[donofriose]

Colston has missed 3 games the last 4 years. He has only missed significant time one season and that was 4 or 5 years ago. The only player I would be worried about if I was a Saints fan would be Jimmy Graham, because he is the difference maker on that offense. Their defense is bad, but I think they will do what the Redskins did last year, who also had a terrible defensive secondary, and just try to force turnovers, its how they won their only superbowl. But elite quarterback + Elite Coach will get you into the playoffs. They still managed to go 7-9 without their coach, and with one of the worst defenses in NFL history. But this season will show just how valuable a great coach can be to a team.

The patriots will start out slow like they do every year (started 1-2 last year) and then go on a 10 game winning streak and lose a few random games toward the end. 11-5. They will probably win one game in the playoffs then get sent home when they play Houston hopefully. When was the last time an elite quarterback and elite coach went below .500? They have a top 5 offensive line who right now are all healthy, their running game will be better (led the league in rushing touchdowns, 7th in yards), they had a top 10 scoring defense even though they obviously gave up a lot of yards, but yards have never won games, and if Talib is healthy, that defense looks completely different than when he is out.

They will take a step back, from being a 13-3/12-4 team to a 11-5/10-6 team. But to say they will go all the way to 6-10 with arguably the best quarterback and best coach in the game, is a little far-fetched. They will be similar to the '09 team.

But speculation is always fun and you never know who will get injured, all bets are off if Brees or Brady gets hurt.