New Orleans Saints use Band-aids and Drew Brees to Contend
By Dan Salem
The New Orleans Saints are in an unfavorable position, playing in the NFC South with the Panthers. But with a few key band-aids to the defense, this team is right back in the hunt for the NFC Wildcard.
We’re tackling each team in the league, traveling alphabetically to debate their biggest offseason issues. Dan Salem and Todd Salem debate in today’s NFL Sports Debate. Two brothers from New York yell, scream, and debate sports.
TODD:
Where exactly are the New Orleans Saints going? This is a team in flux, trying to win while at the same time hanging on the precipice of a forced rebuild. It has to be disconcerting for fans.
This offseason, the team had essentially no cap space. It reworked a bunch of contracts and released some players like Marques Colston to get space to work with. The only big move it made was a legitimately big one, but it was the only one: signing tight end Coby Fleener to a five-year, $36 million contract.
I like Fleener and his potential in this Drew Brees-led offense. I don’t like much else that is going on. The offense should be fine next season, but it lacks what Colston used to be: a big-bodied starting wide receiver. Colston was not that level of player anymore, so the release made sense, but he wasn’t replaced by anyone unless you count Fleener. The receiving corps are thus led by Brandin Cooks and Willie Snead, two players who are slot types. Unless Brandon Coleman makes a huge leap into that vacancy, this offense will be lacking.
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On defense it should be much, much uglier though. New Orleans finished dead last in defense last year according to Football Outsiders. In 2014, the Saints finished way up at…31st. And I don’t see where they improved for this year outside of what happens in the NFL Draft.
Then comes the hammer. Drew Brees has a massive $30 million cap hit this season, and then he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Pro: New Orleans needs that figure off its books; it is outlandish. Con: it means the Saints will essentially be starting over in 2017 with no quarterback and no outlook for the franchise. So they are in win-now mode, nearing the end of an era. Yet they aren’t any good now. Oof.
DAN:
It wasn’t long ago that the NFC South felt like the most winnable division in football. The 7-8-1 Panthers claimed the inglorious honor of winning the division, with the Saints at 7-9 and Falcons at 6-10 not far behind. New Orleans was a mere half game away from being on top back in 2014. Surely any of the four teams calling the NFC South home could muster up eight or nine victories to claim this division. Yet now, after the 2015 season, the Panthers are defending conference champions, having lost all of two games last year, one being the Super Bowl. New Orleans is certainly in an unfavorable position, but all is not yet lost for the Saints.
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Despite having the worst defense in football, New Orleans managed seven wins last season, matching their total from the year prior. Atlanta was 8-8, so only the Panthers took a monster step forward. I’m not saying Carolina is going to completely collapse, but its not inconceivable that their absolute domination of the league is short lived. The Saints still have Drew Brees, and last I checked he was a pretty damn good quarterback. He was way better than Matt Ryan last season, but not quite as good as Cam Newton. If he wants to get a new deal in the league, you bet he’s having an incredible season in 2016.
As you well noted, the offense is not the issue for the Saints. Unlike you, I believe some band-aids can improve upon this defense. It can’t possibly get any worse. Even a small improvement on defense would equal one to three more victories over the course of the year. That’s good enough for a winning record and a real shot at winning this division, assuming Carolina falls back to Earth, which I think it will.
New Orleans gave up nearly 30 points a game last season, worst in the league. This is where the band-aids must go and the Saints have already begun to patch holes. Defensive tackle Nick Fairley was signed to a cap-friendly deal. Linebacker Craig Robertson is also joining the team, as well as linebacker James Laurinaitis. None of these are household names, but all New Orleans needs is fresh blood and some new team chemistry. With the 12th overall pick they can also get a solid young defensive star. There is no place to go but up and new players on a team with a proven offense can succeed. I’d also like to see the Saints grab a later round quarterback, in the third or fourth round. Someone to groom behind Brees for the future.
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Ultimately this is a transition year for the Saints, but they can easily surprise people. Drew Brees is good enough to make a lot of other players look great around him. Its easy to forget when the team is so bad on defense, but that won’t continue. It will be tough to make the playoffs if Carolina is so dominant once again. But if the Panthers even out just a little, New Orleans can pounce on the rest of the NFC and capitalize. There are not a lot of great NFC teams any longer, but Drew Brees is still great. I think I just talked myself into New Orleans winning a wildcard spot.