Saints: Time for Pieces to Come Together
The Saints are entering Week 4 as a team facing an uphill battle against the odds. New Orleans is down six of their key starters for today's game against the Lions, which includes their two starting cornerbacks (Marshon Lattimore and Janoris Jenkins), tight end (Jared Cook), left guard (Andrus Peat), pass rusher (Marcus Davenport) and star wide receiver (Michael Thomas). As if that wasn't bad enough, the team didn't get a ton of rest after a having a panic to do coronavirus re-testing after what ended up being a false positive COVID-19 test.
The game is going on as scheduled, and it is what it is at this point. On one hand, you can feel sorry for the Saints and probably make some valid arguments and excuses for them. On the other hand, New Orleans is a team that has been praised for the depth and coaching, and now it's time for it to be put to the test.
The Saints put another streak on the line this week, as they've won 12 straight games in the month of October under Sean Payton. The last loss came on Oct. 23, 2016 against the Chiefs, which could be dubbed as the Nick Fairley game. Regardless, New Orleans has seen streaks fall week after week, which started with their Monday Night Football loss to the Raiders. They followed that up by losing to the Packers, which was the first time the team suffered back-to-back losses for the first time since the opening of 2017.
It hasn't been just one area that has plagued the Saints in the last two losses, as some of the big cogs in the wheel coupled with breakdowns all over the field have all had a hand in it. There have been bright spots like Alvin Kamara and Demario Davis, but individual player performances amount to diddly poo, and they know it.
"So you know, look, we're focused entirely on their defense, offense and the kicking game. But we're just as importantly focused on ourselves and correcting the stuff that we need cleaned up," Sean Payton said on Wednesday.
"We have to play better. We have to be better in our assignment, we have to be better with our technique."
The encouraging news is that these are things that can be fixed and adjusted during the game, and again, the coaching staff is talented enough to get the job done. So are the players. It may be Week 4, but it feels like it's Week 15 and the games have major playoff implications. Make no mistake about it, this is an important game, probably their most important in quite some time.
The leadership is something that has also been praised on the Saints, and that needs to show up on Sunday. It's time for the real Drew Brees to stand up and deliver. It's time for the defense to get a handle on things. It's time for Cam Jordan to put it together and help them get some key stops. It's time for this team to be in the driver's seat again for a game. This is way too talented of a team to not deliver, and they have an opportunity to surprise some today at Ford Field.
