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The Saints of New Orleans are ranked # 2 in the pre-season ESPN's Football Power Index. Here's all you need to know about them for the 2019 NFL season:
The big question: Can the defensive line remain dominant?
The Saints placed second in the NFL in defense against the race and fifth in sacks last season behind one of their hidden strengths: the line of attack. But DT Sheldon Rankins, a notable player, is recovering from a torn Achilles and starting from DE Alex Okafor. The Saints still have one of the best tips in the league at Cameron Jordan. But they will need great contributions from young DE Marcus Davenport and Trey Hendrickson and veteran TD Malcom Brown, among others. – Mike Triplett
Off season in a few words
In addition to broad receiver Michael Thomas, the Saints needed another goal to reach in crucial situations. So they hired veteran Jared Cook, who seems to be a great addition so far. Their other changes took place along the defensive line (see above) and replaced the retired center of the Pro Bowl, Max Unger, by rookie second round choice Erik McCoy. Otherwise, this alignment has not really been reviewed after being on the eve of the Super Bowl in the last two years. – Triplett
| The projections | Standings | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Total wins | ten | Global | 2 |
| NFC South the chances |
56.5% | Offense | 2 |
| The chances of to make series |
73.0% | Defense | 19 |
| super bowl the chances |
20.8% | Special teams | 1 |
| Draft 2020 | 31th | SOS | ten |
| Future power Ranking |
7 | Less than 25 rank of talent |
22 |
Most important game: Opening of the football season Monday night against the Houston Texans. The Saints have not won the first game of the season since 2013 and they are 5-12 in September on this segment.
Stretching the hardest: Weeks 2 to 4 (at Rams, at Seahawks, vs. Cowboys). As if it was not difficult enough to travel all over the country to face the Rams and Seahawks in consecutive clashes, the Saints will do it just a week after the kickoff of the Monday Night season. Soccer. The Rams game will obviously be surrounded by memories of the devastating loss of the NFC championship game last year – and that could help determine which team will return.
More or less than 10 wins? More than. I do not expect the Saints to equal their 13-2 start of last season because they were fortunate enough to avoid serious injuries and won several close games, like missed shots from the other team. In addition, NFC South is more stacked with rival Falcons in better health. But I still consider the favorites of the Saints division and project a record of 11-5. – Triplett
Saints do not have hard stretching, they have hard pairs. Six of their seven toughest games are road games for two: the Rams and the Seahawks (weeks 2 and 3); in the Jaguars and Bears, the Bears ending their week off (Weeks 6 and 7); and among the Titans and Panthers (weeks 16-17). New Orleans also faces Atlanta twice during a four-week period, including the Thanksgiving night portion of Week 13 – Football Outsiders | View the complete rankings 1-32
Smith played sparingly as a rookie (42 targets in 15 regular season games), but the choice of the third round certainly showed some lightning. The highlight was a 10/157/1 line on 13 targets against the Eagles. He will have to beat Ted Ginn Jr. and Keith Kirkwood first, but the combination of size (6-foot-2, 210-pound) and Smith's play-back ability make him an end-of-round fan. – Mike Clay | More fantastic coverage
All you need to know for 2019:
• One-stop shop: Guides for 32 teams »
• Survey with honors: choice for MVP, ROY, more »
• Predict players in small groups for the 32 "
• We simulated the scores of the entire season »
More NFL coverage »
Super Bowl Odds: 8-1 (open 9-1)
More less: 10.5 (O + 125 / U-145)
Series odds: Yes -300, no +250
The odds are offered by Caesars Sportsbook starting September 2nd.
More than 4,240.5 yards passing for Drew Brees:
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Triplett: More than. This is an excellent target, as Brees was at 4,258 last season before resting at the 17th week and 4,334 in 2017.
Bold prediction: Alvin Kamara catches 100 passes
Do not expect a significant increase in Kamara's workload now that Mark Ingram is gone. Coach Sean Payton made it clear that he appreciated Kamara's "number of throws", about 65 to 70 percent of snapshots. That's why the Saints have hired veteran RB Latavius Murray. However, Kamara is vital to the passing game, and his 81 catches in 2017 and 2018 are a floor. (He reached that total as a rookie even when Ingram caught 58 balloons, and last year he was absent from week 17). In addition, the saints rarely played from behind in Kamara's career. He would feast on catches if they found themselves in a difficult situation in the fourth quarter. – Triplett
Speed reads before the opening match
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