NEW ORLEANS — Sean Payton has fallen in love so in love with running the football and playing defense I'm waiting for him to channel his inner Jim Mora and scream at the media, "You think you KNOW but you don't know and you never will." He might be edging closer to it because on Wednesday he said, "We're in the business of winning right? And it doesn't have to be aesthetically pleasing."
Payton is THIIIS close to putting Taysom Hill under center and running the triple option with Alvin Kamara and Tony Jones Jr. and winning 9-6 and giving not one single #@$ about it. I find this version of Sean Payton incredibly interesting and delightful.
Of course, Payton has a tremendous ego, and I'm sure part of him would love to show off the creative and revolutionary passing attack he created the last 15 years can work without Drew Brees. He's also smart enough to see he has to win football games right now in a completely different way.
Payton flew in Mike Martz, the guy who was offensive coordinator for the famous St. Louis Rams Greatest Show on Turf with Kurt Warner, Marshall Faulk, Issac Bruce, and Tory Holt to get ideas on passing, and the Saints currently rank 31st in the NFL in passing yards. By the way, the Saints are closer to the Bears who rank last in passing yards, than they are to the New York Jets who rank 30th. Payton is playing the hand he has, the best way he can, and as long as it wins he's going to keep on doing it.
Two of the most consistent fan gripes of the Sean Payton Era have been:
- "Why can't the Saints have good corners?"
- "Run the damn ball more."
If you've been saying or thinking these things the last 15 years, 2021 is your wish come true.
The Saints suddenly have so many good corners, the guy they just traded for (Bradley Roby), barely played Sunday, and we hardly noticed. The 2021 Saints secondary is the deepest and most talented secondary in the history of the franchise and it's not even really close.
The Saints have 2 Pro Bowl level safeties in Marcus Williams and Malcolm Jenkins and go 4 deep at the corner. Marshon Lattimore is poised to have the best year of his career, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson is the best slot corner in the NFL, Paulson Adebo looks like a third-round steal, and Bradley Roby will eventually be needed and play well at some point. Remember the days of wishing the Saints had just one corner as we watched players getting turned to ash or hit other Saints defenders as other teams scored touchdowns?
Through 3 weeks as your grandpa likes to say, "Are running the damn ball!" They are 9th in rushing yards but 5th in rushing attempts. They aren't even averaging 4 yards a carry. In the pass-happy, it's better to throw on first down analytics-based NFL, Sean Payton is out here making 2nd and 7 great again. You might think I'm knocking it, but I love this so very much. There's nothing worse than a coach who can't evolve and adapt to the roster he has.
The Saints' best player is Demario Davis and defense is the engine now. So Sean Payton is coaching accordingly. Playfield position, defense, and slowly grind your opponent into the dirt 3.5 yards at a time.
I wish Sean would morph into a cross between 1991 Jim Mora and 1983 Bum Phillips. Sean wearing a cowboy hat and jeans while running the ball 50 times then berating the media after the Saints won 12-6 would be amazing. I'm not a huge fan of great defense and running the ball UNLESS the Saints are doing it to win games. Then it becomes innovative and magical.
Saints Fan Mood and Meditation Music:
Hello | Martin Solveig featuring Dragonette
Hello, Saints glad you guys are home. We missed you. How excited are you guys for the Saints game in the Caesars Superdome Sunday? The rest of the NFL had their 'football is back' moment after not having full stadiums in 2020. NOLA had to wait because of hurricane Ida, and probably like most of you, I haven't seen a Saints game in person since 2019. I haven't seen the Saints win in person since the 2019 season opener against the Houston Texans. I'm ready.
The energy should be incredible and it will be great to have a full Dome again.
The Games
Last Week: 2-3
Season: 7-8
New Orleans (-8) vs New York Giants:
Part of me thinks this Saints team should not be favored by 8 over anyone. The style they play is going to lead to lots of close games, even though it hasn't yet.
The Giants are winless but not as bad as you might think. They've lost 2 games on the final play and their defense is 16th in points allowed. Their offense is 11th in rushing and 17th in passing yards so they clearly are a cut above other winless teams like the Jets and Jaguars.
That said, I expect Jameis Winston to play well. He looks like a guy to me who was struggling to let loose against New England because Sean Payton put a heavy emphasis on not turning the ball over.
After Jameis' YOLO "That was all God." touchdown pass to Marquez Callaway, Sean Payton looked like a dad filled with, "I've told my 5-year-old 7000 times today to not touch the hot stove and he just did 7001” energy. As a father of a five-year-old, Sean, I've never felt closer to you than that exact moment. Jameis is going to play his best game, the defense is going to limit Giants quarterback Daniel Jones scrambling, and we will leave the Dome happy.
Saints 31-10
Atlanta (+1.5) vs Washington:
The Falcons aren't even average but they get Washington and then the Jets in back-to-back weeks. They'll be 3-2 and filled with false hope.
Falcons 27-21
Detroit (+3) at Chicago:
The Lions look well-coached and feisty. The Bears don't even look like they are playing the sport of football.
Lions 20-14
Los Angeles Rams (-5) over Arizona:
The Rams are the best team in the NFL. That's a shame.
Rams 34-23
Green Bay (-6.5) vs Pittsburgh:
Ben Roethlisberger looks D--U--N DONE. This was why I was happy Drew Brees retired. I did not want to watch a helplessly washed-up Drew Brees quarterback the Saints to a 5-12 season where it's clearly his fault the entire thing is crumbling because he's too old. Drew for all his limitations in 2019 and 2020 didn't affect the Saints winning lots of regular-season games. Big Ben is single-handedly sinking the 2021 Steelers.
Packers 35-10
Ralph Malbrough is a contributing writer and Saints fan living in Houston. Email him at saintshappyhour@gmail.com, find him on Facebook, or follow him on Twitter at @SaintsForecast or download the Saints Happy Hour Podcast.