NEW ORLEANS — The New Orleans Saints and other NFL teams apparently got ghosted by the Las Vegas Raiders on NFL trade deadline day while they were trying to complete trades for Raider players.
The reason was of course Raiders owner Mark Davis was busy firing his head coach and general manager. Hard to finalize trades when a team's GM is getting fired out of cannon onto the Vegas Strip.
The thought of Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis thinking he's closing in on trading for Raiders receiver Hunter Renfrow and suddenly no Raider will return his texts or calls is the most hilarious thing I've heard all week.
"Maybe they start trick or treating in Vegas early?"
"Raiders GM Dave Zeigler is usually very prompt in returning my messages. This is weird."
Poor Mickey, he was working HARD to give us that sweet sweet trade deadline breaking news we all wanted and the clown car Raiders went and ruined our Halloween fun.
Sure the Saints might be stuck in mediocrity, but let's all take a moment to laugh at the Raiders ghosting other NFL teams like a match they regret on a dating app.
Raiders gonna Raider. It could always be worse.
So the Saints are 4-4 and tied for first in the NFC South, Where y'at about that? Some Saints fans are unhappy and want better than what the current Saints deliver. I get it. We are used to really good football now and settling for uneven middling football every Sunday can be jarring.
I also know this, the Atlanta Falcons are also 4-4 and I can not have that team winning the awful NFC South over the Saints. No sir. No way.
So save your, "I would rather the Saints lose so they can make serious changes and be real contenders."
First off, losing guarantees only that you are losing, it never ensures a brighter future. Second, do you know how much fun we can have laughing at the Falcons if the Saints win the NFC South and they don't? THE ENTIRE OFFSEASON WILL BE FILLED WITH MERRIMENT.
So here's where I'm at....Saints y'all got to get this done.
The Games
Last Week: 2-3
Season: 19-15
New Orleans (-7.5) vs Chicago: The Bears are so bad y'all. They are 2-6, are starting their backup quarterback, and they just fired their running backs coach under mysterious circumstances with the never good "Human Resources was involved." headline.
The Bears are terrible on defense, giving up 27.3 points a game, and mediocre on offense scoring just 21.4. As inconsistent as the Saints are in 2023, they have to win Sunday. Not just because I'll be going to the game, but because if you can't beat a Bears team quarterbacked by Tyson Bagent, there isn't much to say.
The Saints can beat any team in 2023 and lose to any team.
The plan against the Bears is simple; they like to run the ball and are good at it (132 yards a game), so don't let them do that. Bears don't run the ball Sunday, they won't win.
I expect this game to be annoyingly close because the Saints always start slow, step on some rakes, and have some stupid penalties. You know the usual. They'll get it together and win in likely very unimpressive fashion.
Saints 23-16
Atlanta (-4.5) vs Minnesota: The Falcons, like the Saints, get to play the Vikings without Kirk Cousins. All the smart football say Atlanta's offense is actually good and when they stop turning the ball over will be top 10.
I don't see it.
Falcons 24-17
Seattle (+6) at Baltimore: Pete Carroll really sold Russell Wilson at peak value, turned the picks into good players, found a better quarterback, and is going to coach until he's like 80.
Seahawks 28-24
Tampa Bay (+3) at Houston: The Bucs aren't out of the NFC South race. They get to play a Texans team starting cardboard boxes and egg crates along the offensive line.
Bucs 17-13
Green Bay (-2.5) vs Los Angeles Rams: The Packers haven't won since beating the Saints in Week 3 and that annoys me way more than it should.
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.