Normally a team that thrives on arguably the best home-field advantage in the NFL, the New Orleans Saints didn’t capitalize on that last year, posting their first losing record at The Superdome in a long time. As a result, it cost them an NFC South division title, as they narrowly missed out on the postseason. Head coach Sean Payton is sure to have his guys focused on a rebound year, which gets underway this weekend with a tough road matchup in Arizona.
While the task at hand will be challenging for the Saints players, getting to the game certainly won’t be for Saints fans, as tickets to see the club’s Week 1 contest are averaging just $118.72 on the secondary market. Not only that, the get-in price is a measly $25, which has to be considered one of the best bargains from the entire schedule this week. After all, these are two potential playoff teams in the NFC, each looking to get out to a hopeful 1-0 start. Out-of-town Saints fans may be tempted to check out their team on the road when the season begins, and fortunately, that process is actually fairly easy if using Hipmunk.com. They have cheap Phoenix flights from a plethora of major airline carriers, as well as affordable hotel listings in Phoenix, with rooms starting as low as $29 for fans who want to extend it into a true football vacation.
The Saints made some changes to their high-powered offense, as they shipped off star tight end Jimmy Graham to Seattle, hauling in center Max Unger to improve the offensive line, not to mention a future first-round draft pick. They didn’t stop there, however, also importing C.J. Spiller to help bolster the running game, which should once again be anchored by talented back Mark Ingram. The receiving corps got a little thin overall but stud quarterback Drew Brees now has a healthy Brandin Cooks to lean as his new No. 1 wideout, while also still having longtime Saints receiver Marques Colston to throw to as well. Even without Graham, Brees still looks like he has enough to keep New Orleans active on offense.
While the offense is usually a constant for the Saints, they’ll also be looking for the defense to continue making positive strides, which they’ve managed to do since a truly woeful performance a few years ago when they couldn’t keep opposing teams off the scoreboard. New Orleans will certainly be tested out of the gate when they square off versus the Cardinals, who were a legitimate contender a year ago before quarterback Carson Palmer went down with his season-ending injury. All in all, it should be one of the more intriguing games on the Week 1 schedule.
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