For years now, the owners of Terranova's Supermarket have been making predictions on the seasonal performance of our beloved Saints and more often than not, they're pretty accurate. NOLA Defender had a chance to sit down with Benjamin "Benny" Terranova, owner of the market/butcher shop, to discuss the nature of his predictions and of course - how he thinks the Saints will do in the 2012-13 season.

Terranova's Supermarket is a family-run business and that's why the predictions have kept going. Benny's father originally making the picks, and posted the prediction of the Saints' season record on a board inthe store to get conversations going. Over the years, it's become a community institution that brings residents in the doors at the beginning of every season to see what the Terranova family thinks are in the cards.

Like the Terranovas, we are students of sausage. As such, we didn't want to get too close to seeing how the predictions were made. But we were able to ascertain that the preseason performances from around the league are the deciding factor. Offseason speculations can be worthless and how teams take the field is what matters, Terranova said.

This year proved to be more difficult than most due to Hurricane Isaac. But the Terranova family didn't falter in entering their picks before the season started.

"The storm came and we didn't have power so we had to use the flashlights - if we don't do it...well the first thing people do is look for the predictions," Terranova said.

Despite the shocking loss on Sunday, the Terranovas are holding fast to their prediction that the team will go 9-7. Initially, they picked losses to Green Bay, San Diego, Denver, Atlanta, New York (Giants) Dallas, and possibly Tampa.

"Being the first home game, the team was pumped up and we thought we'd take Washington," Terranova said.

Still, the heartbreaking loss last Sunday against the Redskins doesn't nullify his forecast. Tampa was listed as a "maybe" for the L column.

When asked if any fans ever come into the shop upset about the predictions, Benny told us, "all the time, they think it should have more [wins]...everybody's got their own view".

While he's a die-hard Saints fan, Terranova believes there are limits to optimism.

"We could put what you want up there and make you happy, or put what we really think and see what happens," he said.

Stop by to chat about the Saints at Terranova's Supermarket, located at 3308 Esplanade Avenue.