The Saints come into Sunday with a familiar problem: plenty of reason for hope, plenty to clean up, and no room left to keep digging holes early.
That’s the read from Nic Jennings of Canal Street Chronicles, who still sees New Orleans as very much alive in a NFC South that hasn’t produced a team better than 2-2 through four weeks. The Saints sit at 1-3, but Jennings pointed out that with a couple of different breaks, they could just as easily be 3-1. His overall view is that the season is nowhere near lost.
“I’m still pretty optimistic about the Saints,” Jennings said. “I don’t think they’ve lost morale at all, especially because, like you said, they could very easily be 3-1 right now. There have definitely been bright spots, but there have also been some things that need to be cleaned up.”
What needs to be cleaned up, first and foremost, is the start of games. Jennings said New Orleans can’t keep spotting teams early leads and expecting to claw its way back every week.
He also pointed to penalties, the need to establish a run game and the importance of better discipline on defense. Even so, he stressed that there are still plenty of winnable games ahead.
At quarterback, there’s a lot more confidence. Tyler Shough, who took over early last season, has convinced Saints fans that he can be the long-term answer in New Orleans. Jennings didn’t mince words there.
“Absolutely. Tyler Shough is the real deal and his teammates rally behind him,” he said. “He’s been one of the three consistent bright spots for the Saints this season, along with Chris Olave and Chase Young.”
Jennings credited Shough’s growth from his limited rookie starts into this season, where he’s brought ball placement, downfield arm talent, pocket poise and enough mobility to extend plays. He also said Shough has shown a clutch edge, making the kind of plays the Saints need late. There’s still room for the offense to get off to faster starts, Jennings noted, and some of that falls on Kellen Moore, but he said Shough has shown enough to inspire real belief.
The bigger worry is on the other side of the ball, where New Orleans has been unable to stop much of anything. Through four weeks, the Saints have allowed more points than any team in the NFL, and that gives Minnesota a clear blueprint.
Jennings said the Vikings should lean on the run and get T.J. Hockenson involved heavily.
The Saints, he said, have struggled badly against the run, especially inside. And tight ends with vertical ability have given them trouble too.
“The Saints have consistently had trouble defending vertical-threat tight ends,” Jennings said. “We saw it in Week 3 when Brock Bowers torched them, and after Hockenson’s big game against Miami last week, there’s no reason to think he can’t do the same thing against New Orleans. I’d expect Minnesota to test that matchup early and often.”
If there’s an under-the-radar Saint who could matter in this one, Jennings pointed to Devaughn Vele. The fourth-round pick the Saints brought in from Denver last year has become, in his words, the contested-catch slot receiver the team had been searching for since Michael Thomas. Vele has quickly become one of Shough’s favorite targets, a reliable third-and-long option and a factor in the red zone alongside Juwan Johnson.
“Vele is a guy I expect to keep garnering more and more attention as the season progresses,” Jennings said. “For a six-foot-foot receiver to be able to move the way he does and have that type of body control, it’s truly remarkable.”
As for Sunday itself, Jennings expects the Saints to come in motivated after Monday night’s beatdown. But the formula is straightforward: start fast, run the ball and avoid another early hole.
“I think if the defense comes out like it did in the first two weeks and New Orleans can establish its own run game, they have a chance to come out strong and give the Vikings their first loss,” Jennings said. “If they want any chance of winning this game, however, they have to start fast. They can’t afford to dig themselves into another early hole and expect to fight their way back.”
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