Saints Have to Stop Beating Themselves, Right the Ship Quickly
Facing a 1-2 start, the Saints are needing to find some answers quickly. Through the first three games, it's been a bit of everything that has led to New Orleans looking rough. We wanted to believe that the defense just a had a temporary setback after the loss to the Raiders. After all, they came out strong against Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in Week 1. However, Aaron Rodgers essentially made mincemeat out of the Saints defense, giving them all sorts of fits on the night en route to the team's second straight game allowing over 34 points.
The offense looked better thanks to Alvin Kamara, but still had its fair share of struggles. This is a team that misses Michael Thomas, and there's really no other way to put it. Drew Brees hasn't look himself through the first few games, but it's also not like the Saints aren't calling for shot plays. They just haven't been there, or the pressure has collapsed to force Brees into other decisions.
No matter who you want to place blame on, the Saints have got to pull together and rebound. October may be just what the doctor ordered. As the month comes to a close for New Orleans, it could be a good thing for Sean Payton's squad. The Saints close out the month of September 25-22 under Payton, and enter a month where they are typically dominant. In the month of October, they're 38-13 under him.
It's not going to be easy, as the injuries are piling up. Jared Cook (groin) and Andrus Peat (ankle) could miss some time after leaving Sunday night early, and you add that on to the other existing injuries the Saints have. Sean Payton did drop some hope for Marcus Davenport (elbow) and David Onyemata (calf) to return for Week 4, and that could be a big boost for the defense. Cam Jordan hasn't looked himself, and has yet to register a sack for the season. Perhaps getting Davenport back helps him in more ways than one.
This is way too talented of a team to be counted out, especially just a few weeks into the season. However, all of the hype that went into them before the season should be calm, and playing the underdog or silencing the doubters has always been where New Orleans plays best.
