Much ado has been made by Saints fans regarding the amount of attention and respect the Who Dat's receive in the national spotlight. This Sunday, the black and gold will face-off against Gang Green, both teams talented and undefeated. With the Saints regularly getting little to no respect my initial thinking was that most, if not all, of the "experts" within major football media outlets would have predicted a Jets victory.
To my surprise, I couldn't have been more wrong. After compiling thirty-three different predictions for this weekends game from sources like ESPN, Fox Sports, CBS Sports, Sports Illustrated and such, only three of them saw New York as the winner in their crystal ball, one of whom is real estate mogul Donald Trump. Stick to reality television, Donny.
I'd also like to point at that during my thorough research, the Saints/Jets matchup was front page fodder for many of these media outlets, receiving more in-depth analysis and detailed coverage I've ever seen since 2006. While it's fair to say that a major cause of this extra attention can be attributed to the perfect records of both squads, I think it's fair to say that if the Saints manage to stay perfect this intense media spotlight will become the rule rather than the exception. So for those of you complaining about the amount of awareness and appreciation given our favorite football team, heed this warning: Be careful what you wish for.
Make the jump to look at who the "experts" are picking this Sunday. Then, discuss your thoughts on all of this.
CBS Sports
Harmon Forecast - New York Jets
Pete Prisco - New Orleans Saints
Clark Judge - New Orleans Saints
Greg Urbano - New Orleans Saints
Peter Madden - New Orleans Saints
Dave Richard - New York Jets
ESPN
Eric Allen - New Orleans Saints
Mike Golic - New Orleans Saints
Merril Hoge - New Orleans Saints
Ron Jaworski - New Orleans Saints
Chris Mortensen - New Orleans Saints
Adam Schefter - New Orleans Saints
Mark Schlereth - New Orleans Saints
Wikersham - New Orleans Saints
ESPN Accuscore - New Orleans Saints
Pigskin Pick 'Em - New Orleans Saints
ESPN Sunday Countdown
Mike Ditka - New Orleans Saints
Chris Carter - New Orleans Saints
Tom Jackson - New Orleans Saints
Fox Sports
Jay Glazer - New Orleans Saints
Alex Marvez - New Orleans Saints
John Czarnecki - New Orleans Saints
Adam Schein - New Orleans Saints
Peter Schrager - New Orleans Saints
Adrian Hasenmayer - New Orleans Saints
Sports Xchange - New Orleans Saints
Sports Illustrated
Peter King - New Orleans Saints
Adam Duerson - New Orleans Saints
Walter Football
Walter Cherepinksy - New Orleans Saints
Inside the NFL
Cris Colinsworth - New Orleans Saints
Warren Sapp - New Orleans Saints
Phil Simms - New Orleans Saints
Donald Trump
The Trump - New York Jets