And then there were 5...

Tweet Ladies and Gentlemen, I have arrived! I'm going by the alias of Cabrock Jones and I'm amped to be contributing with my opinions on this year's NFL season. 3 of the other guys will be following their favourite teams, so amongst other random rants, I will be covering the New Orleans Saints.

So, let's get down to business! Everybody is acting like Thursday night's opener was absolutely spectacular and that Aaron Rodgers should be handed the MVP immediately....why? Sure the game between the Saints and the Packers was high scoring and really entertaining, but in reality, neither team can be even remotely happy with their performance. If there was one thing to be learned for the 2011 season opener, it's that the lockout has deteriorated the league's defences. Why did both quarterbacks have amazing performances, with a combined 6 TDs, 0 INTs and over 700 yards of passing? Because throwing is throwing!

In the offseason, teams couldn't train at their facilities, they weren't allowed contact with their coaches, and they had no access to game film or team playbooks. Though this affects both sides of the ball, player-run workouts would be MUCH more beneficial to the offensive players because running routes and practicing concepts is pretty similar year-to-year. Drew Brees held training camps during the summer and, though he didn't have the 2011 Saints playbook, he led the offense through basic concepts and many of the plays that the team ran in 2010.

Though the defence ran their own version of training camp, the lack of game film and availability of actual coaching proved to be devastating. Practicing your defensive schemes against a half-assed offence in the middle of the summer heat is completely different than kicking off the NFL season against a Super bowl-winning head coach and a top 5 quarterback.

Luka already covered the game in an earlier post, so I won’t talk too much about it. I will admit that the Saints had one of the worst defensive outings that I've ever seen, but even still, Drew Brees and the offense showed that they're still volatile and capable of scoring at any given moment.

Here's how my report card of the New Orleans Saints looks:
Offense - A
Defence - C+
Special Teams - B+
Coaching - A-
Overall - A-

Since I missed most of the Week 1 games, I'll end my introduction here. It's gonna be fun talking with these guys about their thoughts on opening weekend, the upcoming games, and the NFL season in general. Who knows, maybe if Jovan posts some stupid entertainment pieces I'll get involved in that too.