Welcome everyone to another edition of #4Downs where I break down every Saints game! This week, we look at the loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
1st Down: Offense Returns to Form
After what happened last week against New York, it was nice to see the offense have a solid game against Atlanta’s less than stellar defense. The most refreshing part of the game was that the Saints actually had some semblance of a run game with 115 yards on the ground. It’s not going to set the world on fire, but compared to the last few outings, it’s a good sign. Also, where has this Coby Fleener been?
2nd Down: Few Mistakes Become Costly
The Saints only had a couple of mistakes in primetime, but both of them proved to be the difference. A muffed punt by De’vante Harris led to Atlanta tying things up early on after the defense forced a three-and-out. Then you had a pick six early in the fourth quarter from former LSU player and New Orleans native Deion Jones helped seal the deal. When that pick six happened, the Saints were only down by 13 points and had plenty of time left on the clock to try and win, but it wound up helping out the Falcons win in the Superdome.
3rd Down: Injury Bug Continues to Hinder Saints
If there’s one thing that’s singlehandedly killed this team’s potential has been injuries. And as each week passes, there are more players getting hurt. With players like first rounder Sheldon Rankins and Delvin Breaux out for an extended period of time, it’s going to be a tough road for the Saints to bounce back. What hurts the Saints even more is that there’s a chance that Senio Kelemente may be out for some time as well after he left in the third quarter. If the Saints lose more depth in the offensive line, it will be a long rest of the season for the Saints veteran quarterback.
4th Down: Destined for Mediocrity?
If you look at the Saints trajectory over the last three seasons, you will see one common thread and that’s a mediocre season. Two of the last three years, the Saints started out 0-3 and the last two seasons have ended at 7-9. Is that a sign of things to come with how the organization has been run by having more dead money than any other team in the league? At the end of the day, it’s looking likely because of what’s being put out on the field which means you can’t get the high-caliber talent you need to excel in the NFL.
-Clint Domingue