jhawk91":2a0ndrsg said:
The whole "we have the best win percentage on the road since 09" crap from saints fans is getting old quick. What does your road record from last year or any other prior to THIS YEAR have to do with anything? Every year is different from the next and this year the saints are a different team at home then they are on the road. This being a home game gives me confidence that the Hawks will beat the Saints, not only does the crowd factor in but the team feeds from their energy and you can bet there will be plenty of that.
Also, these type of statistics rely entirely on subjective decisions. For instance, they picked 09. Why? Why not 2011 or 2010 or 2007? I haven't looked at the stats, but ten bucks says if you start at a different year going back, you'll have 5-6 teams with the "best road record since 20XX." If you choose this year, it may be the Seahawks at 5-1. If you choose 2001, it won't be the Saints. So stats like this are really meaningless. The stats with meaning have the least amount of subjective variables.
citysaint":2a0ndrsg said:
Your line is back healthy, why is everyone so impressed and enamored so early. It takes time for lines to gel, they were thoroughly unimpressive to me against a weak defensive unit in Minny. This will be their 2nd LIVE game together, this time against a really good D-line. What makes everyone so sure of a line with little to no cohesion against a top notch D-line? Are you guys banking that smoke and mirrors, fakes, delays, and playaction will negate a handicapped O-line?
Why do you consider the Saints D-Line as a good one? Don't they allow roughly 5 yards per rush over the season? Taking into consideration the teams you've played, to have 5 yards per rush average --that's pretty bad. I wouldn't consider the Saints elite on defense, not even close. I'd say they are pretty average.
SuperVillain":2a0ndrsg said:
jlwaters1":2a0ndrsg said:
The Saints are not a great road team. They lost to the JETS for Pete's sake, they barely got past the Falcons on Thursday, Seattle beat them up just a few weeks ago in ATL. I think the Saints are a good team, but they aren't unbeatable, I think they are terrific passing team, but they are mediocre running unit- Averaging less than 100 yards and less than 4.0 yards a carry. Seattle is the more complete team., IMO. They can run and pass and they have the homefield advantage.
Bree's road numbers are merely average with a 88-89 QB rating on the road. In the end I think it will come down to who can capitalize in the redzone and who can run the ball effectively- considering there's a chance at snow on that day.
You can't judge how good the saints are by how the struggled on the road to beat a Division team. Division games are always harder since you play those teams twice and one of those games being on the road. If you want to make that case then same can be made about the Seahawks struggling barely beating the Rams and barely escaping with a win in Seattle to the then 0-7 Tampa Bucs. The Saints have enough run game to Run against the the hawks who currently rank just below the Saints in run defense. So both teams will be able to run in this game.
The Bucs are a good team, and they were a good team when they played the Hawks. Since the Hawks game they have dominated in 3 wins in a row, so it is a bit disingenious to bring up the 0-7 record which is a month old and leave out their current record. The Bucs also DOMINATED that same Falcons team you had trouble with. It wasn't just a small domination either. The Rams are the same, as we saw when they trampled the Colts last week and beat the Bears this week --that's two division leaders the Rams left in their dust.
All this talk is quite irrelevant though and just for fun. We will see the truth on Monday.
As a prediction, I just can't see how the Saints do not get destroyed by the Hawks. I think the Saints are an overrated team. They allow roughly 5 yards per rush on defense. They are forced to blitz from every direction in order to get some pressure on the QB. Their offense is great passing wise, they do not have a good rushing game at all. The Saints are the epitome of a soft team. I expect the Seahawks to bulldoze right over them. I really see no way that this Saints team can win on Monday. I also expect them to get bulldozed by a superior Panthers team. The Panthers arer a team that i would be worried about, just like in Week 1 when the Hawks barely beat them 12-7 in CArolina. That's a tough team. I put them on the level of the 49ers. The saints I put 1 peg below Seahawks/49ers/Panthers.
I have a feeling this game is going to be as good or better than the SB.
