New Orleans Saints – Random Musing on the 2012 Saints – Pt 1

It’s a long off-season and there’s not much hard news right now about the New Orleans Saints so it’s time to let our minds wander. By now hopefully the pain of the loss in San Francisco has faded and we can put things behind us until the 49ers vs Saints game comes in 2012. That’s going to be a game I believe everyone will want to see. Payback time. I believe the loss derailed a Super Bowl appearance. We could have handled the Giants in the Superdome. While we’re on the subject let me say this. I’ve heard and read a lot of angry people denouncing the Saints defense for that loss. But if you take a look at it, we were in the game late despite 5 turnovers. I lay the blame on the turnovers. The first one by Pierre Thomas is entirely forgivable. the man got knocked cold. But the rest….no. On to the 2012 Saints schedule. Besides the 49ers game we’ve got some pretty exciting matchups. I’m thinking of taking on the Giants in New York, the Dallas Cowboys, the Philadelphia Eagles (who I believe will get their act together and be the team to beat in the NFC East) and Tim Tebow and the Broncos in Denver. A lot of food for thought and good storylines in those games. As for the rest of the NFC South, the Falcons faltered in 2011 and have had some coaching changes, kind of an unknown quantity just like the Saints, who have a new defensive coordinator, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who have an all new coaching staff. But the really interesting team in my opinion is the Carolina Panthers. I’m not looking forward to taking on Cam Newton twice a year for the next decade. Overall, I think the Saints have a challenging schedule for 2012. We’ll meet some teams we don’t see very often and there’s been enough turnover in the division to make ranking a tough task. Too many unknowns. I’m looking forward to it though, as I see the NFC South as being one of the toughest divisions in the NFL. For Part 2 we’ll look at the Saints roster and draft. Coming soon.