on to rep their conference in the Super Bowl . Not quite the same ya know, unless you’re crazy high on the Browns/Bucs this year  

also nobody is declaring anything a certain truth, that’s why I called them predictions 

[BossierWhoDat]

We have improved from week 1 to week 2 imo. So if we improve again this week, we should be able to win the next few games and get to 3-1

Week 1 was a division rival that always gives us problems with some Fitzmagic sprinkled in. And the Browns' D was pretty dang good. The sky is not falling brother. 

[JMG5]

1 hour ago, BossierWhoDat said:

We have improved from week 1 to week 2 imo. So if we improve again this week, we should be able to win the next few games and get to 3-1

Week 1 was a division rival that always gives us problems with some Fitzmagic sprinkled in. And the Browns' D was pretty dang good. The sky is not falling brother. 

We aren't beating Atlanta. I just don't see that happening.