New Orleans Saints' Formula to Win

This is a look into the 2009 season. We will look back into the 2008 season, and I will give my opinions on what the Saints should do to become a contender. We all know that the first thing we need to do is win the NFC South Division to enter the playoffs. This is the formula I feel the Saints should follow .

The first thing needed to have a successful 2009 season is, as always, to have a great offseason. The Saints did just that, as they addressed many of their needs, added new coaches, and new players to fill the holes in a terrible defense.

We all know that the Saints had the No. 1 offense last year in nearly every category, except running the ball.

Now, many people think we need a running back to come in and bring the "spark" to the run game, but I feel we don't. Sean Payton simply did not give the run game a chance in many of our games.

Yes, there were times were the run game was not affective at all, but I do feel we need to keep trying to run the ball when we have a lead to slow the tempo of the game and not allow the momentum to go to the other team.

Let's take a look at some of our loses or games where I feel we could've ran the ball some more times. First, we will look at Pierre Thomas and his attempts in all of our games of the 2008 season, since he is the player I feel is best eligible for the starting position.

Week One—Against Tampa Bay: 10 Attempts, 52 yards, 5.2 yard average

Week Two—Against Washington: six Carries, eight yards, 1.3 yard average, 1 TD

Week Three—Against Denver six carries, 15 yards, 2.3 average, 2 TD

Week Four—Against San Francisco: one carry, one yard, 1.0 average

Week Five—Against Minnesota: No touches at all .

Week Six—Against Oakland: two carries, 18 yards, 6.0 average

Week Seven—Against Carolina: one carry, two yards, 2.0 average

Week Eight—Against San Diego: three carries, 28 yards, 9.3 average

Week Nine—Bye

Week 10—Against Atlanta: six carries, 24 yards, 4.3 average

Week 11—Against Kansas City: 16 carries, 88 yards, 5.5 average, 1 TD

Week 12—Against Green Bay: 15 carries, 87 yards, 5.8 average, 2 TD

Week 13—Against Tampa Bay: 11 carries, 34 yards, 3.1 average

Week 14—Against Atlanta: 16 carries 104 yards, 6.4 average, 1 TD

Week 15—Against Chicago: 22 carries 87 yards, 4.4 average, 1 TD

Week 16—Against Detroit: 13 carries, 77 yards, 5.9 average 1 TD

Week 17—Against Carolina: No touches .

As you can see, Pierre Thomas has made the most of his carries, and he led all the running backs in touchdowns. I feel that Pierre Thomas is a guy who can get more than 15 carries a game, and he might not be Deuce McAllister, but he can help us close out games by moving the chains. The Saints need to put trust into Pierre Thomas and play with more balance .

As for the defense, we might not have big names, but my solution for the Saints is to simply play as a unit. Don't fall into being big name players, just play as one.

If the Saints defense can help each other rotate in and just play as one and let each other know what is going on when a player is "clueless", which is what our secondary looked like last year, we can win more games. Take a chance, be aggressive, and get those interceptions and sacks.

This is my solution for the Saints to win games next season. Keep the offense scoring and get the defense to play as one .