When the New Orleans Saints traded tight end Jimmy Graham to the Seattle Seahawks for a first-round pick and center Max Unger, all indications were that New Orleans was trying to create a more balanced offense, and perhaps rely a little more on the running game to help quarterback Drew Brees.
After Week 1, it seems not much has changed for Sean Payton and the Saints offense.
Brees completed 30-of-48 passes for 355 yards, a touchdown and an interception in the Saints’ 31-19 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. New Orleans rushed 20 times for just 54 yards as a team, led by Mark Ingram’s nine carriers for 24 yards. The Saints were without C.J. Spiller, who by all accounts, should be ready to roll in Week 2, and his presence should certainly provide a boost to a lackluster overall rushing performance.
Starting in an 0-1 hole, the Saints can turn around any bad feelings from Week 1 by winning their two games remaining in September. Division games are precious and coveted by all around the league, but maybe even more so in the NFC South, where the Carolina Panthers won the division with a 7-8-1 record last season.
For Saints tickets on the secondary market, both the team’s remaining September games are similar in price, according to ticket aggregator TiqIQ.com. On September 20, the Saints have their first home game of the season at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome against the No. 1 overall pick of the 2015 NFL Draft Jameis Winston and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The game has an average ticket price of $127.32 with a get-in price of $39.
One week later on September 27, the Saints hit the road again to face the Panthers, who are in search of their third straight NFC South division title. For entrance into Bank Of America Stadium, the average ticket price is $168.61 with a get-in price of $57—slightly higher than the game against the Buccaneers.
Getting all Saints’ news, updates and live action is all possible through DISH TV packages if fans can’t get to the stadium. DISH will work around any fan’s budget to allow programming such as the ESPN family of networks, NFL Network and NFL RedZone to be locked into this year’s Saints campaign.
The Bucs had a rough start to the season, as Winston’s first-ever NFL start didn’t go as planned. After getting walloped by the Tennessee Titans, 42-14, Winston has to turn it around and play an 0-1 Saints team at the Superdome.
Carolina, meanwhile, is off to a 1-0 start to be atop the division with the Atlanta Falcons. The Panthers defense lifted the team to a 20-9 road win at Jacksonville and host the Houston Texans for their first home game of the season prior to facing New Orleans.
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