The boys at Whole Nine Sports and I have decided to go through every NFL teams projected starting lineup and apply the PFF Grade for last season for all of their players. I have decided to take that information and use it to preview what the Saints could expect out of each match-up next season based on last year’s performances. With that out of the way, here is the Saints team (without Sheldon Rankins) for you to look at for a base of knowledge.
Houston Texans
Face the Saints Week 1 in New Orleans
Positional Averages (difference vs the Saints)
Week 1 is a scary week for Saints fans in recent memory. They haven’t pulled off a victory for 5 years with the last Week 1 win dating back to September 8th, 2013. The Texans were scary there for a little bit last season, winning 9 in a row despite lacking in a few spots on their team. Deshaun Watson is a baller, there is no doubt about that and he has some great weapons to throw to. The biggest weakness for the Saints to exploit seems to be on the offensive line, which was abysmal last season. They did draft 2 new tackles in the first 2 rounds of the draft this year, but to have to face the Saints pass rush as your first regular season test seems like it would be a rough matchup. I have to think the Saints will win this one and break the drought.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Face the Saints Week 6 in Jacksonville
Positional Averages (difference vs the Saints)
The Jags are always a wildcard. Every year they are expected to blow up the competition and something always ends up falling apart. With a new QB and a Fournette that hopefully will live up to his draft position finally, they have an intriguing squad yet again. Josh Allen is a scary player, but with no Telvin Smith I don’t know what to expect out of the LB squad as a whole. Allen shouldn’t really be playing OLB in my opinion but that’s their plan. Hopefully, for their sake, the injury bug won’t hit them as hard this year, but who knows. I think that the Saints should be able to handle this squad of players without too much issue.
Indianapolis Colts
Face the Saints Week 15 in New Orleans
Positional Averages (difference vs the Saints)
On paper this is the team that scares me the most in this division. They are a talented and well-rounded team. Andrew Luck is a top-5 QB in my eyes, I have him in there over Wilson, which is no slight on Wilson by any means. I really wanted Parris Campbell to end up on the Saints come draft time, but he will be a great weapon for Luck. Darius Leonard was fantastic and should only continue to im
prove. I don’t want the Saints to lose this one, but if they were going to drop one a game in this division I think it’s right here. Though, the game is being played in New Orleans in primetime, so expect Brees to be on his A game.
Tennessee Titans
Face the Saints Week 16 in Tennessee
Positional Averages (difference vs the Saints)
The Kenny Vaccarro revenge game. Should the Saints still need a victory to guarantee a 1-seed or at least some sort of home field advantage, expect this to be a fun game. Like the Colts, the Titans are a very well rounded team. AJ Brown could prove to be a great weapon for Mariota, which he was in desperate need of. I liked the draft pick of Simmons, if he heals well, he could be a GREAT steal for them that late in the first (Round 1 Pick 19).The Titans are a likely playoff team yet again, so this, like the Colts game could end up being very competitive. I think the Saints are built to take this team on, however. Having it be in Tennessee definitely doesn’t help, however.
The boys at Whole Nine Sports and I have decided to go through every NFL teams projected starting lineup and apply the PFF Grade for last season for all of their players. I have decided to take that information and use it to preview what the Saints could expect out of each match-up next season based on last year’s performances. With that out of the way, here is the Saints team (without Sheldon Rankins) for you to look at for a base of knowledge.
Houston Texans
Face the Saints Week 1 in New Orleans
Positional Averages (difference vs the Saints)
Week 1 is a scary week for Saints fans in recent memory. They haven’t pulled off a victory for 5 years with the last Week 1 win dating back to September 8th, 2013. The Texans were scary there for a little bit last season, winning 9 in a row despite lacking in a few spots on their team. Deshaun Watson is a baller, there is no doubt about that and he has some great weapons to throw to. The biggest weakness for the Saints to exploit seems to be on the offensive line, which was abysmal last season. They did draft 2 new tackles in the first 2 rounds of the draft this year, but to have to face the Saints pass rush as your first regular season test seems like it would be a rough matchup. I have to think the Saints will win this one and break the drought.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Face the Saints Week 6 in Jacksonville
Positional Averages (difference vs the Saints)
The Jags are always a wildcard. Every year they are expected to blow up the competition and something always ends up falling apart. With a new QB and a Fournette that hopefully will live up to his draft position finally, they have an intriguing squad yet again. Josh Allen is a scary player, but with no Telvin Smith I don’t know what to expect out of the LB squad as a whole. Allen shouldn’t really be playing OLB in my opinion but that’s their plan. Hopefully, for their sake, the injury bug won’t hit them as hard this year, but who knows. I think that the Saints should be able to handle this squad of players without too much issue.
Indianapolis Colts
Face the Saints Week 15 in New Orleans
Positional Averages (difference vs the Saints)
On paper this is the team that scares me the most in this division. They are a talented and well-rounded team. Andrew Luck is a top-5 QB in my eyes, I have him in there over Wilson, which is no slight on Wilson by any means. I really wanted Parris Campbell to end up on the Saints come draft time, but he will be a great weapon for Luck. Darius Leonard was fantastic and should only continue to im
prove. I don’t want the Saints to lose this one, but if they were going to drop one a game in this division I think it’s right here. Though, the game is being played in New Orleans in primetime, so expect Brees to be on his A game.
Tennessee Titans
Face the Saints Week 16 in Tennessee
Positional Averages (difference vs the Saints)
The Kenny Vaccarro revenge game. Should the Saints still need a victory to guarantee a 1-seed or at least some sort of home field advantage, expect this to be a fun game. Like the Colts, the Titans are a very well rounded team. AJ Brown could prove to be a great weapon for Mariota, which he was in desperate need of. I liked the draft pick of Simmons, if he heals well, he could be a GREAT steal for them that late in the first (Round 1 Pick 19).The Titans are a likely playoff team yet again, so this, like the Colts game could end up being very competitive. I think the Saints are built to take this team on, however. Having it be in Tennessee definitely doesn’t help, however.
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