Latest / AFR Saints / Matt Moscona Predicts Saints vs. Lions Season Opener | New Orleans Saints Week 1 Prediction

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Matt Moscona Predicts Saints vs. Lions Season Opener | New Orleans Saints Week 1 Prediction · AFR Saints

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  Speaker 1: we roll along here on a Friday edition of AFR.
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  Speaker 1: We are live from Don Juan Cigar Bar here in
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  Speaker 1: Town Center. Saints and Lions open up week one of
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  Speaker 1: the NFL season. Kellen Moore on Friday talked about the
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  Speaker 1: Lions run game, which is something I'm going to be
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  Speaker 1: keenly watching on Sunday at Ford Field.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, the run game is really good. Again, it's going
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  Speaker 2: to be really versatile. Again, when you compare what they
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  Speaker 2: did in Detroit versus what, They've done in Arizona, and
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  Speaker 2: you kind of compare two different worlds there. There's a
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  Speaker 2: lot of diverse run game that could be coming towards you,
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  Speaker 2: and so we're going to have to be really sound
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  Speaker 2: on our techniques, our fundamentals, trust our keys, and that'll
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  Speaker 2: be an important part of stopping this run game.
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  Speaker 1: You know, I think about this game with the Lions,
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  Speaker 1: and the Saints are a touchdown and a seven and
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  Speaker 1: a hook underdogs. And I look at two organizations... that
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  Speaker 1: really are in many ways the same at different points
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  Speaker 1: on the journey. What I mean is the Lions were
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  Speaker 1: where the Saints are and are now where the Saints
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  Speaker 1: are trying to get on this path. The Lions were
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  Speaker 1: a downtrodden organization. They made the right hire, clearly, in
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  Speaker 1: Dan Campbell. They got their guy at quarterback in Jared Goff, who, well, look,
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  Speaker 1: I mean, it was a big deal when they traded Stafford.
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  Speaker 1: The Rams at the whole, you know, F them picks thing.
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  Speaker 1: But both teams won. Both teams won that trade. The
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  Speaker 1: Rams got their Super Bowl. The Lions had their franchise
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  Speaker 1: quarterback in Goff. And look, they were 15-2 a couple
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  Speaker 1: of years ago. Now they choked in the playoffs. But
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  Speaker 1: even when you look at a quote-unquote down year, a
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  Speaker 1: year ago when they're 9-8, you could look at the
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  Speaker 1: Lions and go, man, that's what you aspire to be,
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  Speaker 1: where when you're down year is a winning season still.
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  Speaker 1: And so you look at the Saints, and they've hired
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  Speaker 1: Kellen Moore. They feel like they've got their guy. I
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  Speaker 1: think most people feel like Tyler Shuck, they hit on
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  Speaker 1: that pick. Now, he's only started nine games, so it's
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  Speaker 1: a small sample size, but we'll see how that grows.
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  Speaker 1: So I look in many ways at this as a
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  Speaker 1: game where it's a little bit of a barometer for
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  Speaker 1: where the Saints are trying to get. Now, listen, I
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  Speaker 1: don't love the fact that this is seven and a half,
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  Speaker 1: and I would take the Saints and the points all
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  Speaker 1: day long just because It's not easy to win in
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  Speaker 1: the NFL. It's harder to win on the road in
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  Speaker 1: the NFL. I get that. But I look at matchups also.
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  Speaker 1: And when I look at the Saints offense, I am
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  Speaker 1: bullish on this offense being better than they were a
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  Speaker 1: year ago. I love going and spending the money on
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  Speaker 1: David Edwards to shore up your line. You're healthy with McCoy.
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  Speaker 1: Your tackles are a year older. All the things we've
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  Speaker 1: talked about a bunch. You went and spent money on
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  Speaker 1: Travis Aitchin. You went and spent money on a perennial 1,000-yard
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  Speaker 1: rusher in his physical prime. Love that. Alvin Kamara doesn't
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  Speaker 1: have to be your workhorse. He can be a supplemental piece.
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  Speaker 1: So I like what you did there. I like what
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  Speaker 1: you've got at tight end. And then you've got pass
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  Speaker 1: catchers now with Juwan Johnson still there, with Chris Alave.
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  Speaker 1: You went and added– I wish Jordan Tyson was there,
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  Speaker 1: but Barry and Brown– with Bryce Lance, you can look
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  Speaker 1: at that room, and Devon Bailey's healthy and go, this
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  Speaker 1: can be more challenging. And the biggest question that Detroit
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  Speaker 1: has is in their secondary. Their top two safeties are out,
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  Speaker 1: and then Terry on Arnold, they had to release because
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  Speaker 1: of the off-the-field stuff. So that's a gigantic question mark
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  Speaker 1: for Detroit at a spot where the Saints went and
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  Speaker 1: invested to be intentionally better. So I think the Saints
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  Speaker 1: are going to throw the ball, move the ball, and
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  Speaker 1: have success on offense against Detroit. The other side of
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  Speaker 1: the ball is probably where I have my biggest question.
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  Speaker 1: It's odd because the Saints were a top 10 defense
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  Speaker 1: in the NFL a year ago. They finished ninth in
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  Speaker 1: the league. Now, I am very hopeful. I'm very, very
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  Speaker 1: hopeful that the Saints... interior defensive line continues to perform.
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  Speaker 1: I'm hopeful Christian Miller plays well this year in his
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  Speaker 1: rookie year. I'm hopeful that we continue to see guys
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  Speaker 1: like Devon Gottschall and the great ends that you've invested
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  Speaker 1: in now with Granderson and with Chase Young. You went
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  Speaker 1: in the offseason and you added Jennings coming in. I am.
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  Speaker 1: Very, I'm hopeful there. I don't love not having Demario
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  Speaker 1: Davis in the middle of your defense. I'm hopeful for
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  Speaker 1: Caden Ellis. But the biggest question mark that I have
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  Speaker 1: on this entire Saints team is a cornerback. We've talked
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  Speaker 1: about it all offseason. They didn't go address it in
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  Speaker 1: free agency. They didn't address it in the draft. And
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  Speaker 1: I am not a believer that Kool-Aid McKinstry and Quincy
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  Speaker 1: Riley are going to be good enough to manage against
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  Speaker 1: elite-level teams in the NFL. and you're going to face
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  Speaker 1: two awesome pass catchers on the outside. You're going to
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  Speaker 1: have Amon Ross, St. Brown. You're going to have Jamison Williams.
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  Speaker 1: And when I look at those guys catching the ball,
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  Speaker 1: I don't think, I know the Saints don't match up
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  Speaker 1: on the outside. So unless if you generate an intense
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  Speaker 1: pass rush to disrupt Jared Goff, you're going to have
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  Speaker 1: to ask those guys that I don't think are very
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  Speaker 1: good to go win one-on-ones or win these matchups against
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  Speaker 1: great receivers, and I don't think they can do it.
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  Speaker 1: I do think the Saints are going to score. I
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  Speaker 1: just think the Lions are going to score way more
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  Speaker 1: at home. So I'm going to pick Detroit in this game.
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  Speaker 1: I wrote down 28-22 is my final that I wrote down.
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  Speaker 1: So I do like, I think the Saints will go.
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  Speaker 1: I think they'll perform well. I just don't think that
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  Speaker 1: the Saints defensively, especially in the secondary, is ready for
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  Speaker 1: this type of a challenge. So I'm going to take
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  Speaker 1: the Lions to win the game. I don't think that's
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  Speaker 1: a big surprise to many. By the way, I'm going
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  Speaker 1: to pick Baltimore to win next week. Against the Saints,
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  Speaker 1: they're going to start 0-2, which we all expect. But
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  Speaker 1: they're going to have a great opportunity when they come
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  Speaker 1: home in week three. So we'll see how they perform.
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  Speaker 1: But I'm going to take the Lions 28-22 to win
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  Speaker 1: that game in Detroit. You got a pick?
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  Speaker 2: Oh, Saints are winning. OK. Yeah.
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  Speaker 1: Awesome.
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  Speaker 2: Saints are winning. They're going undefeated all day long.
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  Speaker 1: I don't know the score, but they're going to win
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  Speaker 1: the game. OK.
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  Speaker 2: Love it.
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  Speaker 1: I hope you're right.