# Ralph Vacchiano: Vacchiano says the Saints, whom they had already called the NFC's biggest surprise of the season, are good enough to win the weak NFC South, though not yet a championship contender. **Claimed:** Sep 21, 2026 **Pundit:** Ralph Vacchiano — https://missedtakes.co/pundits/ralph-vacchiano **Outlet:** Fox Sports — https://missedtakes.co/outlets/fox-sports **How it reached us:** published in writing **Original:** https://www.foxsports.com/stories/nfl/nfl-fallout-week-2-justin-herbert-overrated-now-hes-hurting-chargers 2 checkable claims — 1 division winner and 1 surprise team call — each graded on its own rather than as one all-or-nothing call. None of them have settled yet — they grade once their results are in. > The Saints probably aren't a championship contender yet, but they're good enough to finish on top of the weak NFC South. *(their words, quoted for attribution)* ## The claims - **New Orleans Saints to win the division** - Kind: Division Winners · About: New Orleans Saints - Verdict: not settled yet - **New Orleans Saints to beat expectations** - Kind: Surprise Team Calls · About: New Orleans Saints - Verdict: not settled yet ## Who this take is about - New Orleans Saints — https://missedtakes.co/nfl/teams/saints ## What others said about the same people - Ross Jackson on Zamir White: Ross Jackson gives their final preseason 53-man roster projection for the New Orleans Saints, naming who makes the initial roster at every position group, who starts on injured reserve or the practice squad, and who the five starting offensive linemen and kicker will be. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/b43691e9-1673-4236-ba12-7d60ad3b95f5 (scored 0) - Doug Joubert on Charlie Smyth: Joubert projects the Saints' 53-man roster ahead of the cutdown deadline, naming every player they expect to make the team by position group, plus several players they expect to receive PUP/IR designations, and predicting Torricelli Simpkins will later be moved to the practice squad. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/80c9bcdf-68ec-49a5-a1d1-e59f4bee2653 (scored 100) - Ross Jackson on Charlie Smyth: Ross Jackson lays out their early defensive 53-man roster projection for the 2026 Saints, naming five edge rushers, four interior defensive linemen, five cornerbacks, five linebackers and five safeties, plus their kicker, punter and long snapper, and sends Mike Heldman, Chris Rumph and Jackson Sirmon to the practice squad. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/43240125-25d4-4060-bbc1-fa62fe5cd6d9 (scored 100) - Ross Jackson on Jordyn Tyson: Ross Jackson projects the New Orleans Saints' offensive 53-man roster: three quarterbacks with Tyler Shough starting and Spencer Rattler as the backup, four running backs including Alvin Kamara, six wide receivers with Jalen Polk making it, three tight ends, ten offensive linemen with a set starting five, and Charlie Smith at kicker. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/5f4d7215-b47b-478d-8a8e-3199f34273ef (scored 100) - Pete Prisco on New Orleans Saints: Prisco gives score predictions for every Week 9 NFL game, picking the Bengals to rout the Falcons in Madrid, the Cowboys to rebound at Indianapolis, and the Jaguars to win in Baltimore without Lamar Jackson. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/dc43909b-bc7f-47aa-b208-5cf7c95844bc (scored 95.24) - Grant Chachere on New Orleans Saints: Chachere picks the Saints to beat the Browns 24-10, arguing Cleveland's switch to Shedeur Sanders with Deshaun Watson out tilts the game toward New Orleans. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/2c694760-ef96-4645-9ef4-c00bae62de32 (scored 69.05) ## More division winners The same kind of call, about other players and teams. - Daniel DiBerardinis on Atlanta Falcons: Danny D predicts Sonny Styles goes in the top ten (maybe top five), doesn't think Ty Simpson goes before late first round, says Kenyon Sadiq lands with the Rams at 13, and picks the Falcons to win the NFC South while naming the Bengals an AFC bounce-back team. They also give a Final Four of Michigan, Florida, Purdue and Arizona with Michigan winning. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/8a8e0b7c-9f1c-4c13-8138-1332d73b9b02 (scored 0) - Colin Cowherd on New York Giants: Cowherd projects the NFC East with the Giants winning the division ahead of Philadelphia, Washington and Dallas, pegging the Cowboys as a six- or seven-win team. They also expect Malik Willis to land a big free-agent deal, Kayvon Thibodeaux to be moved, and Baltimore to lose Isaiah Likely, and they float the Rams reaching on Ty Simpson late in round one. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/cd243624-9451-4824-a8a4-7b468d681c8f (scored 0) - Colin Cowherd on Los Angeles Chargers: Cowherd unveiled their top 10 NFL teams entering next season, with Seattle first, the Rams second and the Chiefs tenth, and separately picked the Chargers to win the AFC West. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/78de302a-c2f9-41b4-8897-87943ca44caa (scored 0) - Colin Cowherd on Baltimore Ravens: Cowherd likes Jacksonville, Chicago and Pittsburgh (with DK Metcalf back) in the wild-card round, ranks the league's head coaches with McVay first and Ben Johnson seventh, and predicts Lamar Jackson has about two strong years left. They also name the Rams as a possible team to draft a receiver and floats next year's draft having seven first-round quarterbacks. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/432d7268-d5b1-49f6-9435-12c9442d3023 (scored 0) - Danny Parkins on Baltimore Ravens: Parkins lays the points with the Eagles and Cowboys, takes Baltimore to beat Pittsburgh and win the AFC North, picks Carolina over Tampa Bay and Seattle over San Francisco, and says they'd probably pick the Rams to come out of the NFC. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/23bf1e09-f607-4b9a-bdb4-888da7992c89 (scored 0) - Rich Eisen on Jacksonville Jaguars: Eisen forecast the Week 18 results and the entire wild-card field: Buccaneers over Panthers but Carolina still gets in as the 5 seed when Atlanta beats New Orleans, 49ers over Seahawks, Ravens over Steelers, Jaguars beating Tennessee to win the AFC South, and six wild-card matchups (Seahawks-Panthers, Bills-Jaguars, Texans-Ravens, Packers-Bears, Chargers-Patriots, Rams-Eagles), with Houston upsetting Baltimore. They also tabbed Saints rookie Tyler Shough as a possible Offensive Rookie of the Year. — https://missedtakes.co/opinions/34345186-876a-4c4b-9567-9c289a6cbace (scored 100) --- Accuracy is 0-100 against what actually happened. The naive guess is what a strategy requiring no knowledge would have scored on the same call — the difference is the skill, and it is what the MissedTakes Score averages. Full method: https://missedtakes.co/methodology We summarize what a pundit said and quote a short span for attribution; we never republish their article. If this is wrong, tell us: https://missedtakes.co/corrections?pundit=ralph-vacchiano