posted August 11, 2009 at 12:35 EST in NFL Articles
NFL Inside Look - New Orleans Saints Keys to Success
by Tim Furious
Drew Brees Must Lift the New Orleans Saints
For the last four seasons, the oddsmakers have pegged the New Orleans Saints as the team to emerge from the NFC South. And for only one of the seasons have they been right. This team is never short on talent, coaching or promise, but if you talk to those that ventured a Saints future bet, or rely on them as a parlay booster, then you know just how disheartening it’s been siding with the Saints this past few seasons.
Since joining the NFC South in 2002, when the league re-formatted, the Saints have finished in first just once. It was in 2006, the same year they acquired Drew Brees to replace Aaron Brooks. They topped a first round bye in the playoffs, and then went on to get crushed by the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game by a score of 39-14. Since then they were squeezed from the playoffs in 2007 despite finishing second in the division with a record of 7-9 SU. Last year, after a miserable beginning, Brees threw for over 5,000 yards as he chased down Dan Marino. Despite that, the Falcons, Panthers and Bucs all finished way ahead of New Orleans as the Saints ended 2008 with an even 8-8 SU season in dead last.
The only bright side is that they finished 10-5-1 ATS last season. So with the Saints as the favorites (again) heading in to 2009, what can we look for? Here’s your Furious Five Breakdown on things to watch for with the Saints.
1. Reggie, Reggie, Reggie
Reggie Bush was supposed to be the heal-all for the Saints. But as you’ve read and seen in years past, he has been anything but a savior. Since entering the league in 2006, Reggie has just 1,550 yards rushing and only 12 touchdowns to his name. A big reason for that is because he’s so small, and despite the unyielding talent and potential he has, he’s never been fully able to adjust to the speed and brutal pace of the NFL. In the last two seasons alone he’s missed 12 games due to injury.
And that should perturb some of you considering he’s injured heading in to the 2009 campaign. A knee injury is apparently far worse than initially reported, and Bush’s 2009 season is already in jeopardy. He’s supposed to be the second coming of Brian Westbrook – a lethally fast, multi-purpose weapon that can return kicks, catch the ball and run through tackles. But you have to stay healthy. Reggie’s injury status is much like the Saints status as competitors: constantly questionable.
2. Is Drew Brees Being Asked To Do Too Much?
We all talk about mileage in sports. When it comes to quarterbacks, there’s only so much mileage a shoulder can take before it falls off. In three years as the starting quarterback of the Saints, Brees has thrown 1,841 passes. Peyton Manning is the only other quarterback that even comes close, and he’s thrown the ball 200 times less than Brees over the past three seasons. At the age of 30, Brees is entering his prime but it’s bewildering to think that teams won’t start to figure him out considering how much they’ve seen of him.
3. Malcolm Jenkins Better Be NFL-Ready
The secondary in New Orleans sucks. It always has. For the past two seasons, free-agency and injuries have left the secondary weak. They ranked 30th in the league in 2007, and 23rd in 2008. Malcolm Jenkins is the best cornerback prospect out of the NFL Draft, and the former Ohio State Buckeye better be ready, because the hefty front-seven of the Saints won’t have patience for a secondary that loses them game for a third straight year.
4. Marques Colston Has To Keep Momentum Going
Colston is the true 2006 rookie that has evolved in to a premier player, but injuries have slowed him down as well. After two straight seasons with over a thousand yards receiving, Colston missed the first seven games of the season after getting injured in Week 1 last year. He came back to finish with 760 yards, 5 touchdowns and 47 receptions in just 10 games total last year. Not bad…but not great. Colston has to be the premier receiver Brees needs or the Saints are screwed.
5. Can The Front-Seven Prevent First Downs?
The Saints allowed 299 first downs last season, and only 100 of those were a result of rushing. The front seven in New Orleans is stacked with big names like Will Smith, Charles Grant, Scott Fujita and Jonathan Vilma. They were the backbone of this team last year, and got no attention. Now they have to do it again, and getting to the passer is going to be priority one. Of New Orleans’ 22 takeaways last season, just seven of those were off fumbles. It’s not enough to be scary and big, you have to create turnovers on defense. That’s a job for the front-seven.
Final Verdict
The Saints enter every year with the potential to be the team to beat in the NFC South. Aside from a 2006 season that virtually came out of nowhere, the Saints have too many health risks going in to 2009 to be a viable contender. The fact remains, however that the rest of the division is a bit of a mess. What it comes down to is Pierre Thomas, the rushing game and Malcolm Jenkins in the secondary. Brees will be steady as always, but the Saints will be in a dog fight all year in the NFC South. Just don’t get your hopes up with these guys. For the most part, it never pays off.
Furious Prediction: 2nd NFC South
