Are the Saints the Best Team in Football?

[BAConrad]

5 minutes ago, tyler735 said:

We aren't talking about the same elite Denver defense from the past few years. They have struggled horribly the past 5 weeks. They even got beat by the Giants, and Chargers. Sure the Eagles have been dangerous thus far, but I have a lot more confidence in Drew Brees than Wentz at this time. Sure some of these concepts may be giving defenses trouble, but much like many other college concepts brought to the nfl such as zone read, etc. Defenses figure it out over time.

They were the #2 defense according to DVOA and basically every other metric/stat before we played them. Since then, theyve been destroyed by us and then Tom Brady and the Pats. 

So the whole "Denvers defense wasn't elite" argument is basically idiotic. 

 

And as for the last part....just lol. When I said "college" offense, I was only quoting Chris Harris. This isn't some gimmicky offense with a mobile QB whose inability to throw from the pocket has to be covered up.  This is a real, NFL offense, that isn't going to be slowed down just because opponents figure it out,

[tyler735]

1 minute ago, BAConrad said:

They were the #2 defense according to DVOA and basically every other metric/stat before we played them. Since then, theyve been destroyed by us and then Tom Brady and the Pats. 

So the whole "Denvers defense wasn't elite" argument is basically idiotic. 

Whatever you say. They clearly aren't playing at an elite level this season

[BAConrad]

1 minute ago, tyler735 said:

Whatever you say. They clearly aren't playing at an elite level this season

Ummm yeah, now that they have gotten 51 dropped on them by us and then beat down by the GOAT Brady you say that.

But you just ignore that up until these last two weeks, Denver was playing as good as it was last season.

Ignorance is bliss, I suppose. 

[tyler735]

16 minutes ago, BAConrad said:

Ummm yeah, now that they have gotten 51 dropped on them by us and then beat down by the GOAT Brady you say that.

But you just ignore that up until these last two weeks, Denver was playing as good as it was last season.

Ignorance is bliss, I suppose. 

First off, elite defenses don't give up 51 points and 41 points in back to back games. That should literally be enough right there to convince a guy that isn't constantly blinded by his green tinted shades..

The prior 3 weeks they gave up 29 points to the Chiefs, 21 points to the Chargers, and 23 points to the Giants.

But yeah keep on with your "elite" narrative lol

[Broncofan]

Dude anyone who thinks Den is an elite D right now takes a huuuuge hit in credibility.  

We have no interior rush.  We can’t cover TE’s.   We can’t cover RB’s.   Our ILB play is horrible on run D too.   Those are fixable problems and only 2-3 positions need upgrading to return to our previously well earned elite D label in 2015.  But we are nowhere close to elite.      The kicker?  Good teams need only 1-2 weaknesses to exploit to beat a D like a drum.   That’s what we are seeing right now. 

[Broncofan]

Back to the Q - I don’t know if NO is the best but they belong in the convo with PHI in the NFC.  Both teams have great QB and great trench strength.  Their coaches are fearless.  To me along with team balance and depth (which both teams have) are the keys to being the best. 

SEA lacks OL strength and MIN for some reason is trying to sabotage their QB situation.   The NFC top end is definitely deeper than the AFC this year. 

[BAConrad]

 

38 minutes ago, tyler735 said:

First off, elite defenses don't give up 51 points and 41 points in back to back games. That should literally be enough right there to convince a guy that isn't constantly blinded by his green tinted shades..

The prior 3 weeks they gave up 29 points to the Chiefs, 21 points to the Chargers, and 23 points to the Giants.

But yeah keep on with your "elite" narrative lol

Oh my god. Dude, Denver was the #2 overall defense heading into the Philly game. Which was not long ago, at all.

Just because they look like a team falling apart atm, because they got beat by basically the best and second best teams in the NFL, doesn't mean that THEY DIDNT HAVE AN ELITE DEFENSE ALL SEASON LONG LEADING UP TO THE PHILLY GAME.

 

God damn dude. I'm not saying they still are.I'm saying that when they played us, they were DVOA'S 2ND RANKED DEFENSE. AND HAD ALMOST IDENTICAL NUMBERS TO LAST YEARS UNIT.  They seem to be crumbling internally and the defense and offense are at war with eachother, which is basically a death sentence for any team. 

[tyler735]

14 hours ago, BAConrad said:

 

Oh my god. Dude, Denver was the #2 overall defense heading into the Philly game. Which was not long ago, at all.

Just because they look like a team falling apart atm, because they got beat by basically the best and second best teams in the NFL, doesn't mean that THEY DIDNT HAVE AN ELITE DEFENSE ALL SEASON LONG LEADING UP TO THE PHILLY GAME.

 

God damn dude. I'm not saying they still are.I'm saying that when they played us, they were DVOA'S 2ND RANKED DEFENSE. AND HAD ALMOST IDENTICAL NUMBERS TO LAST YEARS UNIT.  They seem to be crumbling internally and the defense and offense are at war with eachother, which is basically a death sentence for any team. 

Give it up dude. Just admit you're wrong and move on. Even the Broncos fan admits that they haven't been elite 

Even prior to the Eagles and Patriots games (which is ridiculous to just overlook and pretend didn't happen, but whatever..)  they were giving up 21 points per game, which would be around 12th best in the league. Hardly what I call "elite" which is what I consider to be top 2/top 3, but hey whatever floats your boat I guess..

[SteelKing728]

They sure have come a long way since week 1.

[cddolphin]

Check it out.

My top 5:
1. PHI
2. NE
3. LAR
4. NO
5. MIN

Average top 5 (6 votes):
1. PHI
2. NO
3. NE
4. LAR
5. MIN

[AFlaccoSeagulls]

I just want to know how they went from one of the worst teams in the NFL to the best team in the NFL in like 1 year. That's an amazing turnaround.

[SWATcha]

1 hour ago, Darth Pees said:

I just want to know how they went from one of the worst teams in the NFL to the best team in the NFL in like 1 year. That's an amazing turnaround.

Last two draft classes have been gold. Especially this year's draft where they landed, Lattimore, Ramczyk, Kamara, and Williams. Even Anzalone was looking really really good before going to IR. Rankins, Thomas, and Bell all drafted the year before. 

They also finally got smart and added solid football players in FA agency that weren't the big name overpriced FAs. Warford, Okafor, Ginn. 

Offensive line. Saints have made it a point to really upgrade their line the last couple years. Traded Graham for Unger. Drafted Peat (moved him to guard, best move ever for him). Traded Cooks for Ramczyk (who has played both tackle positions this year). Signed Warford. The current Oline has the makings of one of the best in the NFL if they can all stay healthy. (Looking at you Armstead!)

[BlaqOptic]

I honestly believe they are. Saints fans have long accused me of being a "hater" but everything I've posted about this team has been pro-Saints because I just cannot find a hole with this team right now other than inexperience from the young players they're relying on.

[Jlowe22]

9 hours ago, BlaqOptic said:

I honestly believe they are. Saints fans have long accused me of being a "hater" but everything I've posted about this team has been pro-Saints because I just cannot find a hole with this team right now other than inexperience from the young players they're relying on.

We have exploitable weaknesses.  Our special teams unit has been bad, our LBs are the weak spot on D, our stud LT gets hurt every other game, our RBs fumble too often, our QB has noticeably declined arm strength.

I do think we're one of the best teams in the NFC, but Id still put the Eagles and maybe the Rams ahead of us.  The big advantage we have over them come playoff time is an experienced QB and coach that have already won a Super Bowl.  But both teams have a ton of weapons that could potentially expose our D.

[Raves]

1 hour ago, Jlowe22 said:

We have exploitable weaknesses.  Our special teams unit has been bad, our LBs are the weak spot on D, our stud LT gets hurt every other game, our RBs fumble too often, our QB has noticeably declined arm strength.

I do think we're one of the best teams in the NFC, but Id still put the Eagles and maybe the Rams ahead of us.  The big advantage we have over them come playoff time is an experienced QB and coach that have already won a Super Bowl.  But both teams have a ton of weapons that could potentially expose our D.

The great team about having been an offensive juggernaut the past few years is that our offense has just as many weapons to expose their D so it could always come down to who makes fewer mistakes in a shootout.