New Orleans Saints 2010 NFL Preview, Schedule, Odds, and Predictions: The “Aint’s” are gone, no more paper bags over the fans heads, no more Mike Ditka’s entire draft for one player, now it’s the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints! It took 43 years, a natural disaster, and corruption but the Big Easy finally brought home the hardware beating the Indianapolis Colts 33-17 in Miami to win their first title. With the nucleus returning they don’t seem satisfied with one and Vegas oddsmakers have the New Orleans Saints at +650 odds to win the 2011 Super Bowl for back to back championships.
Head football coach Sean Payton is young, confident and motivated. The onside kick call in Super Bowl XIV shows how aggressive and unconventional he is willing to be and to what extent he will go to win. He found a similarly aggressive coordinator in Gregg Williams who took the same attitude and approach to the defense that attacked the opponents and provided an assortment of blitzes and schemes that kept opposing offenses off balance and producing valuable turnovers. Combining Payton’s offensive prowess and Williams’s defensive intensity the Saints have the coaching in place to continue their winning ways. The odds makers at JustBET have the New Orleans Saints listed at +400 odds to win the 2010 NFC Championship.
Offensively the Saints are in the NFL elite with a bunch of weapons lead by Drew Brees who sets the tone with his attitude and work ethic. Brees has a trio of backs to hand the ball to lead by versatile run and catch threat Reggie Bush. Pierre Thomas and Lynell Hamilton will also carry the ball effectively. On the receiving end, Marques Colston is clearly the go-to guy and Devery Henderson and Robert Meachem are the deep threats. Down the middle and in the seam tight end Jeremy Shockey is still a formidable threat as well. The Vegas odds makers have the New Orleans Saints listed at -270 odds to win the 2010 NFC South.
Defensively Middle linebacker Jonathan Vilma is the leader and sets the tone with his quickness and ability to cover the field. The line is solid but not flashy and the strong point is the secondary. Tracy Porter and Jabari Greer are great cover corners which allow free safety Darren Sharper to roam the field and make big plays. Rookie Cornerback Patrick Robinson, the Saints first round pick out of Florida State, adds depth to a loaded secondary. The odds makers at JustBET have the New Orleans Saints middle number listed at over/under 10 1/2 wins for the 2010 NFL regular season.
The Saints had a storybook season going on to win the Super Bowl last year and have all the pieces in place to make another run deep into the playoffs. I predict a 12-4 regular season record and the Saints winning the NFC South for my 2010 NFL picks but getting upset early in the payoffs and not winning the NFC championship.
2010 New Orleans Saints Preseason Schedule
1 Thu, Aug 12 @ New England 7:30 PM
2 Sat, Aug 21 vs Houston 8:00 PM
3 Fri, Aug 27 vs San Diego 8:00 PM CBS
4 Thu, Sep 2 @ Tennessee 8:00 PM
2010 New Orleans Saints Regular Season Schedule
1 Thu, Sep 9 vs Minnesota 8:30 PM NBC
2 Mon, Sep 20 @ San Francisco 8:30 PM ESPN
3 Sun, Sep 26 vs Atlanta 1:00 PM FOX
4 Sun, Oct 3 vs Carolina 1:00 PM FOX
5 Sun, Oct 10 @ Arizona 4:05 PM FOX
6 Sun, Oct 17 @ Tampa Bay 1:00 PM FOX
7 Sun, Oct 24 vs Cleveland 1:00 PM CBS
8 Sun, Oct 31 vs Pittsburgh 8:20 PM NBC
9 Sun, Nov 7 @ Carolina 1:00 PM FOX
10 BYE WEEK
11 Sun, Nov 21 vs Seattle 4:05 PM FOX
12 Thu, Nov 25 @ Dallas 4:15 PM FOX
13 Sun, Dec 5 @ Cincinnati 1:00 PM FOX
14 Sun, Dec 12 vs St. Louis 4:05 PM FOX
15 Sun, Dec 19 @ Baltimore 1:00 PM FOX
16 Mon, Dec 27 @ Atlanta 8:30 PM ESPN
17 Sun, Jan 2 vs Tampa Bay 1:00 PM FOX
PHOTO CREDIT: New Orleans Saints logo image by Dick Reber(Flickr.com – Creative Commons License)