Having received notification from the league that the Saints need to field a winner this year, that first step was taken in the draft. Saints had 9 picks in the first 4 rds and hopes to add some blue chip talent.

1st round saw two Speedy LBs go off the board along with WR Imes who was a surprise 14th overall selection.

2nd rd notable picks were a RB who we hope keeps teams honest and a potential LT to give our 2nd yr QB time to throw.

3-4th rounds saw DL depth and a CB with a final 4th rd pick of a Kicker who hopefully max’s our kick acc and strength. Go Saints!

Well, our early picks took a dump but we hedged ourselves with some attributes that were already developed so while we were disappointed all theee 1st rd picks dropped, they all will still be starters. The WR everyone stayed away from, Imes, had an impressive 20 point drop.

After a stunning victory over the reigning league Champs, the Saints come back down to earth against the division rival panthers. It looked promising with an early 10-0 lead but Carolina stymied the Saints offense and slowly pulled away.

Early signs point to a run game that is anemic and needs a jolt. Second year starter at QB, Walker needs some supporting cast to step up.

The defense has shown a few glimpses with some TOs but will have to hunker down and put the Offense in some short field possessions.
At 1-3, meeting the 5 win requirement is still within reach but the next 4 game stretch will let us know if we need to worry about losing this team.

Don’t look now, but the Saints are winners of 2 in a row. The intense heat of 5 wins or be banished has cooled off a little as the Saints have 3 wins through 7 weeks with a favorable schedule over the next 4 weeks to hopefully meet that 5 win mark.

Larry Walker QB has slowed down the INTs just enough for the Saints to keep themselves in a few games. Carlos Imes, WR. This years favorite draft bust has come alive the last two weeks to coincide with the win streak. Let’s see what type of momentum can be built here.

Oh boy. Party in the bayou. Saints winners of 3 in a row. Dare we talk of playoffs!?!?! We shall see in a few weeks if they are for real. Watch out Tampa.

Cmon baby........
Be all that you can be...........
It would be one **** of a success story in paydirt

4 in a row?? Its Mardi Gras in NOLA. No one on the Saints would have expected a 44-0 shutout, but it happened. Its been amazing to see the transformation of this team from their 1-4 start. The turnovers have slowed, and the offense, while not great, has kept the defense in manageable situations. Not going to lie, that this stretch in the schedule has been favorable, the last 4 weeks of the season will be the true barometer. There is still a lot of work to do to join the contenders, but we will take any progress we can get, and more importantly, will remain with paydirt for another season!

Week 10 saw the 1-7-1 NY Football Jets come to town. Saints aren’t good enough to take anything for granted, even on a 4 game win streak.

Saint put up 35 points with 1st rd bust but productive WR Carlos Imes getting another TD rec and leading the team with 690 yds and 4 TDs on the season. TE Walter Hobbs, in the mists of a disappointing season had 2 TDs and hopefully broke out of his season long rut. Another clean game for QB Larry Walker with his highest QBR for the year with 141.3. If you throw out those 2 games with 4 INTs, Mr. Walker has a 15-2 TD/INT ratio.

The running game is still a major concern as we can’t crack 4 ypc but a little known stat of plus 17 in the TO department can be directly tied to the teams 5 game Win streak. I wish I can say I have gained a grasp on 4.5 but I’d be lying. Good luck trumps all else.

Season Recap

11-5 2nd place NFC South.
Wildcard playoff loss.

So.....a surprise to many, this NO team came out of the gate uninspired. After a 1-4 start, the team reeled off 10 of 11 wins and returned to the playoffs for the first time in 4 years.

Some highlights.

QB Larry Walker has a solid season ranked as the #2 rated QB to end the regular season. First round rookie bust Carlos Imes lead the team in rec yards and turned in a fine rookie campaign. The running game never really got on track but did make some plays during the latter part of the season with a trio of RBs.

Lowlights
The Saints went heavy on defense the past two drafts and have not quite put it all together. They struggled against the pass and just couldn’t seem to clamp down when needing a defensive stop in critical positions. The talent is there so hopefully with a full offseason they can build a cohesive unit.

Special teams have been a pleasant surprise this year, blocking 4 punts, however, the 2 KO return TDs in the wildcard round has the ST coach worried.

Cheers!

So in anticipation of TC tonight, the Saints looked to address their 24th rank pass defense by drafting speedy (94) DB, Frank Smith. Saints couldn't really establish a consistent effort on defense last year, so with a good camp, we hope to tighten it up a bit and overtake the Bucs in the division.

In addition, the Saints offense was ranked 9th overall but that was due to a dynamic passing attack. The running game was lackluster to say the least with a trio of backs getting time. We selected Luis BRYANT in the 2nd round to liven up the RB competition. BRYANT, a versatile back should see immediate time with the ball and hopefully gets this offense back to balanced.