There were high expectations for the New Orleans Saints coming into the 2022 NFL season. Yes, their future hall of fame head coach stepped away from football for at least the year, but they banked on their continuity, reloaded their offense and addressed new holes in defense. Unfortunately, their offseason excitement has not yet translated to on-field success. A disappointing 1-3 start brought upon by self-inflicted wounds like turnovers and penalties could go a long way in damaging any team’s confidence. But there’s something different about the Saints and how they’ve responded. Instead of panic, there’s a confidence, a sense of urgency about the locker room.
“We beat ourselves,” linebacker Pete Werner said. “But you can tell that we are capable of doing great things. And we’ve got a really talented group. We’ve just got to find a way to not really shoot ourselves in the foot.” As we’ve spoken to Saints players and coaches throughout the week, one of the consistent themes has been their self-awareness. There’s been no deflecting of issues, no delirium in regard to where the shortcomings have been to open the season, no denial at all around the team’s struggles. That’s encouraging to see. A unit unwilling to accept their own contributions to their lack of success won’t be in a position to fix anything, let alone key misgivings like turnovers and penalties.
“Even in wins there’s something to clean up,” defensive end Cameron Jordan said. “We’re sharpened to be a perfect team and we’re far from it. I think we have self-inflicted wounds.” Jordan, along with linebacker Demario Davis, is one of the leaders that other players in the locker room will point to as the fabric keeping everything together. Center Erik McCoy was adamant about exactly that point this week. That there is no division in the Saints locker room despite the unexpected start. While he insists that the team is not panicking, but instead heightening its sense of urgency, a sense of panic might not be the worst thing for the team.
“I think it’s always time to panic when you’re not getting a win on the column,” Jordan said. The sentiment isn’t lost on the team. Safety Tyrann Matheiu expressed similar feelings after the loss in London when he highlighted that the team is only “four games into a 17-round bout.” Which was reason for them to take things one game at a time moving forward. But with every additional loss, as Mathieu emphasized, the window closes a little more. As that window closes what’s on the other side, winning games, gets harder and harder to reach.
That doesn’t seem to be the driving factor behind the Saints’ motivation, however. According to co-defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen, the veteran leadership in the locker room is what keeps that window from closing completely. And the Saints have a lot of leaders to lean on. Some of which have been here before.
“We’ve had a lot of guys have a lot of success here over six or seven years in a row, and a lot of those guys are still here. Cam Jordan, Mark Ingram, those guys have been through some ups and downs. I think 2017 we started 0-2 and made the playoffs. Look, we’ve been here before and we know how to get out of it. And getting out of it is all about the Saints. Let’s just take care of what we do and the end result will take care of itself.”
So, if the leadership is in place, if the team is well aware of the improvements that need to be made and their confidence seems unshakeable, what’s left? What does New Orleans need to do now to get back to winning games? To me, it’s simple. In basketball terms, they need to see the ball go in the basket. The idea of going on a win streak, even just the thought of winning a game almost feels too big to leap to right away.
While those within the facility will discuss the importance of taking things one game at a time. This team will benefit from taking things one play at a time. Fixing the individual issues that have plagued them so far this season won’t happen with a lens too widely focused. A more precise approach should be taken.
Offense struggling to get going? String together drives early with high-percentage throws and a steady run game. Need more plays on defense? Focus on the “turnover mentality” that defensive coordinators Nielsen and Kris Richard have preached since training camp. Need to eliminate the penalties? Play a sound, well-executed football game. Sounds overly simplistic, right? “Don’t like the way things are going? Change it.” But though it’s simply summed up in words, it’s a formidable task for the team trying to implement a winning brand of football.
Sunday’s game against the Seattle Seahawks could serve as a bit of a reset for New Orleans. Seattle is ranked No. 31 in scoring defense, they’ve allowed several explosive plays and have never found a way to limit Saints running back Alvin Kamara in their previous meetings. A 2-3 record vs. a 1-4 record is a 15.3% swing in playoff chances. While the team can’t get wound up anywhere near playoff talk and consideration right now, it’s worth considering this game a must win.
The Saints will need to take their confidence into today’s matchup and focus play-to-play on self-improvement to ward off self-inflicted wounds. Quarterback Andy Dalton will be at the helm, another player with valuable experience. This week, unlike last, he’ll have Kamara on the field with him. The two, along with playmaking rookie Chris Olave and a stout defense looking to knock Geno Smith off his early-season mark could lead the way to a big bounce back win. Otherwise, they’ll be five games into a 17-round bout with a window closing by the second.
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