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For those who might underestimate the importance of coaching at the NFL level, one might not have to look any further than the New Orleans Saints. With head coach Sean Payton serving a yearlong suspension from the Bounty scandal, the Saints seem to be lost on the field, losing their first four games to start the 2012 season.
And, this isn’t exactly a team lacking in the talent department as they are just a few years removed from a Super Bowl title. QB Drew Brees has been on fire the last few seasons and even broke a quarter-century old record by Dan Marino for the most yards thrown in a single season.
So, why are the Saints struggling? Well, it all comes down to defense or the apparent lack of defense rather. The Saints are currently dead last in total defense behind teams like the Tennessee Titans, the Oakland Raiders and the Buffalo Bills to name a few. If New Orleans just had the defensive statistics of a team like the St. Louis Rams they’d be at least 2-2 or even 3-1 against the teams they’ve faced thus far. Instead, New Orleans sits at 0-4 through the first quarter of the season and now must really catch fire if they even want to sniff a wild-card berth in an ultra-competitive NFC conference this year.
The funny thing is that Brees is on pace to throw for over 5,000 yards and 40 touchdowns. The team has scored some points, but defensively they can’t stop anyone. The one thing that the Saints have going for them in this one is that it’s at home, where they do seem to be the most comfortable.
To avoid going 0-5, the Saints must find a way to get past the San Diego Chargers who come into New Orleans for a Sunday night showdown but they are going to have their work cut out for them.
San Diego has actually had a rather solid start to the season, despite Philip Rivers and the Chargers offense still trying to find some rhythm. So far, San Diego doesn’t have a win over a quality opponent and the one good team the Chargers played came into Qualcomm and smoked them (Atlanta won 27-3). And even with a win over the Saints, the teams that the Chargers have beat will have a combined two wins between the four teams… assuming Kansas City doesn’t beat Baltimore (unlikely) and that Tennessee doesn’t beat Minnesota.
Nevertheless, San Diego still finds itself atop the AFC West standings at 3-1. Even if the Chargers do beat a winless Saints’ team it should help their confidence and maybe build some respect on the national level by beating a team that has actually had some success in the 21st century.
What This Game Means For New Orleans…
I think we can safely say that the season will be effectively over with a loss to the Chargers on Sunday night. New Orleans is already at the bottom of the NFC South, four games behind Atlanta already. There is only so deep of a hole that can be dug before it’s simply too much to climb out of. The deficit is already pretty big thanks to their lackluster start and even if the Saints win their next 12 games (to go to 12-4) they might not still win the division. But with that said, the Saints and Falcons have not played yet which leaves two opportunities to go head-to-head and possibly knock two games off Atlanta’s lead. If the Saints get back on track here (not just in this game but for the season) and win both their meetings with Atlanta, they could find themselves back in the hunt with a little bit of outside help.
Coverage of San Diego versus New Orleans can be seen nationally on NBC’s Sunday Night Football beginning at 8:20pm EST, check your local listings for the appropriate channel.