Why next year's Saints makes me very nervous....

[Forget Favre]

The 2013 Super Bowl will be played in the Nawlins Super Dome.
Well, this Saints team is on a hot streak unlike previous Saints teams during years when they hosted the SB.
So I expect that to play the SB in front of their own home crowd is going to give them extra motivation to get there again.
They will have to be sure to have all playoff home games in the dome or to get themselves some extra mojo in playoff road games.
With this incentive for the Saints, I'm not going to have any expectations for the Packers to be there.
What do you think?

 

[SanDiegoCheese]

Steve Spagnuolo has been hired as their D-Coordinator, that makes me nervous.

 

[757Niner]

Yeah Spags should make them better, but not immediately. They are going to lose some firepower though. I dont see both Meachem and Colston returning and not sure if they franchise Nicks or let him walk, as they already have big contracts tied up in Evans and Bushrod if my memory serves me correct. And their schedule will be tougher next year. Its not set in stone just yet. But they will have a chip on their shoulder next year, thanx to my Niners.

 

[Bogart]

They will let Robert Meachem go, I can already see that.
Coltston has to stay, he and Moore are the best WR's on that team. Meachem may have some great highlights, but he drops easy passes and that has been a problem for him ever since he got a ring, he's the kinda guy you don't always know about. Drops some easy passes he should catch, but he'll hold onto deep ones and return them.

One thing we do know, Payton does have a chip on his shoulder. They got rid of Gregg Williams just a week after his defense blew it against the Niners. Spagnoulo should help turn them around, but they still are lacking a good Safety or CB in the back field, one of the main reasons they won the Super Bowl a few years back was Darren Sharper. Sharper was like the Michael Jordan of that defense, when he was out there, everyone played 100% better. Just look at how great Tracy Porter was with Sharper back in 2009 compared to how horrible he played this season. The only guy that still plays aggressive at a level without Sharper is Roman Harper, and that's me pushing it a bit too far cause Harper loves to blow big plays and give up huge gains when the game is on the line.

 

[Jules]

Unless they get hit with the SB host curse. It's real folks. It's real.

 

[NelsonsLongCatch]

The only way the Saints make the Super Bowl is if they get the #1 seed or play in domes the entire playoffs. Packers are poised to make another 12+ win run (4 vs. NFC West and 4 vs. AFC South) and San Fran should stay a 12+ win team (2 games a piece vs. Arizona, St. Louis and Seattle plus Minnesota).

 

[Jules]

My way too early prediction is Packers/Texans. I might have been a year off this season.

 

[Jules]

BTW is the Saints nervousness starting ALREADY? All year it was here. I kinda brushed them off I admit. I still am. Besides I always felt the Niners were underlooked and good for maybe a playoff win with that D.

And ironically with all the Saints talk all year this big Packers/Saints game never happened. Who knows, may not happen next postseason.

 

[Bogart]

The dome thing is laughable

They won a Super Bowl outside a dome, and the last 3 years, they've had a better road record than most people even think about saying. Seriously look at their road record the past 3 seasons, and I'm talking W's and not statistics. Not to mention, the Super Bowl they won was not in a dome.


Even had that game against SF been in the dome, they still would have lost. 5 turnovers, and under 30 yards rushing? GB was undefeated at home and they lost at home, after turning it over. I don't believe the dome thing, sorry. They scored 32 points against the 49ers on the road, and that was the most points anyone has scored on them all year. Even had that game been in the Superdome, the Saints would have lost it. But they lost very close on the road in a hectic environment. That's not as bad as watching the Packers get smothered at home.

 

[NelsonsLongCatch]

The dome thing is laughable

They won a Super Bowl outside a dome, and the last 3 years, they've had a better road record than most people even think about saying. Seriously look at their road record the past 3 seasons, and I'm talking W's and not statistics. Not to mention, the Super Bowl they won was not in a dome.


Even had that game against SF been in the dome, they still would have lost. 5 turnovers, and under 30 yards rushing? GB was undefeated at home and they lost at home, after turning it over. I don't believe the dome thing, sorry. They scored 32 points against the 49ers on the road, and that was the most points anyone has scored on them all year. Even had that game been in the Superdome, the Saints would have lost it. But they lost very close on the road in a hectic environment. That's not as bad as watching the Packers get smothered at home.

Last year, the Saints played 11 of 16 regular season games in a dome. Saints were 8-0 at home and 5-3 on the road. In the playoffs, the Saints were 1-0 in a dome and 0-1 outside. The year they won the Super Bowl, the Saints played both playoff games in a dome and beat a dome team (Colts) in the Super Bowl.

 

[Texas9erFan]

Predicting what will happen next year is damn near impossible. Who would've predicted what happened this year?
The Colts were terrible. The Niners were good. The Rams were picked to win the NFCW.
With the parity in the NFL, who knows what will happen? A draft pick here and there... one FA acquisition... a NEW COACH, and a team goes from worst to first, or vice-versa. Maybe the Dolphins will be next year's Niners and the Pats next years Colts.

 

[Forget Favre]

Unless they get hit with the SB host curse. It's real folks. It's real.

You are writing from experience or the lack of.

I STILL want a Packers/Colts SB in your house.
Now that would have been an epic Super Bowl.
Instead we get a yawner because of a repeat of the same ol same ol this year.

 

[7thFloorRA]

They don't even have Brees signed yet. That means they are missing out on significant off season play organized workouts right now.

 

[Bogart]

Last year, the Saints played 11 of 16 regular season games in a dome. Saints were 8-0 at home and 5-3 on the road. In the playoffs, the Saints were 1-0 in a dome and 0-1 outside. The year they won the Super Bowl, the Saints played both playoff games in a dome and beat a dome team (Colts) in the Super Bowl.

And that year the Saints won the Super Bowl they were 7-0 on the road, and 0-1 on the road when the starters were not played.

The whole theory of them being a bad road team is very laughable, and the dome thing is getting old. It would not have mattered if they played SF in the dome or not, they still would have lost if they turned the ball over 5 times.

 

[Jules]

You are writing from experience or the lack of.

I STILL want a Packers/Colts SB in your house.
Now that would have been an epic Super Bowl.
Instead we get a yawner because of a repeat of the same ol same ol this year.

I don't think a team who has ever hosted a SB has gone to the SB in their own house.

I also know this is the Saints so anything is possible and it would not shock me.

I am going to stick with the Packers as my prediction as long as they do something to fix the D and become more physical. The Packers looked about as physical as a litter of persian kittens vs. the Giants. The way the Giants/Niners went at it was hardcore. I don't recall the Packers looking that physical in a long time.

 

[NelsonsLongCatch]

And that year the Saints won the Super Bowl they were 7-0 on the road, and 0-1 on the road when the starters were not played.

The whole theory of them being a bad road team is very laughable, and the dome thing is getting old. It would not have mattered if they played SF in the dome or not, they still would have lost if they turned the ball over 5 times.

In conclusion, myself and everybody else knows/sees that the Saints are a much better dome team than outdoor team.

 

[Bogart]

In conclusion, myself and everybody else knows/sees that the Saints are a much better dome team than outdoor team.

In conclusion, I know as well as everyone else that actually watches them the Dome/Outdoor thing don't matter.

32 points on the 49ers super awesome elite defense and it was OUT DOORS, no other team all year could do that.

 

[Jules]

Has anyone in the NFC South ever repeated division titles?

If the Saints don't then.....um.....Congrats to Cam Newton!!!! Next years suprise NFC team.

 

[NelsonsLongCatch]

In conclusion, I know as well as everyone else that actually watches them the Dome/Outdoor thing don't matter.

32 points on the 49ers super awesome elite defense and it was OUT DOORS, no other team all year could do that.

So the one playoff game erasing the fact that the 3 of the Saints 4 losses in 2011 came in games played outdoors?

 

[Forget Favre]

So the one playoff game erasing the fact that the 3 of the Saints 4 losses in 2011 came in games played outdoors?

Right.
To echo your point:
Conventional wisdom shows that the Saints play better indoors.
It's going to keep on being believed that way until they win more games, especially crucial ones, outdoors.

 

[Jules]

This is what makes me a tad jealous of Eli at times in regards to Peyton. Eli has gone into hostile environments outdoors and beaten great teams.


Peyton and the Colts often folded in those situations.