Saints fans, prepare yourselves. It’s going to be another long season.
With a defense that looks as porous as it was in 2014 and an aging Drew Brees being expected to do as much (or more) with fewer weapons, there’s not much hope for 2015.
The Saints defense was abysmal last season. Only the Atlanta Falcons gave up more yards (6,372) than the Saints (6,144), which might have led to the first time in recorded history Saints fans appreciated the Falcons for something.
The defense wasn’t exactly of the “bend but don’t break” variety either. The Saints allowed 26.5 points per game, which was 28th in the league.
Fast forward to Sunday’s 27-13 loss to the Houston Texans, and it appears the defense hasn’t progressed much at all.
Texans quarterback Brian Hoyer only played a few series, but he made them count. Hoyer picked apart the Saints’ secondary on a seven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive on the Texans’ first possession of the game.
Twice he targeted wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins, who was working against cornerback Keenan Lewis, resulting in a 29-yard completion and a pass interference call in the endzone that saw the ball placed at the one yard line.
Former LSU running back Alfred Blue plunged into the endzone to give the Texans the lead, but it was Hoyer and Hopkins who made things happen.
Hoyer is the same guy who lost the starting job for the Cleveland Browns last season. If he’s making it look easy against your team’s secondary, that’s not a good thing. Having your best cornerback beaten on a couple big plays raises red flags, even if it’s the preseason.
Oh, and NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported that Lewis will miss four to six weeks after undergoing hip surgery Tuesday.
The Saints defense managed to record only one sack against the Texans, although it was encouraging to see the defensive front eventually get some more consistent pressure as the game went on. The defense definitely looks like a work in progress, but that progress needs to come much faster to aid the offense.
Brees hasn’t played much in the preseason, so it’s hard to pinpoint exactly where the Saints are offensively. But it’s also hard to be flat-out excited.
Saints coach Sean Payton is an offensive guru, and I have no doubt the Saints will pose problems for opposing defenses. However, I don’t know if it’ll be enough to mask the defensive inadequacies.
The Saints spent their offseason trading away Brees’ top targets, tight end Jimmy Graham and wide receiver Kenny Stills. After the Stills trade, I started to wonder if Brees would be throwing to traffic cones this season.
Brees can still perform at a high level, and he can make mediocre players around him look better. But when your quarterback is a 36 years old, I would like to believe it’s better to bring in more weapons for him to utilize than take his best ones away.
Brees is still capable of performing magic, but it’ll be his best trick yet if he can turn the Saints into legitimate contenders this season.
Jack Woods is 21-year-old mass communication senior from Ruston, Louisiana. You can reach him on Twitter
@Jack_TDR.