A direct hit 50 miles west at Houma would have been worse. It would have destroyed Houma and put all the worst of the storm over New Orleans. That would have been "The Big One." Looks like the border and MS coast suffered the worst of this one.
The eye wall hit NO, the eye wall of the "Storm of a life time". Yea, one could imagine a 500 mph super huricane, stalling directly ove NO for a week or two, but in the real world NO just got hammered by the Big One, the levies held, thank God, man vrs huricane, man it appears won this battle, where will be others.
New Orleans did not dodge the bullet, but at least the bullet missed hitting the major arteries.