Saints Nation: Opposing Opinions

I caught up with my colleagues at the top Giants blog: "Big Blue View" to get their thoughts about the upcoming matchup. Check out the Q&A below for their impressions on the game and the Saints. Special thanks to Jim S. for taking the time, and good luck to your boys the rest of the season (except for Sunday).

Saints Nation: Eli is from New Orleans so he has many local fans. How is he doing in New York? After getting off to a rocky start, has the Super Bowl win gotten the monkey off his back or does he still deal with scrutiny? Has he won over the fans completely?

Big Blue View: There are very few quarterbacks who have played in the NFL who didn't have their detractors, Eli is no exception. Eli will never be the quarterback his brother is, but with the Giants, he'll never have to be. Eli just has to be Eli. In my mind, he is the best in the league in the two minute drill. He's done it time and time again, at home, on the road, in the Super Bowl. His teammates call him "Easy-E" for a good reason, nothing rattles him. I think most fans have embraced Eli, winning a Super Bowl will do that.

SN: How do you feel about the Giants-Saints matchup?

BBV: I'd feel much better about it if it was at Giants Stadium. I know the Giants are a great road team, but you'd still rather play a team with an explosive offense like the Saints in your own house, out in the elements. Guess we'll have to wait for the NFC Championship Game to get the Saints in Jersey. :)

SN: What scares you the most about the Saints?

BBV: That they won back to back games without Brees throwing a TD pass, that tells you how good they are. These are not the Billy Joe Hobert Saints. The other thing that scares me is Jeremy Shockey catching the game winning TD. I still have two gently used number 80 jerseys for sale if anyone is interested, ha ha.

SN: Can you give Saints fans a sense of what to expect from the Giants? Fill us in on maybe something we might not know?

BBV: With the Giants, you can talk about Eli, Jacobs, or the new wideouts, but New York Giants Football is and always will be about the defense. The Giants are going to have to get their pass rush going, try and get to Brees early, and see if they can knock him around a little.

SN: What are your expectations for the Giants this season? Do you think this could be a possible matchup in the NFC Championship game?

BBV: I am forever a Giants optimist, but usually stay away from bold predictions, until this year. I truly feel they are the best team in the NFL, and I think they have to be considered the favorite to win the Super Bowl. I definitely see this as a potential NFC Championship preview.

SN: How does this Giants team compare to the recent Superbowl championship team 2 years ago?

BBV: This team is better. The 2007 team was a very good one, but this team has a better balance of talent, and are deeper at just about every position.

SN: Give us a prediction on the score.

BBV: Oof. This is going to be a fun one. Two very good offenses, two very good defenses. Giants win, but it may take more than 4 quarters to do it. Giants 30-27 in overtime.

Thanks again to the guys at Big Blue View and don't forget to go check out their Giants blog!

Saints Nation: Hartley activated from suspension

Garrett Hartley has rejoined the Saints after coming off his four game suspension. Hartley joins John Carney as the second kicker on the roster, as the Saints have for the moment decided to carry both. Third string quarterback Chase Daniel has been released to make room on the roster for Hartley. Beyond keeping Hartley around for future seasons, it's pretty unclear what his role will be for the rest of the season. Carney has been accurate and reliable, and rookie punter Thomas Morstead has had the kickoff duties on lockdown since taking over. Interesting that the Saints decided not to part ways with Carney, yet decided to hang on to Hartley as well. Keeping two kickers on the roster, especially when one is inactive for games, is a very odd decision. It looks like the Saints didn't want to mortgage their future, nor did they want to change the good thing they have going with Carney. The good news is the Saints can absorb two kickers on their roster currently given the relative good health of the team, but down the road they may be forced to make a tough decision and release one of the two players if injuries become a factor. I can't imagine the Saints will keep 2 kickers on their roster indefinitely when one serves no purpose on gamedays. While Hartley could contribute on kickoffs, I'm sure the Saints see no reason to replace Morstead who has been extremely effective. My guess is Hartley will have to prove in the next couple weeks during practice that he's reliable, that way when the Saints' hand is forced to make a decision at some point Hartley will be under consideration as the full time kicker over Carney. There is no question Hartley has a much stronger leg at this point in his career, but he'll need to show he's as accurate as Carney inside 40 yard attempts too. Based on Hartley's performance in preseason that's not obvious. There's also the regret from the current regime for letting Carney go the first time, and the danger of paying for that same mistake again gives Carney a psychological advantage staying on the roster through the end of the year.

Saints Nation: Posting for Canal Street Chronicles

I've begun to start writing in addition to Saints Nation for the most followed Saints blog on the internet: Canal Street Chronicles. You can check out my first post HERE. Don't freak out, fans, nothing will happen to Saints Nation and I will continue to post daily as always. Saints Nation is my baby and I'm eternally grateful for the support you all have given me. Hopefully this will be another way to get my thoughts on the Saints out there and this will be a chance to enhance both blogs!

Saints Fans Have Spoken: The All NFC South 1st Team

Below is the All NFC South 1st Team Saints Nation Fans selected. Thanks for your participation throughout the polls! The team features 14 Saints, 5 Falcons, 4 Panthers, and 3 Buccanneers.

QB: Drew Brees

WR: Steve Smith

WR: Marques Colston

HB: Michael Turner

FB: Heath Evans

TE: Tony Gonzalez

T: Jammal Brown

T: Jordan Gross

G: Jahri Evans

G: Carl Nicks

C: Jeff Faine

E: Julius Peppers

E: John Abraham

DT: Sedrick Ellis

DT: Kendrick Clancy

OLB: Mike Peterson

OLB: Thomas Davis

MLB: Jonathan Vilma

CB: Jabari Greer

CB: Ronde Barber

FS: Darren Sharper

SS: Jermaine Phillips

K: Jason Elam

P: Thomas Morstead

KR: Courtney Roby

PR: Reggie Bush

Saints Nation: Giants @ Saints setting up to be a monster showdown

The Giants will come to New Orleans on Sunday with a perfect 5-0 record, making for a early showdown with major implications. While you might think to yourself "we're 4-0, it's not a huge deal if we lose one here", I beg to differ. If the ultimate goal is the SuperBowl, this is a must for the Saints. It's clear the Giants will be competition down the stretch for homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. This would be a crucial tiebreaker to own, unless you guys feel like going through New York in January sounds like a feasible path to glory. I've said it before and I'll say it again: the Saints' roster is not built to win games in harsh weather. That's not to say they can't, but they're built to play their best under clear conditions, and so playing at home in the dome when the stakes are at their highest is their best chance to go far. And before you tell me "hey they beat Buffalo and Philly on the road", those games were won in September. I'm not saying that losing this game will cost us the season, and I'm not saying the Saints can't rebound from a subpar performance (should that happen). I am saying this game is crucial for possible playoff seeding down the road, and this would be a major step towards the Saints putting themselves in a favorable position to succeed. There's going to be games the Saints can afford to lose down the road this season, but I believe this is NOT one of them. Should the Saints lose, this will be a hole they'll need to climb out of. Geaux Saints! I've got a little Q&A with a Giants blog going - so check back later for their thoughts on the matchup.

Saints Nation: Bye week pleasantries

Being 4-0 going into a bye week is the ideal scenario, and while having no Saints game on Sunday is a mild bummer, we'll have the next 12 weekends to enjoy crucial football games with our beloved team.

With the Saints off this weekend I'm turning my attention to three things. It will be nice to watch these three games without the major anxiety I get for the Saints (LSU being the possible exception).

1. #4 LSU Tigers hosting #1 Florida Gators tonight. I don't think there's any way Tim Tebow won't play in this game. While it's not the Saints, I'm admittedly a big LSU fan and I can wait for this matchup at 7pm central, 8 eastern tonight. Both teams are undefeated and the game is in Baton Rouge. Big time college football.

2. Atlanta Falcons at San Francisco 49ers. The Falcons have made it very clear with their 2-1 start (that included a mighty fight in a loss to the Patriots) that they are for real this year. The 49ers are 3-1, though, and they're hosting the Falcons. The 49ers defense looks especially tough which is no surprise considering Mike Singeltary is at the helm. How the Falcons' high powered offense that features Michael Turner, Roddy White, Tony Gonzalez and Matt Ryan fares against this 49ers defense in San Francisco will be a VERY interesting matchup. We should all be big 49ers fans this weekend. This will decide whether the Saints are 1 game ahead or 2 games ahead going into next week's Giants game. The Falcons thus far are proving to be unquestioned competitors to the Saints for the NFC South crown and every game counts.

3. Washington Redskins @ Carolina Panthers. While I've written off the Tampa Bay Bucs at 0-3 for this season as being a viable competitor in the NFC South, I'm not ready to write off the 0-3 Panthers yet. I'm curious to see how they respond tomorrow against the 2-2 Redskins. This is a tailor made opponent for the Panthers to turn around their season against. The Redskins' have looked nothing short of positively WOEFUL in their two wins (9-7 over the sorry Rams, 16-13 over the rebuilding Bucs), and let's not forget they were on the losing end of the Lions' first victory since 2007. If the Panthers lose this game, you can write them off, because the Redskins look pathetic this season. If they win they can still be dangerous to the Saints. I don't think I can bring myself to root for the Redskins, but I sure as heck can't pull for the Panthers either. I guess I'll just watch the game and see what happens.

Saints Nation: NFC South Standings

NFC South Team	W	L	T	Pct	PF	PA	Net Pts	TD	Home	Road	Div	Pct	Conf
New Orleans Saints	4	0	0	1.000	144	66	78	18	2-0	2-0	0-0	.000	2-0
Atlanta Falcons	2	1	0	.667	57	53	4	7	2-0	0-1	1-0	1.000	1-0
Carolina Panthers	0	3	0	.000	37	87	-50	4	0-1	0-2	0-1	.000	0-3
Tampa Bay Buccaneers	0	4	0	.000	54	107	-53	7	0-2	0-2	0-0	.000	0-3

Mmmm, first place. It's made all the sweeter based on how awful Carolina and Tampa are doing. A long way to go, but things are right where we want them to be.Sidenote: Check out THIS STORY. How crazy is that? The Saints are #2 in the ENTIRE LEAGUE in TV ratings. That means more people nationwide are watching the Saints than the Cowboys, Giants, Redskins, Brett Favre led Vikings AND the Patriots. CRAZY!