You Heard Right Dallas Fans; the best team in the NFC is the Saints. I know what some of you are saying, but without a doubt the Saints are the team to beat in 2008.

Last years predictions were simply a roll off of the success they had in 2006, the pieces that were put in place to fix the holes in the defense did not pan out, and injuries kept the playmakers off the field. The loss of Deuce was like tying a boxer’s right hand behind his back. The big punch he brings was not there. Deuce wears teams down, and that did not happen after he went down.

This year is different, the defensive holes have been filled, and teams will now have to worry about at least 3 major threats with Reggie Bush, Marques Colston, and now Jeremy Shockey going down the field. This will also open the run game and provide the lethal blow to opposing teams each week.

Just looking at the rest of the teams in the NFC, there are just to many questions left to be answered. 7 teams in the NFC have questions still at the QB position. Also there are the off the field issues that are plaguing some.

As far as Dallas is concerned, the only team that is close to being on the same talent level as the Saints. They will implode from within; they have a playboy QB, that can’t stay focused, and other playmakers that are focused more on individual accomplishments instead of just winning as a team.

I have already stated my case in previous articles, so I will just give you the cliff notes.

QB Drew Brees is the most accurate passer in the NFL, giving him 3 playmakers to throw the ball to will be a sure thing.

Whoever lines up in the backfield for the Saints will benefit from the passing game, and see allot of open field to run in.

The Offensive line is returning everyone except Center Jeff Faine; they will once again allow Drew Brees to stay upright this year.

The Defensive line is stacked and has enough quality backups to allow plenty of rotation, and rest so when the 4th qtr comes around, they will be able to maintain and hold teams allot more.

The linebackers will benefit from the improvements in the D line, and will be able to chase and tackle without worrying about those big OL guys bearing down on them. Vilma is going to be the spark; the LB core has been missing.

The CB, and Safety positions are stacked as well, each person will be playing harder than ever, in fear that if a hint of 2007 pops up, Coach Payton will yank them in a heart beat.

So with that, my 2008 prediction for the New Orleans Saints is:

13-3 Regular Season Record

NFC South Champions

NFC Champions

Super Bowl Champions,

5 Saints going to the Pro Bowl this year!!!

By Andy Benoit, www.NFLTouchdown.com

Predicted: 2^nd

2007 Record: 7-9 (3^rd NFC South)

Head Coach: Sean Payton (3^rd year)

Roster Quick View

*rookie

**new veteran

Offense

QB: Drew Brees As accurate as any passer in the game. Set an NFL record with 440 completions last season. Also led all non-Brady quarterbacks with 4,423 yards.

RB: Deuce McAllister A truly noble pro’s pro, which is why it hurts to doubt him coming off left ACL and right microfracture knee surgery.

FB: Mike Karney A more than serviceable FB who is like every other man at his position: gritty and a little clumsy athletically.

WR: Marques Colston Highly productive WR who is built like a TE. Quickly making his way up the NFL food chain.

WR: David Patten Good veteran who can really hurt defenses running after the catch.

TE: Eric Johnson Like a Pop Warner tight end in that nothing he catches is longer than seven yards downfield.

LT: Jammal Brown Took a half-step back last season, but don’t read too much into that. One of the finest blockers in the game.

LG: Jamar Nesbit An unheralded road-grader who should have gotten some Pro Bowl consideration last year.

C: Jonathan Goodwin Mild downgrade from Jeff Faine, but he’s handled the starting duties before. Saints like his versatility.

RB: Jahri Evans Might be the league’s best guard. It’s amazing more football purists aren’t buzzing about this guy. On a scale of 1-100, he’s a 97.5.

RT: Jon Stinchcomb Picture textbook technique and then ask yourself what the opposite of that might look like. Your answer’s right here. Still, he gets the job done.

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QB: Mark Brunell** Don’t want to imply that he’s just hanging on….but he’s starting to look like a left-handed Testaverde.

RB: Reggie Bush You’ve read the hype. Now read this: his longest play last season? Twenty-five yards.

WR: Robert Meachem First-rounder in ’07 who was inactive for all 16 games. But impressed everyone with attitude and progress during the offseason.

WR: Devery Henderson Would be starting if he didn’t let so many passes hit the turf.

TE: Mark Campbell Coming off back surgery and may not be able to stay ahead of receiving threat Billy Miller.

Defense

LDE: Charles Grant Somewhat lackluster ’07 campaign seems insignificant after his involuntary manslaughter indictment over the offseason. Has a lot of non-football business on his plate.

DT: Sedrick Ellis* Played NT at USC but Saints will likely ask him to work the three-technique. They really need him to be an interior presence.

NT: Hollis Thomas Will make two or three monstrous plays a game….though he usually offsets them by falling on his face two or three times. Weight has been an issue.

RDE: Will Smith Pro Bowl caliber player who just signed a seven-year, $63 million deal. Coaches like his locker room presence.

SLB: Scott Fujita Defensive captain who plays an effective, gritty brand of football.

MLB: Jonathan Vilma** Saints traded a fourth-round choice and a conditional ’09 pick to get him. If he regains his pre-knee operation form, then New Orleans got a steal.

WLB: Scott Shanle Leaves a lot to be desired in terms of sheer skill, but makes good reads and has adept footwork.

CB: Mike McKenzie Physical cover corner but 32 years old and coming off a torn ACL from December.

SS: Roman Harper They wouldn’t give this guy up in the abortive Jeremy Shockey deal. Great strength, must be more consistent in coverage.

FS: Josh Bullocks Neither good nor bad, fast nor slow. Not strong or weak and isn’t smart or stupid. He just is.

CB: Randall Gay At least they didn’t pay him as much as they paid Jason David. Can survive as a starter but won’t ignite the secondary.

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DL: Bobby McCray Pass-rushing specialist who recorded double-digit sacks with Jacksonville two years ago.

LB: Mark Simoneau A much better fit as a utility veteran off the bench.

NB: Tracy Porter* Instability at CB could land him in the starting lineup much sooner than expected.

Key Player Acquisitions

QB Mark Brunell (Was)

CB Randall Gay (NE)

CB Aaron Glenn (Jax)

OL Matt Lehr (TB)

DE Bobby McCray (Jax)

LB Jonathan Vilma (NYJ)

Key Player Losses

DE Josh Cooper

C Jeff Faine (TB)

S Steve Gleason (retired)

K Olindo Mare (Sea)

LB Matt McCoy (TB)

LB Brian Simmons

DE Renaldo Wynn (NYG)

The addition of Vilma is tremendous. He’s an elite MLB when healthy. He could invigorate this defense. Gay fills the void at CB left by last year’s disappointing free agent signing Jason David (now a dime back). Lehr gives them depth at G and C, but he won’t replace Faine as the starter. McCray adds pass-rushing prowess off the bench. Gleason’s special teams contributions will be missed. Mare’s won’t. The rest of the departed veterans are easily replaceable.

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I spent all of last night and this morning pondering the trade of Jeremy Shockey to the Saints, I for one am ecstatic. I, like many wanted the trade to happen back during the draft, and when it did not, I was a bit upset. But low and behold, Christmas has come early and Shockey is now a Saint.

Some say his attitude will be a distraction, I donʼt think it will be. Shockey has great respect for the man that gave him his best year, and helped him become rookie of the year. He plays with passion, and wears his emotions on his sleeve; some people take offense to that type of personality. I know this first hand. Yes, some of his comments in the past may have been a bit harsh, and bad timing, but no one is perfect.

With the injury last year, I believe he is both humbled, and will also play with a chip on his shoulder. I also know first hand, that a fresh start is sometimes needed. With Drew Brees cool leadership style, a hard nosed edge in the huddle will provide a boost when the Saints need it the most. I think he will work out fine. So with that, letʼs discuss how he will improve the Saints defense this year.

Itʼs not often that a offensive player can improve a defense, but Jeremy Shockey will be able to pull it off.

The Saints have had one of the best offensives the last 2 years, but there were times in 2007, that they were not able to sustain long drives, and became predictable, and with that left the defense with bad field position, and little rest in between series.

Shockey will make a defense scheme differently, now not only do they have to worry about were Bush lines up, they have to worry about Shockey, and in turn will free up Colston from double coverage. The running game will also open up. This will equate to longer sustained drives, time off the clock, and more scoring.

Just what a defense needs. Defense wins championships, just ask the Giants. But a great offense can make a mediocre defense better also. The more time they have to rest, making a team go the length of the field to score, and having the cushion to give up a touchdown, will pay dividends in the end.

If you look back on the 2007 season, what would 10 extra points per game have done for the record, The Saints would have went 10-6 again and who knows how the playoffs would have went. The stories would have been saying how the Saints pulled it out in the end, after a bad start.

Shockey is going to be the icing on the cake, to an already sweet offense, and we will see the Saints defense improve greatly in 2008.

Regarding the wailing and gnashing of teeth I’m reading about following the Jeremy Shockey trade:

Guy walks into a famous seafood restaurant, sits down and orders the brook tout. As the waiter starts to leave the guys yells, “Oh, yeah, and can you put some ice cream on it please?”

My point is; there are a lot of things in life that are very good in and of themselves; like ice cream and trout and Jeremy Shockey and the Giants. But they don’t always belong together. That doesn’t take anything away from the ice cream or the trout or Shockey or the Giants. They’re just not compatible.

So, maybe Kevin Boss isn’t ice cream. Maybe he’s a lemon. So what? In the final analysis, isn’t lemon more compatible with trout? So, lets not agonize over the loss of Jeremy Shockey. Lets just wish him well as a Saint and enjoy the meal Jerry Reese and Tom Coughlin cooked. Besides, who needs ice cream? Yeah, it’s tasty but it’s also loaded with dairy fat which can cause some very serious internal problems … kind of like Jeremy Shockey.

Odds courtesy of Bodog, www.BodogLife.com.

Who will have more receiving yards in 2008?

Kevin Boss (NYG)                      +250 Receiving Yards

Jeremy Shockey (NO)                 -250 Receiving Yards

How many receiving yards will Jeremy Shockey have in 2008?

Over/Under                    699 Receiving Yards.

How many receptions will Jeremy Shockey have in 2008?

Over/Under                    68

How many receptions will Kevin Boss have in 2008?

Over/Under                    45

Fox Sports has just reported that the Saints and Giants have just made a deal that will send TE Jeremy Shockey to New Orleans, pending league approval. The report says that New Orleans has agreed to send over a 2nd round and 5th round pick in 2009 for Shockey, a similar deal offered to the Giants by the Saints just prior to the 2008 draft. The pick up of Shockey has been rumored by many to be the final peice of the puzzle for an already solid Saints offense.

For the past several years the Saints defense has been the point of most concern…A far cry from the 90’s when the defense was so dominant. For the most part, the offense has carried the team the past two years and was not able to overcome all the big plays the defense allowed throughout the ‘07 season. Some feel this was largely due to the early losses of Deuce McAllister and Mark Campbell (two significant pieces of our run success in 2006). Regardless if this was the case or not, the Defense has to step up in 08.

A lot of speculation has occurred on whether the free agency and draft moves this year were enough to take our defense from the depths. I personally am an optimist, and believe that the defense will be much better this year; and possibly win us some games instead of lose them for us. I compiled a list of things that I think would definitely help our defense out this year.

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Surprise! All four of the major NFL magazines, Athlon, Lindy’s, Pro-Football Weekly and Sporting News, picked the Saints to win the NFC South. It’s a surprise to many as both the Panthers and Bucs have had success in recent times and have added good talent recently.

The Panthers are a good team that had a lot of injuries in 2007. On top of that they gambled a bit in the draft and traded a 2009 1st round pick so they could get two 1st round picks, which they used on RB Jonathan Stewart and RT Jeff Otah.

The Bucs are coming off of a 9-7 division title with pretty much the same team intact and some decent additions from free agency and the draft.

OK, so the Falcons don’t deserve to be in this conversation, but the last place team in the NFC South has won the next year in every year of it’s existence so far. Should the Falcons be considered then?

Hmmm

One of my life long friends is a chef, he went to culinary school, and now is very successful, having appeared on the Food Network, he spends all his time perfecting his craft. I asked him once what does it take to be one of the best?

His answer was quite simple, “The right ingredients and balance makes all the difference.”

He then proved it by making a ham sandwich. 1st using only bread, mayo, and some ham. It took only a minute to make. He then asked me to have a bite. Not surprising it tasted just like any other ham sandwich. Now he said, I will make you a real ham sandwich. It took over 15 minutes to make, and just the appearance and the set up, alone I was not sure if I wanted to eat it or take a picture. I then tried it, and it was the greatest ham sandwich I ever had.

You see he said, “The right ingredients and balance make all the difference.”

Now that I have made all of you hungry, I will get to the point of this article.

It got me thinking why some teams, year after year are successful, and why some are not. The Saints wooed Jason David away from the Colt’s in 2007. It was felt that he could fix the left side CB issue. The mistake was Jason David is better suited in a cover 2 scheme, not man to man. Jason is a very talented player if used in the right scheme, so don’t hate him for getting burned so much. If there is a finger to be pointed, it should be at Gary Gibb’s.

1 Stick Butter:

It takes the right skill set to play man to man, and the Saints 2nd round pick this year Tracy Porter has those skills needed. As long as he picks up on the schemes, I do not see why he will not be the CB2 starter when the Saints visit conference rivals the Buccaneers on September 7th.

1 Tea Spoon Sugar:

To play middle linebacker in a 4-3 defense, you have to be athletic, Jonathan Vilma is that guy. He will be the missing link that the LB core has needed since Coach Peyton took over in 2006. Vilma suffered when the Jets changed defensive schemes, his skills were not used to their full potential, and I believe also lead to his injury. He will be completely healed, and ready to go in September.

4 Table Spoon Salt:

Smith, Grant, McCray, Ellis these guys will be a force to reckon with. Last year teams were double teaming Smith, and Grant, what was missing was a fleet footed rusher. In comes McCray, and Ellis. Sliding over Grant next to Ellis will make offensive lines adjust, creating 1 on 1‘s with McCray and Smith. I expect to see allot more pressure put on the QB’s this year creating more turnover opportunities.

As far as the offense is concerned, the right ingredients have been there since 2006, it was the balance in which they are used that is in question. I am sure Coach Peyton has already addressed this issue after watching the game film from 2007, and I think we may even see the formation of a new offensive scheme that will be used by more teams, just as Bill Walsh’s West Coast offense did in the 80’s. If there is anyone poised to do that it’s Coach Peyton.

So we can only wait now, as the 2008 season nears to see if we have the right ingredients and balance to return to Super Bowl contender form. As for me right now, I think I’ll make me a ham sandwich.

Andy Benoit of www.NFLTouchdown.com

What Reggie Bush does this season is going to establish his reputation for years to come. After being the most heralded rookie to enter the league since Hershel Walker, the former Heisman Trophy winner, at times in ’06, dazzled defenses en route to posting 565 yards rushing, 742 yards receiving and eight total touchdowns. They were solid but far from spectacular stats, but the fact that the rebuilt, post-Katrina Saints got all the way to the NFC Championship game meant fans had no trouble giving Bush the benefit of the doubt.

Last year, however, was a different story. New Orleans struggled from the get-go and Bush’s receiving yards dropped by more than 300. When bruising running back Deuce McAlister went down with a torn ACL in Week 3, fans began to see Bush not as a multipurpose weapon, but rather, as a dancing, impatient runner who lacked the durability to carry a feature load. Bush averaged just 3.7 yards per rush last season and his longest run went for only 22 yards. That would make him football’s Troy Glaus: a home run threat who only hits singles.

Those who know football know that Bush’s impact on New Orleans’s offense is invaluable. Few players in the league attract as much attention as he does. But public opinion is shaped largely by those who don’t know the game and only understand a player’s fantasy performance.

The fact of the matter is Bush does need to improve. His awareness in the run attack has been shaky, at best, and he has exchanged far too many decent gains for failed attempts at the monster play. Improving his patience and increasing his strength will naturally improve his numbers. But failing to do so will give the former No. 2 pick a three-year record of statistical mediocrity, something that fans will one day wake up and call bunk on. Once that moment comes, it will be extremely difficult to reverse. After all, Americans have proven before that they have no problem criticizing a Bush.