Joshua P. Simon - The Accidental Author

The 2012 season has been quite a mix of emotions for me.

In college football, Notre Dame, my favorite college team, is finally winning again. Not only are they winning, but they are doing so with defense, something that had been absent over the last ten years or so. It’s pretty awesome watching Manti Te’o and the rest of the defense swarm to the ball, especially against good teams like Oklahoma (I’m pretending the awful Pitt game never happened). I only hope they keep this up and absolutely skull-drag USC. After that, who knows what will happen in the BCS standings. Either way, I’m enjoying the ride.

The NFL, is a completely different matter. The Saints were expected to take a step back in light of the bounty scandal, especially since they lost Sean Peyton for the season. However, I don’t think anyone, including me, thought it would be this bad. It’s like I’m watching a New Orleans team from yesteryear on the fiel

• Losing Carl Nicks to the Buccaneers has been huge. The offensive line isn’t giving Brees the same protection he’s had in recent years. Granted, they’re still putting a decent amount of points on the board, but not as easily as they once did.
• Up until this past week against Philadelphia, the running game (especially Mark Ingram) has been very disappointing. I never expected Ingram to be the next Barry Sanders, but I was hoping for at least the next Dalton Hilliard. Hopefully, he’s finally starting to find his groove. If not, I’d rather see the Saints use more of Ivory.
• The defense is still atrocious (and by far the biggest reason for the team’s woes), despite that being the focus of recent drafts, and the hiring of new coordinators.
• If the Saints aren’t able to really pull things together and make some noise in the playoffs, I think I’d rather see them blow this season and try their luck at picking up Notre Dame’s Manti Te’o or UGA’s Jarvis Jones in the draft. Both are crazy good, and both would give that defense the life it so desperately needs.

How is the college and NFL season shaping up for everyone else?