Five reasons why the Saints will make the 2018 NFL playoffs

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Five reasons why the Saints will make the 2018 NFL playoffs Published: Jun 11, 2018 at 02:37 AM Around The NFL Podcast Co-Host 1) Drew Brees is still Drew Brees The magical handiwork of almost flew under the radar last season. The team's took the focus off a quarterback still operating at pristine levels. Brees calmly led the league in completion percentage and topped the NFL with 72 strikes of 20-plus yards -- was second with 62. We could go on and on about the statistical black Bernie Parent Kids Jersey magic authored by Brees, but it's barely news, because he's been doing this for ages. Tucked into the most balanced attack in years, Brees is a master at maximizing the talent around him and keeping defenses flustered with his ability to spread the ball to and fro. I see no regre sion come September, not with leading a receiving group that includes , the intriguing and a super-quick . Free-agent addition is a candidate to emerge as the team's No. 3 pa s catcher once fully healed from the ACL injury that wiped out his 2017 campaign. The can attack teams with a diverse cast of targets, as one of this era's greatest pa sers directs the show. 2) The marvelous ground game We talked about the pa sing game while barely mentioning the combination of and , who finished second and third last season in catches for the , respectively. A head-turning Offensive Rookie of the Year, Kamara instantly broke out, convincing the to part ways with future Hall of Famer last October. Kamara led all backs in receiving yards (826) and trailed only in catches (81). Again, the numbers are dazzling -- 14 total touchdowns! -- but Kamara is more than a slippery pa s catcher out of the backfield. He glowed on tape as a powerful runner who can blast between the tackles or zap past defenders on the edge -- helping him lead the league with 6.1 yards per rush. Ingram is coming off a 1,000-yard campaign that saw him pair beautifully with Kamara and light up defenses with his hard-churning gallops. Ingram remains one of the NFL's toughest runners. He'll mi s the first four games , but there's a silver lining there: fresh legs for the heart of the campaign. It's fair to wonder if this could be Ingram's final year in New Orleans, but the club refused to sign a proven veteran to fill his four-week void. After Ingram and Kamara became the first same-team backfield duo to each accumulate 1,500-plus scrimmage yards in a single year, teams will try to copy what the did by stacking the box and shutting down the ground game, holding Kamara and Ingram to 63 combined yards from scrimmage. Here's where we remind you that Brees countered by lashing Carolina for 376 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Pick your poison, NFC South. 3) The defense: No longer a joke In that same , fans witne sed a powerful performance by pa s rusher alongside a team that used multiple defenders to pile up four game-changing sacks of Carolina quarterback . After years of dragging the team down, New Orleans' defense turned the corner last season to finish 10th in points allowed. Along the way, the pitched a against Miami and held teams to le s than 20 points in Radko Gudas Women Jersey eight separate affairs. While Kamara transformed the offense, first-round cornerback and Defensive Rookie of the Year served as an equal rainmaker on defense. The used this offseason to add youth and veteran depth. First-round pa s rusher joins a line that saw fellow first-rounder bounce back during his second NFL season. Re-signing is a big-time help, while a cast of new faces -- linebacker , safety and cornerback , who actually spent his first five NFL seasons in NOLA -- should all see meaningful snaps. This defense is no longer a raging soft spot for teams to scatter on a weekly basis. 4) Steve Mason Kids Jersey Sean Payton's flexibility The shine was off after Payton authored three straight 7-9 campaigns, but it was never about the longtime coach losing his feel for the game. Payton remains one of football's most fascinating play callers. His handiwork in unleashing Kamara and Ingram proved, once again, his innate ability to fry opposing defenses. Having Brees at the helm doesn't hurt, but Payton deserves plenty of credit for his quarterback's succe s. Only a handful of coaches consistently make a difference on game day -- and Payton is one of those guys. 5) Where did the Saints regre s? A suming New Orleans can mask the lo s of offensive lineman , who signed with Houston, the escaped free agency without taking much of a beating. They showed no interest in re-signing safety . Meanwhile, newly added tight end is an improvement over the jettisoned . You could argue the team should have pushed to ink or , but taking a conservative approach to the open market is no tragedy. While le ser teams ma sively churn the roster to catch up, the roll into training camp poised to add a new chapter to what was accomplished last season. , but the stacked boast one of the game's better coaches, a future quarterback -- and the kind of juicy roster that feels primed for a trip to the NFC title game. This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be mi sing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an i sue.
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