Week 8 Preview: Las Vegas Raiders at New Orleans Saints
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With the regular season just a couple of months away, we here at Sports Illustrated’s Raider Maven will preview all the opponents for the Las Vegas Raiders.
Week 8 sees the Raiders back on the road traveling to Louisiana to take on the New Orleans Saints.
A New Generation in NOLA
With Saints head coach Sean Payton calling it a career after 16 seasons with the franchise, the helm of the team is now in the hands of defensive coordinator Dennis Allen after he was promoted to head coach.
The Saints re-signed quarterback Jameis Winston during this offseason as well as remained active in the trading scene, eventually picking two first-round picks. Those ended up becoming wide receiver Chris Olave and offensive tackle Trevor Penning.
The Saints were active during free agency as well, targeting veterans.
New Orleans picked up safety Marcus Maye, who suffered a season-ending torn Achilles last season, playing in only six games. In the first seasons of his career, which he spent with the New York Jets, Maye booked six interceptions, broke up 22 passes and forced four fumbles.
Maye is expected to make a full recovery, participating in both OTAs and mandatory mini-camp.
The Saints also added safety Tyrann Mathieu to the squad. A former LSU star, the veteran has allowed a 61.8% completion rate in the past three seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs. Mathieu had 13 interceptions, 27 passes broken up and eight tackles during the three-year span.
Finally, the Saints added wide receiver Jarvis Landry during the off-season. In the past four seasons as a Cleveland Brown, he booked 288 receptions for 3,560 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Before missing five games last season due to a knee injury, Landry has missed just one of 111 games during the first seven seasons of his career.
Landry will be a great addition to opposite wide receiver Michael Thomas, who is returning from ankle surgery.
It’s a new generation in NOLA as the Saints look ahead for success. It should turn out to be a hard-fought, entertaining game on the football field.
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