Walter Pierce

King: Saints ‘best in NFL'

by Walter Pierce

The New Orleans Saints, fresh off a nerve-racking 30-20 defeat of NFC South nemesis Carolina Panthers — their second come-from-behind win in three weeks — continue generating accolades to go along with the wins. Now at a franchise best-ever 8-0, the Saints receive another hard-earned nod of approval from Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, who ranked the Saints 24th in his pre-season power rankings and remained skeptical of the Black and Gold through the first month of the season. In today’s Monday Morning Quarterback, King spreads the butter:
New Orleans isn’t kidding around. With the best offensive free-agent in history, Drew Brees, you knew the Saints would score. What you didn’t know is that Gregg Williams — hired after coach Sean Payton gave up $250,000 of his own salary to help pay him — would build a top-10 defense. New Orleans has beaten three big, bad playoff contenders from the East (Jets, Eagles, Giants) by an average of 20 points. I like what the 8-0 Saints have shown the past three weeks, rebounding from a 24-3 deficit in Miami and a 14-0 deficit against Carolina, sandwiching a back-and-forth Monday-nighter with Atlanta. They’re close to the pack, but I still call the Saints the best team in football. They can beat you too many ways.