Saints 11-0 and 5 To Go!!!

     The New Orleans Saints (11-0) have moved into the elite category in the NFL by proving to all the nay-sayers that they can play and win. They do this not with smoke and mirrors. The do it with determination and coaching. They have lost over a dozen players from the starting lineup to IR this year and seem to find talent to fill the void.

      Over the past 3 years, New Orleans has been one of the top offenses in the league and now have finally found a defensive unit to complement them. Many things had to come together for this to happen. The offseason signing of free agents and the hiring of a new defensive co-ordinator have turned a perrennial also-ran team into one of the most powerful teams in the NFC. Gregg Williams has brought an aggressiveness not seen in the Saints defense in a very long time. Add to his philosophy and strong mix of talent from the likes of linebackers Mike Shanle, Jonathan Vilma and Scott Fujita and you have a good corps of middlemen to build aorund. The defensive line has taken some heat over last year's performance, but has started to come around under William's watchful eye. The Saints had some talent already in the defensive backfield in Roman Harper and Randall Gay. The drafting of Malcolm Jenkins and Tracy Porter along with the free agency acquisitions of Jabari Greer, Darren Sharper and Chris McAlister have built a defense that has been very opportunistic. The front four have started to exert pressure on the opponents and the DBs have stepped up their game thanks to Darren Sharper's extraordinary talent for finding the ball. Defensively the New Orleans Saints have begun to establish themselves as a viable contender in the NFC.

      The strength of the New Orleans offense has been well documented over the past 3 years. After the retirement of Deuce McAllister last season, it was thought by many that the team would really be in trouble. But with the developement of Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell to work the field with Reggie Bush, the running game seems to actually have stepped it up a notch. Additionally with a healthy Jeremy Shockey and David Thomas, the tight end corps has now caused defenses to have to account for even more targets for Drew Brees to throw to. To add to the opponents defensive headaches, Devery Henderson and Robert Meacham have stepped up their games also to make up for the loss of Lance Moore. And with a completely healthy Marques Colston this year the defenses are going into overload trying to cover all those targets. The loss of Jamal Brown was thought to be a backbreaking loss on the o-line, but Jermon Bushrod stepped in and took his spot and has done a very creditable job protecting Brees.

      Amazingly enough, we haven't even started talking about Drew Brees yet. When it comes down to it, he just seems like he has a GPS built into his rigth arm. He seems to have perfected the back-shoulder throw to get a ball to his receivers. Brees seems like a throwing machine and it is amazing at how fast he can go through his progressions and always find the open receiver. After the performance against New England on Monday Night Football, it would seem to me that Brees has increased his chances of getting MVP honors. He has worked hard for it and according to the numbers, he has earned it. New Orleans hopes to be in the Super Bowl in Miami in 2010. The way they are playing, it wouldn't surprise me at all!