Gameday! The Saints are going to try to avoid going 0-4 before the bye week. Would be nice to have some positive momentum before the rest. It’ll take a road win against Drew Brees’s old team, the San Diego Chargers. They let him walk because they draft Philip Rivers and he’s still over there as their starting quarterback. The Saints are looking to rebound from the pathetic defensive performance against the Falcons. Here’s what I’m looking for.
1. Win for Drew.
For me this is less about going 1-3 or saving some hope here. Let’s be honest, this team is probably not going to the playoffs. But I know this game means a lot to Drew Brees. He’s never played in San Diego since they let him walk without resistance. It’s a little personal, but he also has a lot of pleasant memories of his time there. I know it probably means more to him that he beat Rivers than he would ever admit. It would feel like another personal milestone for him to beat the Chargers. In some ways that’s maybe the last missing piece for his career – beating the Chargers in San Diego. That, winning the MVP award, climbing up the all time passing records and one day making the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I think beating the Chargers in San Diego ranks up there with the big time accomplishments I listed. And the least I can do is root for a little of his personal gratification after what he’s given the Saints all these years. And besides, our interests are aligned. I am really looking forward to seeing how Brees plays. Does he tear them to shreds? Does he look shaky and nervous? I’d like to see the defense and team in general step up and win this one for Drew, but his personal performance needs to be great as always. The Chargers are ranked 30th in the NFL in pass defense and the Saints are 1st in passing offense. On paper, the Saints *should* torch them.
2. Is the defense better on the road?
We saw the defense play fine for 3 quarters against the Raiders before imploding. Then, we saw them play very well against the Giants. Then there was the Falcons game. The only time they looked reasonably competent was on the road in New York. Any chance that means they’re a better road defense? Maybe crowd noise makes things worse for them. In all seriousness, I expect Rivers and Melvin Gordon to carve them up. It does seem like some of the injured players might be coming back though, which could help. Kenny Vaccaro and Tyeler Davison need to be on the field. Maybe the defense can show us something. A new side of them. I’m not expecting much. The Chargers are 3rd in the NFL scoring 29 points per game. The Saints are 31st in points given up at 32 (that includes the Giants game where they gave up 16!).
3. First interception of the season?
I’m starting to wonder if this secondary will have an interception this year. Roman Harper could not have had a better opportunity last week on that drop. Rivers, meanwhile, is one of three quarterbacks in the NFL that has started every game without throwing a pick thus far. Carson Wentz and Dak Prescott, both rookies, are the other two. I barely remember how it feels when my team intercepts a pass. P. J. Williams had one in preseason but the last Saint to pick off a pass in a regular season game was Jamarca Sanford in week 17 of 2015. Rivers has protected the ball very well and the Saints can’t seem to get in the way of any passes. Again, on paper, the odds are really long. But I’m hoping something crazy happens here and the Saints actually get an interception off a quarterback that hasn’t thrown one yet. Law of averages or something?
4. Special teams – PLEASE have ONE clean game. I ask for ONE.
The Raiders game was arguably the cleanest game special teams had for the Saints. It involved a missed 61 yard field goal, a missed 50 yarder, and a blocked 20 yarder that died over the crossbar. Seriously, that was their best showing. Against the Giants they had another blocked field goal this time run back for a touchdown. Against the Falcons? I think we all remember whatever the $%&) De’Vante Harris tried to pull. That set back special teams play a century. Morstead is good, Lutz has potential, Lasco is a good cover guy, Murphy can return a little… there is potential. But at this point I just want to go one game without having special teams make such a horrific play that it greatly affects the outcome of the game. I’m not asking for anything good here, just nothing horrific. I haven’t been too vocal about Greg McMahon’s job security but I’m as unhappy with the job he’s done as anyone. This is on him. They need to step this up.
5. Tim Lelito
Lelito has been given every chance to win a starting job. He couldn’t do it against Jonathan Goodwin at center in 2014, he couldn’t hold it down in 2015 when he was replaced by Andrus Peat/Senio Kelemete at various times, and now he’s basically a tight end. At this point, he’s nothing more than a capable backup. Except that Terron Armstead looks like he’s going to miss this game again, which puts Peat back at left tackle. Kelemete started at left guard last week, but he’s out with a hamstring issue. It took two injuries at guard for Lelito to find his place back on the starting offensive line. I think this is a huge moment/audition for him. In his defense the Saints think enough of him to keep putting him on the field in various roles, but injuries have caused that in large part. Is he going to continue to just look mediocre or will he demonstrate that he can handle it? I have confidence in the guy – he’s started games and he knows what to do. We’ll see how he performs on the field. The Saints need him to be decent.
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