2009 Analysis Of The New Orleans Saints‏

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By Coalition Staff Writer Eric Quackenbush‏

There's a difference between 2008 and 2009 for New Orleans. Last season, they were Super Bowl favorites, while this season they are in a mix between the Falcons and Panthers as favorites to win the division.

The Saints, while they did finish the season in last place in the NFC South, finished 8-8. Contrary to their record, they played some respectable football, especially in the passing game. The Saints had one of the top ranked passing games in the NFL.

The Saints have many question marks this season: The defense, the running game, the health of the receivers, and tight end Jeremy Shockey.

At this point in time, the Saints' defense is better-than-average. There are playmakers, but their performance from last season must carry over into this season. The Saints are a very talented team; much better than their 8-8 record suggests. New Orleans was "in" every game they played in, except for games at Atlanta and at Carolina. In all reality, the Saints could have won at least five more games last season, including the fact that had time not run out, the Saints would have certainly beat Carolina in the season finale, finished at No. 1 going into the playoffs as the division winner with a 13-3 record.

The way I see it, the fact that Dan Morgan retired did the Saints more of a favor than fans might like to believe. The man suffered a lot of consuccions in his career, mostly due to the fact that he almost never used a mouthguard. The man was a hell of a defensive playmaker and never afraid to put his body and career on the line when he was able to take to the field, but because of personal safety choices he made, he hurt himself. The Saints defense is just as good, if not better, without Morgan taking up a roster spot.

The Saints' defensive secondary also has some solid pieces in place: defensive backs Randall Gay, Jason David; safeties Darren Sharper and Bobby McCray, and defensive end Will Smith.

Linebackers Jonathan Vilma and Scott Fujita will anchor the front four, while Mark Simoneau is a question mark coming back from a preseason injury against Tampa Bay that sidelined him for the '08 season. Hopefully he can help at the middle linebacker position to add some depth, maybe even start.

On offense, the biggest question is in the backfield: Deuce McAllister was cut by the Saints in the offseason, Reggie Bush has still not consistently shown his worth as a No. 1 draft pick, and the depth at the running back position.

I liked Bush in his rookie season, and as a special teams player he's held his ground as a threat. What I don't like about him is his injury history and he disappears in big games. I'm not totally bashing Bush, however. He is a threat as a receiver out of the backfield, having amassed 440 yards on 52 catches for four touchdowns, and he did carry the ball 106 times for 404 yards and two scores. But out of those carries, he hasn't shown the explosiveness of a No. 1 running back, only averaging 3.8 yards per carry.

At running back, the Saints have Pierre Thomas, who is their biggest threat, and behind him will most likely be Reggie Bush, at least to start out the season. The rest of the depth is uncertain, with rookie running backs P.J. Hill and Herb Donaldson. I think that if anyone is going to give Bush a run for his money--no pun intended--it will be Hill.

On the brighter side, the Saints brought in promising tight end Darnell Dinkins from Cleveland; Jeremy Shockey should be recovered from his injury, and while I criticize his performance as a receiving threat, he is a nasty blocker, and has the big play potential, so long as he can keep his emotions in check so as not to penalize the team after picking up a first down. The Saints also have a huge amount of depth at wide receiver, but they bring back Marques Colston, Devery Henderson, Lance Moore, and Robert Meachem shows some promise, too.

My last area of concern is at quarterback. No, I'm not concerned about Drew Brees' performance as much as I am his health. Once again, the NFC South faces a tough schedule of blitz-happy defenses, and with the Saints' offensive line allowing 13 sacks on Brees, that's 13 sacks too many. Hopefully the Saints were able to improve the personnel on the offensive line, because one wrong hit from a defender on this schedule, well, let's just say the backups are not very encouraging: Mark Brunell and Joey Harrington.

In the end, my prediction for the Saints is a record with no less than nine wins; 2-0 against the Bucs, 1-1 against the Falcons, and 1-1 against Carolina.

The Saints open training camp on July 31, which is 13 days away. Most practices will be open to the public at the Saints' practice facility.

Afternoon practices closed to the public: August 3, 5, 7, 10, 11, 16, and 31.

Morning practices closed to the public: August 26.

Morning practices start at 8:50 am and end at 11 am, while afternoon practices start at 4:20 pm and end at 5:45 pm.

The Saints open preseason hosting the Cincinnati Bengals at 7 pm on August 14.

Preseason division rank: Third