At the first day of training camp at the Greenbrier, Saints head coach Sean Payton spoke to the importance of the first four games of the season.
“For this team, I think without putting a number on it the first four weeks we have an early bye those are important games.” Payton said. And he’s not wrong. If you look at the Saints under Sean Payton and their performance in those first four games, you see a trend.
| Year | Record through Four Games | Final record |
| 2006 | 3-1 | 10-6 (Playoffs) |
| 2007 | 0-4 | 7-9 |
| 2008 | 2-2 | 8-8 |
| 2009 | 4-0 | 13-3 (Super Bowl) |
| 2010 | 3-1 | 11-5 (Playoffs) |
| 2011 | 3-1 | 13-3 (Playoffs) |
| 2012 (Bountygate) | 0-4 | 7-9 |
| 2013 | 4-0 | 11-5 (Playoffs) |
| 2014 | 1-3 | 7-9 |
| 2015 | 1-3 | 7-9 |
Based off the above table, if the Saints can have a winning record through four games in 2016, then they should be headed to the playoffs in January. But the most telling stat is when they have a losing record after four games, it’s the same end result: 7-9. There is the 2008 season where they were .500 heading into week five and ended at the same record. So based off the trends, the tone of the season is really set in the first four weeks. But if you look at the schedules for the 2016 and 2009 schedule side-by-side, you’ll notice something: the bye week lands on week five. Could this mean that the Saints might be headed to the promised land once again? If they can get through the first four games relatively unscathed, it’s a possibility, but you have to take it one game at a time.
-Clint Domingue