Uncertainty lies ahead in the Crescent City as many questions linger in the thoughts of Saints fans. Who will take the reins from Drew Brees? What will this offense look like absent Michael Thomas for at least the first quarter of the season? Will Will Lutz’s core surgery cause kicking problems for the whole year? The list seems to be growing exponentially as Sept. 12 looms.
This may be hard to fathom, but “under promising and over delivering” might be the best approach to this season. “Any given Sunday” always rings true in the NFL, but having low expectations for this season should help ease the pain of a potentially tumultuous season.
Preseason football is just that: preseason. However, both Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill did not impress in game one against the Ravens. With preseason game two against the Jaguars scheduled August 23, time is ticking on who will assume the main role in this offseason.
One wrinkle that could play a factor in Sean Payton’s decision to start the season is All-Pro WR Michael Thomas’ recovery from off-season ankle surgery. Thomas, who was placed on the reserve/PUP list, will miss six weeks of the regular season before being activated to the 53-man roster.
Former Jets WR Chris Hogan, who spent the majority of the 2020 season on injured reserve, and former 2015 first-round pick Kevin White, who bounced between practice and active roster for the 49ers last season, are both lottery tickets the Saints have purchased in hopes of filling out their depleted wide receiver room.
With this apparent issue, the need to have both Him and Winston on the field could be imminent. Tight end is also a position of weakness as Jared Cook signed with the L.A. Chargers this offseason, and the addition of Nick Vannett’s 14 total receptions for 95 yards and a score does not bring much to a room that includes inexperienced second-year TE Adam Trautman.
Although Alvin Kamara and Latavius Murray could lead a potentially dominant backfield, if the opposing defense only needs to focus on that aspect of the offense due to the lack of other skill players, points may be hard to come by this season.
When you look at the schedule week-to-week this season, the potential for losses start to stack up. If the team cannot figure their offense out by Week 10, there is an outcome where the Saints are likely 3-6, with eight games left in the season. Losses to the Packers, Patriots, Washington Football Team, Seahawks, Buccaneers and Titans would all likely be over this dismal stretch of the season. After this point, what would there be left to play for so losses to the Bills, Cowboys, Buccaneers again, Dolphins and Falcons could be almost encouraged if the Saints would want to embrace the tank.
Six to 11 is possible. Should it be celebrated? Depends on how you look at it.
The Patriots finished 2020 season 7-9, missing key players on their defense who opted out of the season due to COVID-19. There were also issues with lack of salary, flexibility and draft capital due to the success of 2014-2019 with Tom Brady, as well as trying to maintain their dynasty in the league. A year removed from Brady and developing a new path forward the Patriots’ spent a league record $159.6 million in guaranteed money in free agency, per ESPN. Following this spending spree, Alabama QB Mac Jones was selected by New England in the first round of the 2021 draft to continue building the future roster in Foxborough.
This could be a similar plan the Saints could execute if worse comes to worse starting out 2021. Brady is signed with the Buccaneers through the next two seasons. If there is nothing to build around either Winston or Hill, then this will be a time to shift toward the future.
Rebuilds are not fun, but neither is setting high expectations and watching them turn to dust. After the past few seasons of being on the cusp, if the plan for 2021 starts to fail, taking a step back is what the Saints will need to do.