The NFL opened its slate of preseason football games last weekend and finally we can get our minds wrapped around football. To the chagrin of most people, the two major stories going into this season have nothing to do with Tim Tebow. The two most compelling storyline to follow all season long are the New Orleans Saints and Peyton Manning. Yes Manning was brought in to replace Tebow, but Bronco fans will not be clamoring for Tebow after a few wins by Manning. The New York Giants are the defending champs but even they have to take a back seat to these stories. The Saints have had a hurricaine rip through their organization because of a scandal so foolish that no one understands why they would engage in such tomfoolery. The "bounty" scandal is a juvenile and foolish as this grown man sitting next to me in the library doing moves from a nicki minaj video. He knows that library is supposed to be silent and yet he is blasting his ipod away and dancing. The Saints were warned to not engage this type of behavior and they continued. We will dive into it more in a minute. Peyton Manning wants to get hit so badly that his neck hurts!!! No pun intended but he is so sick of answering questions and cannot wait to play against the Bears on Thursday that I am sure he is bouncing off walls. Lets analyze my points.
The New Orlenas Saints were less than 2 minutes away from hosting the NFC championship game last season. They allowed Alex Smith to drive down the field and win an epic playoff game in San Francisco. There organization has been rocked by scandal and you all know what the punishments are for their actions. Can this team rebound and play an entire season without their head coach and architect of the most prolific offense in football? They still have Drew Brees and he has a ton of weapons to throw to. If Mark Ingram stays healthy they may actually have a running game which would take the pressure off of Brees to make every play. Their schedule is tough but I think more teams are more worried about playing the Saints than the Saints are worried about playing them. The Super Bowl is in New Orleans and the Saints have designs on being the first team to host the big game in their home stadium. The latest drama around this team is simply ridiculous. Jonathan Vilma is suing the NFL for defamation and supposedly the league either is trying strike a deal with him to drop his suit. The league denies there has been no deal made or talks about lessening the suspension. I just want to see the evidence against Vilma. he vehemently denies what he is being accused of and is not going to let his name continue to be destroyed by the league. How do the Saints make it through the season without two such vital parts? They are really going to hope to have an injury free season. An injury to Brees and this season is a wrap. Their defense is not very good on the road anyways so the loss of Vilma weakens them on that side of the ball.The Saints will try to score and score and score. We shall see if Jimmy Graham is the real deal this year.
The Broncos had a good defense last year and if you take away games against New England, Green Bay and Detroit, they would have had an elite defensive ranking. We know that they got rid of two qb's that started last year and have brought in the ultimate weapon in Manning but their schedule is unfair. They play several teams that were in the playoffs last year. They play New Orleans, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Houston, and Cincinnati just to name off of the top of my head. The have to contend with the AFC west that has three other quarterbacks who cna play when healthy. The Raiders will be better now that Plamer is getting a full off season. The Chiefs get back Cassell who played under Crennel in New England plus Jamal Charles is ready to roll. San Diego is on its last legs with the group they have and continue to wonder what kind of team they would if they all stayed healthy for a full season. Peyton Manning is walking into a hornets net without a pesticide. They have the toughest first 8 games to start a season than I have ever seen. They have to play New England as well. What are their goals? They must be at .500 at the bye week and be ready to play Cincinnati after the bye. They maybe they can make a run. They still have to play Carolina and Tampa who are expecting improvement from last season. All in all the Broncos have been set up to fail.
As much as I will be following my Giants I will be watching these two teams to see if the are pretenders or contenders. I am just happy that Peyton is back and the Saints will have a serious chip on their shoulders throughout this season for sure. They even play one another in the first few months of the season. I cannot wait...
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