| Christopher Reina. 5th March, 2009 - 10:33 pm
 Record: 8-8
Trench Counter: 1.3 (15th)
Point differential per game: 4.4 (10th)
Payroll: $132M (5th)
Cost Per Win: $16.4M (23rd)
Passing offense: 311.1 (1st)
Rushing offense: 99.6 (28th)
Passing defense: 221.7 (23rd)
Rushing defense: 117.8 (17th)
Turnover differential: -0.2 (22nd)
Strength of schedule: 13th
If their season were a song: Weezer - El Scorcho
Game-by-Game (Score, Trench Counter)
Week 1: TB, 24-20 Win, 4.3
Week 2: at WSH, 24-29 Loss, -21.4
Week 3: at DEN, 23-24 Loss, 2.7
Week 4: SF, 31-17 Win, 4.1
Week 5: MIN, 27-30 Loss, -10.3
Week 6: OAK, 34-3 Win, 22.9
Week 7: at CAR, 7-30 Loss, -9.0
Week 8: SD, 37-32 Win, 5.4
Week 9: BYE
Week 10: at ATL 20-34 Loss, -7.0
Week 11: at KC, 30-20 Win, 4.7
Week 12: GB, 51-29 Win, 18.3
Week 13: at TB, 20-23 Loss, -6.5
Week 14: ATL, 29-25 Win, 4.9
Week 15: at CHI, 24-27 Loss, 2.4
Week 16: at DET, 42-7 Win, 23.7
Week 17: CAR, 31-33 Loss, -18.9
Season Summary
The Saints may have been the unluckiest team in the NFL in 2008, which forced Drew Brees' historical season to become an end of the year sidenote. Sean Payton's club lost six games by five or fewer points and instead of going 11-5 or 10-6, they were 8-8.
Reina Value and FIC Rank
Quarterback
- Drew Brees (1st, 1,088, +108%)
Brees was second in FIC in 2007 and moved up to the first slot this year. Even though the Saints didn't make the playoffs, Brees deserved some MVP consideration due to what he did with an injury-filled, unlucky team. He had a 96.2 passer rating and threw for over 5k yards.
Running Backs
- Pierre Thomas (21st, 470 [267 rushing, 203 receiving], +708%)
In his second season, Thomas once again had a very good 4.8 yards per carry average. He scored nine touchdowns on the ground and three in the air and proved to be a keeper at running back.
- Reggie Bush (26th, 425 [116 rushing, 309 receiving], -51%)
Bush nudged his yards per carry average up for the third consecutive season, though going from 3.6 to 3.7 to 3.8 is hardly substantial. But it's progress and he also was as efficient when catching the ball (8.5 yards per reception) as he was as a rookie. Bush also scored three touchdowns on punk returns with a 13.5 yard average.
- Deuce McAllister (56th, 242 [150 rushing, 92 receiving], -73%)
McAllister got healthy again and had a nice comeback, rushing 107 times for 418 yards. The comeback was short-lived, as the Saints have parted ways with their all-time rushing leader.
Wide Receivers
- Lance Moore (22nd, 633, +851%)
With Colston injured early, Moore busted out as a reliable weapon in the air in his third season. He caught 79 balls for 928 yards and ten touchdowns.
- Marques Colston (38th, 482, +0%)
Colston was limited to just 10 games, but had a career high in yards per reception with 16.2. Colston had four touchdowns over the final three weeks.
- Devery Henderson (39th, 466, +53%)
Henderson continues to be used primarily as a long ball threat and reached a career high 24.8 yard average.
Tight Ends
- Billy Miller (13th, 370, +387%)
Though not a household name like his new teammate, Miller caught 45 balls for 579 yards, which was his finest season since 2002.
- Jeremy Shockey (18th, 312, +0%)
Shockey was banged up for much of his first season in New Orleans, but he still did catch 50 balls for 4.83 yards, though no touchdowns.
Defensive Summary
The Saints play at a fast pace, which doesn't do their defense any favors, but they weren't any better on a per play basis than they were in totality. Gary Gibbs' lost corners Tracy Porter and Mike McKenzie due to injuries and the Saints were beat deep with far too great of frequency. The secondary can share some of that blame, but the pass rush was very weak and the line didn't get much help behind them from the linebackers.
Biggest draft needs
New Orleans is desperate for a solid corner while also need upgrades at outside linebackers and would love Brian Cushing, but will also take a long at center Alex Mack from California.
The Saints will score points if they upgrade at center or not and desperately need difference makers on defense, so with the wealth of corners and linebackers on the board, that would be the wisest play.
Not having a 2nd or 3rd round pick and a high payroll makes improving this team difficult and must hope for health and regression from what was a very competitive NFC South.
Previous Audits
32. Detroit Lions
31. St. Louis Rams
30. Oakland Raiders
29. Cleveland Browns
28. Seattle Seahawks
27. Cincinnati Bengals
26. Kansas City Chiefs
25. Jacksonville Jaguars
24. Buffalo Bills
23. Denver Broncos
22. San Francisco 49ers
21. Dallas Cowboys
20. Houston Texans
19. Green Bay Packers
18. Chicago Bears
17. Arizona Cardinals
16. Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
