On Sunday last, I had a strong feeling that you could smell the Saints from Italy. Such was the stench of the performance.
I’ve been a Saints fan from before day 1. And I am impatient. But all those years of misery in the first 40 years have made me realize there is always hope, at least weekly.
It is only week 5. There is a lot of football to be played, and as Aaron Rodgers told the Packer fans after Jameis Winston and the Saints destroyed them in Week One a couple of years ago, we should chill.
The Saints have a favorable schedule to make a rebound.
We go to New England to play a mediocre Patriots team. However, a look at each team’s opponents this year shows that the Patriots have had the much harder row to hoe.
The Saints have played teams in the lower half of the league, Power Rankings and the Pats have played teams in the upper half.
Most of our woes are focused on the offense, but the Saints’ defense laid an egg against the Bucs.
We have no pass rush, and I must point out that the Saints front office has drafted Davenport, Turner, and Bresee in recent years in the 1st round, and so far, except for a contributing Bresee, these picks have not enhanced our D.
Also, they have let Trey Hendrickson, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Kaden Ellis, and Von Bell leave for other teams. When you consider they have paid Peat and now Ruiz, you have to wonder about their choices.
Along with the first-round picks we have used on our sieve of an offensive line, this leads me to believe that the failure on the field is as much a front-office failure as anything,
Of course, you can’t pay everybody. This makes the decision on who to pay and who not more crucial.
The salary cap issues may doom this team for years.
On to the offense. A few thoughts.
More than once, the Saints, in the middle of a crucial drive, had chosen to throw long when they needed 5 yards or less for a first—and failed. They need to realize what they are on offense, grind out 1st downs, and go deep sparingly, especially with three yards to go on third down. It is stupid playcalling. Or arrogant, perhaps.
I love Taysom Hill, but the Saints need to ratchet back his QB snaps. The league has adjusted to Taysom some, and by putting him at QB as often as they do, they are putting Derek Carr into the Canadian Football League mode by giving him only two plays to make a first down on any given series. It has to affect his continuity. No other team in the league takes the ball out of the hands of its starting QB like the Saints.
Taysom is great. He is a superior runner, and we need to use him as such more than at QB.
This week, on the defensive side, we play one of the less mobile QBs in the league. Jones is young and can run some, but he is not that big of a threat with his legs. Running QBs are like a kryptonite to this Saint defensive group.
Regarding a pass rush, it appears the Saints defensive lineman need a passport to enter the opposing backfield. And they don’t have one.
Belichick can scheme to the Saint’s weakness, so I pick the Pats to win, 23-16.
It’s not time to give up, though. We can win this game and many more if we play smarter and keep relatively healthy. But if we can’t protect Carr and cannot see the defense of the first three weeks, we are in for a very long season.
And if the Saints end up on the downside of .500 with this schedule in this conference, the fans will be looking for heads to roll.
Memo to Mickey Loomis- These are not your Grandmother’s Saints fans.
