New Orleans, Louisiana is a drinking town with a football problem. A similar description would apply to most of the rest of Louisiana. We do love our football. We do love our Saints, We do wonder what the heck is wrong with Shreveport and Bossier City for having so many Cowboys fans but that's a character indictment for another day.

@SideAction via Twitter
@SideAction via Twitter
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Fans of the New Orleans Saints will find out later today just exactly which teams we will be cheering against on every given Sunday, Monday, or Thursday of the upcoming National Football League Season. The NFL officially announces the schedule for the entire league, not just the Black and Gold, tonight at 7 p.m. Louisiana time. You can watch it on the NFL Network.

Seattle Seahawks v Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Or you could just dive headfirst into the rumor mill like we have done. There are certain things that we do know. We know the Saints will play their division rivals of the NFC South in the traditional "Home and Home" format. So that takes care of two games each with Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and Carolina.

We also know the Saints will welcome Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles (Rams), Philadelphia, and Washington to the Superdome in New Orleans. The Saints away opponents, in addition to their division rivals, are Dallas, Green Bay, Kansas City, Los Angeles (Chargers), and the New York Giants.

New Orleans Saints v Arizona Cardinals
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images
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What we don't know is what the dates of those contests will be. That will be confirmed later this evening but if you like speculation, there are some juicy tidbits floating around online.

NOLA.com in New Orleans is suggesting that the Saints' preseason opponents will be San Francisco and Arizona. The Saints will face Arizona in Glendale according to Jeff Duncan of NOLA.com. The team will also hold joint practices with San Francisco before playing a game in the Bay Area during the preseason as well.

Taylor Swift Fans Descend On Melbourne Cricket Ground
Asanka Ratnayake, Getty Images
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Meanwhile, CBS Sports has done some research on each NFL team's strength of schedule and based on their report things shouldn't be too difficult for the Black and Gold this year. The Saints, according to CBS have the second softest schedule in the league. Only the Atlanta Falcons have a softer schedule.

According to the CBS story, the Cleveland Browns will face the toughest schedule this year. Of course, they play in the AFC North and that means they'll have games against Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh. So, yeah, that's a tough group.

AFC Championship - Cincinnati Bengals v Kansas City Chiefs
(Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
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DraftKings has listed the Saints' over/under win total at 7.5 for the season. The under is +100 so that means Las Vegas doesn't think the Saints will be much more than a .500 football team. And, if I might make a bold prediction, if the Saints finish anywhere close to .500 we'll be meeting a new coach in New Orleans before the 2025 season begins.

SiriusXM At Super Bowl LVI - Friday
(Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for SiriusXM )
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Sports Illustrated is suggesting that if the Saints get any Primetime games the most likely one will be the one against Denver. It will be Saints versus former coach Sean Payton in that contest. Number two on the SI speculative list is the Dallas game could make the list because the networks love to show the Cowboys lose in primetime.

Sports Illustrated also suggested the Saints versus the Chargers might be on the primetime shortlist too. Not sure exactly what the attraction is other than Jim Harbaugh. That might be enough to make the Saints interesting enough for the entire country.

Regardless, we find out tonight when the schedule is released at 7 p.m. Louisiana time.

12 Things You Know if You're From Louisiana

Gallery Credit: Bruce Mikells

 

 

 

 

 

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