Retto
formerly toretto
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- Oct 12, 2013
WAR ROOM: NEW ORLEANS SAINTS
The New Orleans Saints got off to a red-hot start in the Madden 15 League, earning the NFC's second seed in season 1, and returning to the playoffs as an 11-win team in Season 2...
After which, they lost their way.
With @Artest93 at the helm of the black and gold, the Saints delivered a brand of football which had the capability of frustrating even the most skilled of opponents. However, postseason losses to eventual Season 1 NFC Champion Carver and the Minnesota Vikings, followed by a dismantling at the hands of the Season 2 Champion Seahawks would go a long way in placing a concrete ceiling on the Saints' potential - they never returned to the postseason after that loss against the 12th Man, and once Artest called it a Madden 15 League career midway thru Season 4, New Orleans would finish out the league as a sunken, rudderless ship - with an 0-16 record in Season 5.
Now, for most recent Madden 15 League World Champion owner @yungchris504, who, as the Patriots, triumphed by one point over now-division rival Retto and the Panthers in Season 5's Super Bowl, the objective is to build the Who Dat Nation back to the Madden prominence it once held. Can the Big Easy native truly become a hometown hero, and deliver a Lombardi Trophy to New Orleans, just as he did in New England?
STRENGTHS
Chris' New Orleans Saints, of course, will be led by a guaranteed future Hall of Fame QB in Drew Brees. The veteran signal-caller will heavily rely on two very fast skill players on offense: second year wideout Brandin Cooks and former Buffalo running back CJ Spiller. Mark Ingram will help handle the load on the ground for the Saints, and veteran receiver Marques Colston returns to help lead a young group of pass-catchers. Rookie RT Andrus Peat will have his opportunities to make an impact up front for a Saints squad that acquired C Max Unger in a blockbuster deal which sent star TE Jimmy Graham to Seattle.
The Saints defense is led by a strong pair of safeties: Jairus Byrd, the ever-crafty veteran, and the young, hard-hitting Kenny Vaccaro, who enters his third season. Monstrous CB Brandon Browner, fresh off a 2014 championship with the Pats, arrives to help the Saints against big, physical WRs in the division, such as Julio Jones in Atlanta, Kelvin Benjamin in Carolina, and Mike Evans in Tampa. Standout LB Junior Gallette and RE Cameron Jordan will still be key pieces to the New Orleans defense, which added rookie MLB Stephone Anthony in the 2015 Draft.
WEAKNESSES
With the game-changing Graham now gone, exactly who will be the Saints go-to guy on offense? A lot will be asked of second-year TE Josh Hill, who has a big void left by old #80 to fill. Beyond Cooks, who missed half of 2014, does New Orleans have enough firepower on offense to command the respect of opposing defenses like in years past? How much longer can Brees carry this team? An even better question: can Chris produce the same championship results with a conventional offensive set-up, as is currently in the Big Easy?
For all the nice individual pieces the Saints have on defense, their 2014 effort was horrible, ranking 31st in terms of total yards given up. While the free agent acquisitions have improved their outlook on paper, three potentially explosive offenses await in the NFC South, so Chris will have to find a combination of players which will work for him, and fast.
TORETTO'S TAKE: 9-7
Chris and his Saints will see several familiar foes on his Season 1 slate, which could help him get off to a quick start to begin the year. However, as good as Brees still is, and as much as Cooks, Spiller, and Ingram can produce, I still have trepidation as to whether Chris will be able to parlay these talents into a scheme which worked so well for him towards the end of the Madden 15 League. No World Champion owner is to be doubted; we've all seen what he can do, but ironically enough, that was with Graham at his disposal also. He'll be a good player again this year, but, with a tough schedule in place, he may also have room to improve after Season 1 in Madden 16.
NEXT: TAMPA BAY BUCS
The New Orleans Saints got off to a red-hot start in the Madden 15 League, earning the NFC's second seed in season 1, and returning to the playoffs as an 11-win team in Season 2...
After which, they lost their way.
With @Artest93 at the helm of the black and gold, the Saints delivered a brand of football which had the capability of frustrating even the most skilled of opponents. However, postseason losses to eventual Season 1 NFC Champion Carver and the Minnesota Vikings, followed by a dismantling at the hands of the Season 2 Champion Seahawks would go a long way in placing a concrete ceiling on the Saints' potential - they never returned to the postseason after that loss against the 12th Man, and once Artest called it a Madden 15 League career midway thru Season 4, New Orleans would finish out the league as a sunken, rudderless ship - with an 0-16 record in Season 5.
Now, for most recent Madden 15 League World Champion owner @yungchris504, who, as the Patriots, triumphed by one point over now-division rival Retto and the Panthers in Season 5's Super Bowl, the objective is to build the Who Dat Nation back to the Madden prominence it once held. Can the Big Easy native truly become a hometown hero, and deliver a Lombardi Trophy to New Orleans, just as he did in New England?
STRENGTHS
Chris' New Orleans Saints, of course, will be led by a guaranteed future Hall of Fame QB in Drew Brees. The veteran signal-caller will heavily rely on two very fast skill players on offense: second year wideout Brandin Cooks and former Buffalo running back CJ Spiller. Mark Ingram will help handle the load on the ground for the Saints, and veteran receiver Marques Colston returns to help lead a young group of pass-catchers. Rookie RT Andrus Peat will have his opportunities to make an impact up front for a Saints squad that acquired C Max Unger in a blockbuster deal which sent star TE Jimmy Graham to Seattle.
The Saints defense is led by a strong pair of safeties: Jairus Byrd, the ever-crafty veteran, and the young, hard-hitting Kenny Vaccaro, who enters his third season. Monstrous CB Brandon Browner, fresh off a 2014 championship with the Pats, arrives to help the Saints against big, physical WRs in the division, such as Julio Jones in Atlanta, Kelvin Benjamin in Carolina, and Mike Evans in Tampa. Standout LB Junior Gallette and RE Cameron Jordan will still be key pieces to the New Orleans defense, which added rookie MLB Stephone Anthony in the 2015 Draft.
WEAKNESSES
With the game-changing Graham now gone, exactly who will be the Saints go-to guy on offense? A lot will be asked of second-year TE Josh Hill, who has a big void left by old #80 to fill. Beyond Cooks, who missed half of 2014, does New Orleans have enough firepower on offense to command the respect of opposing defenses like in years past? How much longer can Brees carry this team? An even better question: can Chris produce the same championship results with a conventional offensive set-up, as is currently in the Big Easy?
For all the nice individual pieces the Saints have on defense, their 2014 effort was horrible, ranking 31st in terms of total yards given up. While the free agent acquisitions have improved their outlook on paper, three potentially explosive offenses await in the NFC South, so Chris will have to find a combination of players which will work for him, and fast.
TORETTO'S TAKE: 9-7
Chris and his Saints will see several familiar foes on his Season 1 slate, which could help him get off to a quick start to begin the year. However, as good as Brees still is, and as much as Cooks, Spiller, and Ingram can produce, I still have trepidation as to whether Chris will be able to parlay these talents into a scheme which worked so well for him towards the end of the Madden 15 League. No World Champion owner is to be doubted; we've all seen what he can do, but ironically enough, that was with Graham at his disposal also. He'll be a good player again this year, but, with a tough schedule in place, he may also have room to improve after Season 1 in Madden 16.
NEXT: TAMPA BAY BUCS