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2009 New Orleans Saints NFL Season Predictions

Written June 23, 2009 by Jason Lowry

New Orleans Saints 2009 Predictions After winning the NFC South in 2006, the New Orleans Saints have had back-to-back disappointing seasons, as they continue to lose close games. The Saints finished 2008 dead last in the division at 8-8, but lost five games by three points or less. The Saints had to battle a number of injuries in 2008, as they had 17 players on the injured reserve list at the end of the season. The Saints are hoping that a healthy roster and some key moves this offseason will be enough to get this team back to the postseason in 2009.

It has been a pretty busy offseason in New Orleans with a number of players coming and going, but most importantly the Saints return 20 starters from 2008. Some of the key losses from the 2008 roster include running back Deuce McAllister, full back Mike Karney, corner Mike McKenzie, safety Josh Bullocks, and safety Kevin Kaesviharn. Some big moves the Saints made this offseason include signing veteran free safety Darren Sharper, full back Heath Evans, corner Jabari Greer, defensive tackle Rod Coleman, an defensive end Paul Spicer. The Saints had only 4 picks in the entire 2009 draft, and only once came before the 4th round. The Saints did have the No.14 selection in the draft and with that pick took Ohio State corner Malcolm Jenkins, who could wind up being a star safety if the team decided to use him there instead of at corner. While most of the moves came in adding depth at a number of positions, the Saints biggest thing is just getting their starters healthy and ready to go.

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The Saints offense was explosive in 2008, as quarterback Drew Brees has another amazing season. Brees set club records with 5,069 yards passing and 34 touchdowns, and was just 16 yards from breaking Dan Marino’s NFL record for passing yards in a season. Brees did a lot of the damage in 2008 without his best options on the field. The Saints traded for tight end Jeremy Shockey in the offseason last year, but Shockey battled injuries and was no where near as productive as he has the potential to be. The Saints No.1 receiver Marques Colston started just 6 games after after tearing ligaments in thumb, and played most of the season without running back Reggie Bush, who has been a big threat at catching the ball since entering the league in 2006. With McAllister gone Bush needs to stay healthy in 2009, but the team has a solid backup in Pierre Thomas, who ran for a team best 625 yards and 9 scores in 2008. A big reason the Saints have had so much success on this side of the ball is the play of their offensive line. Brees has been sacked just 52 times in his three seasons with the Saints, and with all five starters back and a number of solid backup ready to go if need be, the Saints should be ready to roll again in 2009. Bet the Saints +175 to win the NFC South at Sportsbook.com.

Where the Saints have struggled the last couple of years is on the defensive side of things, and that was the case for a number of games last season. Because of the poor play the Saints brought in Greg Williams to take over the defensive coordinator duties. Improve play for this unit starts up front, as the Saints need better seasons out of both defensive ends Charles Grant and Will Smith. 2008 first round pick of defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis looked good when he was on the field, as he had four sacks in 13 games, and could be even better if he stays healthy this season. At linebacker the Saints made sure they didn’t lose star middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma in free agency, and that was a big step in turning this defense around. Joining Vilma at linebacker will be Scott Shanle and Scott Fujita, both of whom topped the 100 tackle mark in 2008. The Saints were bad against the pass in 2008, allowing nearly 222 yards a game through the air. Darren Sharper will come in and start at free safety alongside strong safety Roman Harper, while Tracy Porter, Randall Gay, Greer, and Jenkins battle it out for the corner spots. The potential is there for this unit to improve, but its likely the offense will carry this group again in 2009. Bet the Saints +2000 to win the NFL Super Bowl at Sportsbook.com.

My Prediction: Tie 2nd NFC South (9-7) I think the Saints improve in 2009, but the NFC South is stacked again, and everyone in this division has a pretty hard schedule. If everyone stays healthy and the defense finds away to really improve under Williams, then this team could surprise and prove me wrong, but for now I have them just missing out on the postseason again in 2009. See where the rest of the league stacks up in my 2009 NFL predictions article.

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