Former head coach Dennis Allen faces New Orleans this weekend in Chicago.
It cannot be understated how much Dennis Allen transformed the defense in New Orleans.
Allen spent two periods with the Saints – firstly from 2006 to 2010, including the Super Bowl season of 2009, and secondly from 2015 until his ultimate firing in 2024.
By the time 2024 came around, Allen was public enemy number one. While he may have brought New Orleans a top NFL defense, his head coach appointment as successor to Sean Payton was universally derided. He just had no killer instinct.
This was never more true than when he apologised to former Atlanta Falcons head coach Arthur Smith post-game after his players faked taking a knee and ran for a TD in garbage time.
Whether or not you agree with the call, apologising to your bitter rival is strictly forbidden and there was no route back for Saints fans.
Sweet home Chicago
Allen is now back in a defensive co-ordinator role for the Chicago Bears. He knows the Saints and the Saints know him so Sunday will be an interesting game of chess.
For New Orleans, the problem will still be a lack of playmakers on the field.
While Spencer Rattler has improved to the point he can be considered a true starting NFL quarterback, his supporting cast cannot stop dropping balls and missing blocks.
The receiving corps is woefully outgunned by almost every other team. The defense look good in the second half but cannot seem to stop any offense in the first half of games.
And special teams; well let us not talk about special teams. Never has the word ‘special’ been so misused.
My fear is that Caleb Williams will run all over us for 60 minutes. We have never seemed to figure out the mobile quarterback. Unless our pash rush steps up a gear, this weekend will be the same old story.
But I would sure like to stick it to Dennis Allen on his new team. Maybe just give it to Taysom Hill and let him smash his way to a few touchdowns. It is not like it has not worked in the past!
Trading places
With the trade deadline looming, the Saints front office could be eyeing up moving on from a few pieces to try to bring in more draft picks for next year.
Chris Olave has looked out of his depth this year, leaving the Saints without a true WR1 on the team. This could be attributed to his concussion history but he has lacked the dependability in key situations.
Rumours are that the team are working on an extension with Olave but I do not see how you can pay him the money he will almost certainly be wanting.
Linebacker Pete Werner seems another possible mover with Keller Moore rotating in both Danny Stutsman and Isaiah Stalbird during the Patriots loss last weekend. It feels like this could be Moore covering himself and the team for a potential trade.
At this stage, I am open to trading just about any veteran on the team except for three. Do not move Cam Jordan. Do not move Demario Davis. And do not move Alvin Kamara!
Kamara has already said he would likely retire and go to drink pina coladas if he is indeed shipped out of New Orleans. If you lose one of these veterans you lose a lot more than a player. You lose a leader. You lose a motivator.
Fully embracing the rebuild is the way to go. Get the young guys on the field. See what you have. Do what you need to do to get right, but accept it is not going to be this year.
But if we could somehow beat the Buccaneers when I am in the Dome next week, that would be swell…. Who Dat!
