Mid Iowa Posted November 26, 2020 Share Posted November 26, 2020 Happy Thanksgiving, Gang. I'm really thankful for so much, I don't even know where to start, and being able to yuk it up with "y'all" in here is certainly one of them. Cheers!! We have a fun stretch of foosball coming up. Broncos, Falcons, and Eagles before the 2nd "test" of the season, the Chiefs. I'm not gonna lie, I feel the next 3 games are ALL setup to be that proverbial "trap" game. The Broncos are just horrible, and possibly have one the worst QBs in the league in Drew Lock - who is a turnover king. The Saints have a history of making these type of players look like franchise guys, so hopefully they can wax this guy. That sets us up for a rematch against Maddie Ice. Yes, I did <-- that on purpose. After an 8 sack game, I'm not certain we'll be able to muster that again, but it will be key to winning. We all know the Falcons are capable of pulling off a win against anyone they face, although their only wins this season are against some pretty bad teams (Vikings, Panthers, and Broncos) with some near losses to some mediocre/bad teams (Cowboys, Bears, and Lions). On paper, we win this. The Eagles are a hot mess. They seem on the fence about their marque guy, Carson Wentz, and have a wicked schedule leading up to us (Seahawks (home) and Packers (away)) They turn the ball over just as much as they do good things with it, and have yet to win a meaningful game. Coach Doug Peterson seemed to him-haw in an interview the other day when a sports writer asked about moving forward with Wentz, so something's boiling there. My fear is that their backup is 2nd round pick, rookie Jalen Hurts, a guy who we have virtually no film on other than college. We always struggle against those guys. Again, on paper, we win this game. Let's just say we go 3-0 over this next stretch, we host the Chiefs at 11-2. That game will leave us at 12-2 or 11-3, with a home game against the Vikings, followed by the regular season finally on the road against the Panthers. The Vikings are still in the hunt, yet have no identity. Nobody knows who they are, and they don't even know who they are. I can tell you that they are nothing without Dalven Cook. If he has a bad game, they lose. If he has a good game, they win. Well, our front 7 doesn't allow RB's to have good games, so I think we FINALLY beat the Vikings in a big way. Too much bad blood over the past 3 seasons to let them win again. The Panthers will want a win to start their offseason right, so you know they'll play us hard. That said, we've kinda got their number. The key for this game will be, will it matter. If we're a solid #1 seed, this is a loss. If we're competing against the Rams, Green Bay, or Seattle for that #1 seed (or even the Buccs or Cardinals), we'll be full go knowing there's (likely) only 1 team that gets a bi-week. There is a strong possibility this team finishes 14-2 or 13-3. Possibly 12-4 if we hit cruise control late. What are your thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jlowe22 Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 I think there's no way we finish better than 12-4. If that happens though, we own the tiebreaker with the Bucs so we automatically get the division. If we lose more than that, we'll just hope the Bucs do too. I mean, it's mathematically possible to go 14-2 but I just don't see it. Chiefs will probably beat us, Carolina and Atlanta both will play us like it's their superbowl. The Vikings have been our kryptonite, even when we beat them it's an ugly win. And who knows what rookie mistakes Taysom will make that might cost us a game against one the ****ty teams. I think our defense will revert back to being middling at some point, as thats been their M.O. last few years. I'll stick to my 11-5 prediction and hope to be pleasantly surprised. In the meantime I'll wish for the Bucs to lose every game they play. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Saint Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 Happy Thanksgiving Mid Iowa and the other Saints fans on this site. I'm actually pretty confident with the Broncos, Falcons and Eagles. All three teams are dealing with terrible QB play. Dennis Allen has the defense playing at a level I haven't seen. Malcolm Jenkins has really stepped up as the season has progressed, and it's coincided with our secondary improving. I think we go 3-0. Chiefs game is going to be a real test. They are a superbowl contender and how we do against them will tell us a great deal about what our potential is this season. Their offense will get their points. It's near impossible to shut down. However, the big factor for them is our offense. More accurately, how much time we have the ball. If our offense can control time of possession and eat up the clock, might be enough to win it. I actually think we lose to the Vikings. They play us tough and Zimmer knows how to beat Payton. Cook is the biggest threat to break our 100 yard rusher streak. I think we sweep Carolina for the series and go into the playoffs. 13-3 and the #1 seed is my prediction. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammymvpknight Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 I think that the Vikings will struggle this time against the Saints. Cook has been their offense...and the Saints simply can’t be run on. I think that we could lose against KC...but we should be favored in every other game this season. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mid Iowa Posted November 27, 2020 Author Share Posted November 27, 2020 13 hours ago, Canadian Saint said: Chiefs game is going to be a real test. They are a superbowl contender and how we do against them will tell us a great deal about what our potential is this season. Their offense will get their points. It's near impossible to shut down. However, the big factor for them is our offense. More accurately, how much time we have the ball. If our offense can control time of possession and eat up the clock, might be enough to win it. Good stuff! Here's why I feel somewhat optimistic against the Chiefs. A) our defense. I'll just leave it at that. We struggle against the slants & crossing patterns, but I think our D-line will flush Mahomes too fast for him to make those passes, and our new addition to the Linebacking corps has already proven to be a great asset to an already powerful group. B) Payton has this way of dissecting the tendencies of former coaching partners. I think he'll outthink Spagnolo. I can see our offense putting up high 30's against them. So the real question is, can we outscore this Mahomes machine. Everyone thinks we'll lose to the Chiefs. That's when the Saints seem to do their best (see Tampa a few weeks ago). AND, if we're truly a contender for a ring, we absolutely have to beat them. We have to!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Saint Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 2 hours ago, Mid Iowa said: Good stuff! Here's why I feel somewhat optimistic against the Chiefs. A) our defense. I'll just leave it at that. We struggle against the slants & crossing patterns, but I think our D-line will flush Mahomes too fast for him to make those passes, and our new addition to the Linebacking corps has already proven to be a great asset to an already powerful group. B) Payton has this way of dissecting the tendencies of former coaching partners. I think he'll outthink Spagnolo. I can see our offense putting up high 30's against them. So the real question is, can we outscore this Mahomes machine. Everyone thinks we'll lose to the Chiefs. That's when the Saints seem to do their best (see Tampa a few weeks ago). AND, if we're truly a contender for a ring, we absolutely have to beat them. We have to!! You're definitely not wrong with your points. I think Kwon is going to have a big impact down the stretch. For whatever reason, him and Davis are a really impactful LB duo. He elevates our LB core in a way Anzalone hasn't been able to. I think him and Jenkins are going to be key to slowing down Kelce and Hill. Having Lattimore healthy will also be a huge help. I suspect Jackrabbit will be on Watkins. On paper we have the personnel to deal with the Chiefs weapons. If our D-line can continue to play at the level they have been (shoutout to Ryan Nielsen for elevating the entire group), then I think we'll give Mahomes a lot of issues. This unit top to bottom has been beastly. I have yet to see a unit on the Saints that is 8 players deep in terms of rotation and not decrease in impact. That includes our O-line which has always been top notch. IF and it's a huge IF we can top the Chiefs, I really do think we'll go deep into the playoffs. Another question to ponder is who starts at QB. Lets assume Brees takes a month to get better and Hill becomes more and more comfortable as QB. Do you go with the hot hand that has gone 4-0, or do you start Brees? Lots to look forward towards to down the stretch. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raves Posted November 27, 2020 Share Posted November 27, 2020 I think 14-2 is unrealistic, 12-4 is the most realistic, and there is a very very good chance we end up at 13-3. Eagles and Broncos IMO are 2 gimme games, while I think we got 2-2 or 3-1 vs KC, Atlanta, Carolina, and Minnesota. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mid Iowa Posted November 28, 2020 Author Share Posted November 28, 2020 22 hours ago, Canadian Saint said: IF and it's a huge IF we can top the Chiefs, I really do think we'll go deep into the playoffs. Another question to ponder is who starts at QB. Lets assume Brees takes a month to get better and Hill becomes more and more comfortable as QB. Do you go with the hot hand that has gone 4-0, or do you start Brees? Lots to look forward towards to down the stretch. I think we got that answer last season with a 5-0 Bridgewater. That said, I don't think Bridge was Payton's long term plan. We know he's hanging his hat on Hill being his future starter, so I guess I don't know. Honestly, I think he'll go back to Brees asap simply to let Brees lead the train to a SB win, much like Denver did with Manning. We have almost exactly what Denver had, then. A strong D, a really good running game, and a great game manager who's as smart as this game is. Just gotta keep him clean. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolaexpat Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 It also looks like the Broncos have no eligible quarterbacks to play us tomorrow. I kid you not. https://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2020/11/28/all-broncos-quarterbacks-ruled-out-because-of-covid-19-exposure/ Such a strange year this is. I wonder ... a lot of things. But mostly if this means our secondary can just sit (most) of the game out and rest up more? 😁 Like a mini-bye week. I don't want to be overconfident but I would expect lots of run plays... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jlowe22 Posted November 28, 2020 Share Posted November 28, 2020 Let’s just say, if we lose to Denver tomorrow, we don’t Ben deserve the playoffs, much less the 1 seed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canadian Saint Posted November 29, 2020 Share Posted November 29, 2020 19 minutes ago, Jlowe22 said: Let’s just say, if we lose to Denver tomorrow, we don’t Ben deserve the playoffs, much less the 1 seed. If we give up more than 6 points tomorrow we don't deserve to be in the playoffs much less lose. No QBs less than a day before a game? Yeah no way we shouldn't completely dominate if the game goes ahead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mid Iowa Posted November 29, 2020 Author Share Posted November 29, 2020 1 hour ago, nolaexpat said: It also looks like the Broncos have no eligible quarterbacks to play us tomorrow. I kid you not.😁 I don't want to be overconfident but I would expect lots of run plays... What, in the name of God, is going on here! I'm rarely the guy that says we've seen it all, and this just proves that point, we have not seen it all. Holy Crap! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jlowe22 Posted December 4, 2020 Share Posted December 4, 2020 Anyone read this book yet? Came out a month or so ago, was wondering if it was worth a read, or just some silliness. https://www.amazon.com/Payton-Brees-Greatest-Offense-History/dp/1629377694 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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