@Big_Dan_Campbell - could you do the needful please?
Itās been a crazy month for the New Orleans Saints.
The Saints always tend to make the news in the best of times, but September was sure trying, with injuries, COVID-19, a major evacuation and even a fire on the roof of the Caesars Superdome.
But with the Saints finally coming home to New Orleans in just a few days and a major game against the Patriots coming up, thereās a ton of questions to go around. Itās a perfect time for a Saints mailbag!
I answered questions posed by subscribers, everything from what itās like to cover a team on the road to why things went so badly for the team against the Panthers.
On to the questions!
Note: Questions have been edited for length and clarity.
How have things been for you & the other reporters that follow the Saints regularly these past few weeks since Hurricane Ida? Weāve heard a bit about how itās been tough for the players & speculation that it impacted last weekās game, but hopefully you guys are doing well despite the destruction Ida caused. ā Arto H.
Appreciate the question. I know everyone is mostly here for the Saints news and I usually stick to that, but itās been such an unusual month that Iāll give a little rundown of whatās been going on behind the scenes. I already detailed things from the Saintsā point of view in the story below.
On the Tuesday or Wednesday before the storm hit New Orleans, I got a call from my brother about an approaching storm in the gulf. You Saints fans probably know the drill: This is normal August through October; you keep an eye on them, but most of the storms go away. At some point, he started cautioning me that I need to think about possible evacuation, but I was in the middle of training camp so it wasnāt really on my mind. This storm didnāt even have a name on Thursday morning.
I distinctly remember at one point my brother told me to maybe consider packing for a month and I actually laughed. But as we all know, Hurricane Ida got serious ā and quickly. I decided to pack up a small suitcase and evacuate to Baton Rouge to stay family. Perhaps remembering the conversation, I did pack a second duffel bag with clothes. I walked around my house, unplugged everything, grabbed my photo albums and put some things that were on the floor on top of the bed in case the house flooded. I would not see my house again for more than three weeks.
Once I got to Baton Rouge, storm trackers were still uncertain about how bad things might get there, so my sister-in-law and I took my nephews four hours north, leaving my brother to watch the house. Baton Rouge actually escaped the worst of it, thankfully, and my family was fine, so the next day I got in the car again and drove west to Dallas, where I stayed with a friend for a week until the Saints settled into Fort Worth, and I followed them there.
The setup was great and TCU is really a lovely campus ā I took a visit there in college. but I havenāt seen it in more than a decade! ā and I was thankful to be in a place with a lot of friends around, so I really was very lucky.
In the interest of full disclosure, I unfortunately came down with COVID-19 last week despite being vaccinated but thankfully was well enough to embark at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday for a drive back to New Orleans, where my house looks just like I left it. While it has been a trying month, it has really taught me a lot and Iām very grateful.
As for whether it impacted last weekās game, itās hard to say, but being on the road so long does take a mental toll on a lot of people, so I have to think it did play some part.
What was the offensive game plan against Carolina? I know there were tons of injuries and absences, but it seemed like (coach Sean) Payton lacked his typical aggression in his calls. ā Joshua D.
I could kind of understand that though, right? You get aggressive when you have the luxury of knowing it will work out on both sides of the ball. When youāre working with half a staff, going on the road again and missing several significant pieces, itās hard to imagine he could be as aggressive as normal.
Any updates on Michael Thomas, both in his rehab and his relationship with the team? ā Ahmad K.
He was with the team in Fort Worth, but itās definitely been all quiet on that front. I never saw him around practice, but that doesnāt necessarily mean anything. He has had the oddest offseason. He was tweeting positive things about the new Marshon Lattimore contract, but other than that, itās been all quiet other than him going on the reserve/COVID-19 list. I guess I have to feel like thatās a good thing, but itāll be several more weeks before he can even practice, so it makes sense that things are quiet.
What kind of changes do you think we might see this week to help get Alvin Kamara going? More production out of the Saintsā best player can only be a positive, both for my favorite team and my fantasy team. ā Adam J.
I think he has a better matchup against the Patriots and thatās going to help, but honestly the only thing thatās really going to help is quarterback Jameis Winston and the wide receivers getting going so their opponent canāt simply stack the box. But heās Alvin Kamara. I have faith he has a big game up his sleeve!
A lot of focus this week has been on the Panthers running identical blitzes repeatedly. I read in the offseason that while Drew Brees identified protections, the center would be doing so going forward. But Winston took responsibility for it in his postgame comments. Can you please enlighten us on how pre-snap identification of protections work? ā Kevin M.
Payton was asked this specifically and he was fairly vague. This is kind of one of those years where itās difficult to not have open locker room access so that we could just ask all of the linemen about it. So forgive me if I donāt have a clear answer yet, as it feels like itās on Winston. I think center Erik McCoy, now injured (calf strain), probably had more leeway there because heād done it for a while, but Cesar Ruiz didnāt take team snaps at center, so things probably fall more on Winstonās shoulders. Regardless, it really shows you how much Brees did that we didnāt even think about, and how itās going to take some time to adjust.
Whatās it going to take for the Saints to address their need at WR? Every year since 2016, weāve been getting by with guys that wouldnāt even make other teams rosters as our Nos. 2 and 3 receivers behind Thomas. And it shows. ā Felipe B.
They were able to get away with it because Brees made other players better, but you canāt just throw anyone in there when you donāt have a Hall of Fame-bound quarterback throwing the ball. This is where the cap problems really bit them because they really need a guy like Emmanuel Sanders right now. TreāQuan Smith canāt be relied on to stay healthy, and we donāt know what Thomas will look like when he returns. It was kind of hard to address this in the draft because there were other glaring needs ā although Iām sure some will argue they couldāve looked for a receiver vs. drafting linebacker Pete Werner ā but itās got to be a priority going forward, especially because nobody has seen the 2019 version of Thomas since, well, 2019.
Will the Saints wide receivers catch more than six passes this week against the Patriots? ā Felipe B.
Wow, I wanted to laugh, then I looked at the numbers and realized this is a legitimate question. Iāll tentatively say yes, but not by much. Short passes to tight ends and running backs seem to be the way the Saints are going right now. They need a receiver, any receiver, to step up, or itās going to be a lot more of the same.
Why is (O-lineman) Andrus Peat always on the ground? ā Cedric M.
That is a great question. For better or worse, Peat always seems to draw the fansā ire (and it doesnāt help that he really was on the ground quite a few times against the Panthers). My theory is that every O-lineman misses blocks, but he misses them in a way that always draws a ton of attention ā like the infamous picture of him on the ground when Brees got hurt ā and thatās why heās often the postgame Twitter target.
Hurricanes, ton of injuries, staff getting COVID-19, fires ā¦ What the hell is next, and does this rally them as a team? ā James C.
Iām not sure I even want to know. I do think thereās something to being together like this ā I think it makes the team closer ā but I also think theyāll be glad to have a bit of space when they return home next week.
Kat, a few players seem to have underwhelmed to start the season and I wondered what your observations were: Cam Jordan (I donāt think weāve heard his name yet this season ā¦ is it over?); Adam Trautman (supposed to be the tight end of the future for us, so far looks dismal in blocking and receiving); linebacker Zack Baun (a preseason star who seemed to plummet back to earth against Carolina ā¦ did the Saints draft Werner because they knew Baun had a ceiling and we just saw it?); and wide receiver Marquez Callaway (I get where he came from, but his preseason performance looks like a complete mirage). ā Logan E.
Jordan did have some nice plays against the Panthers, believe it or not, so I donāt think itās time to panic or anything, but I understand your concern. Still, itās certainly not easy when defensive linemen on the other side go down because sometimes their job is to open up things for the other linemen. Clearly teams were going to focus on Jordan with Marcus Davenport out. I didnāt specifically watch Jordan on every snap in the Panthers game, but I did notice he drew some double-teams. I also noticed him flush Panthers quarterback Sam Darnold out of the pocket and beat his blocker, but the ball came out very quickly. That said, if he has a quiet stretch for a while, itās fair to consider whether last year was the start of a decline and not just a down season.
Trautman is head-scratching because he kind of disappeared as a pass-catcher in camp after all this offseason hype, so I donāt know whatās going on there. Maybe he needs more time to develop than we thought.
I definitely think they werenāt 100 percent in on Baun or they wouldnāt have drafted Werner or brought Kwon Alexander back, and Kwon is probably never going to be a 16-, er, 17-game player, so weāll have to wait and see what Werner can do. Maybe this week!
Callaway was so consistent in camp against players such as Lattimore that Iām going to continue to wait for his breakout game, but itās not just him, itās all of them. Maybe when TreāQuan Smith comes back, things will open up, but Smith needs to stay healthy.
How does the Patriotsā defense compare with the Panthersā D? Bill Belichick aside, can we expect the Patriots to execute their game plan as well as Carolina did? Or is Carolinaās performance an outlier in that they have both better players & executed perfectly (or as close to perfect)? ā Arto H.
I think the Patriotsā run defense can be exploited a lot more than the Panthers can. They have made a lot of offseason additions, but the Jets did run on them pretty well (they certainly didnāt pass on them). The Jets averaged only 2.6 yards per rush against the Panthers vs. 4.9 yards per carry against the Patriots.
But honestly, I think the biggest thing was the Saints just had a lot of self-inflicted wounds that they can fix. I think the problem is more about correctly identifying the protections and making the right calls. Having a bunch of coaches back (after adhering to COVID-19 protocols) is probably going to help. I kind of expect to see a Saints team somewhere in the middle of these last two performances.
Whatās with the horrible LB draft evaluations? Lack of prototype profile that works? Too many ātweeners? Injuries aside, Werner and Baun look (like) total busts, and Stephone Anthony is bound for special teams at best. Is this league-wide with more of a nickel base? Is the Big 10 too small? ā Andrew B.
Iām not ready to write off Baun, but I was always skeptical of how he was going to fit in, considering: 1) his size; and 2) his lack of off-ball experience in college; and 3) his position change. Players have bad games, and yes, his was pretty bad Sunday, but itās just one game and the first time he was really asked to do a lot.
But for some reason, the Saints have never been great at developing linebackers. Itās strange that this is such a persistent problem, and it doesnāt help that Werner is hurt. But hey, look at the bright side: They really wanted in on Jamie Collins and didnāt get him, and heās now on the trade block. Sometimes the players they donāt get turn out to be a blessing in disguise.
When is safety Marcus Williams going to get paid? Looks to me like heās playing at an elite level right now. ā Dean T.
Sure seems like everyone is content to let this ride out for the rest of the season. I guess heās betting on himself. I get it, but the Saints had to get that Lattimore deal done.
Is Juwan Johnson the new TE1? Or does Trautman still have time to redeem himself? ā Rajalakshmi E.
I think they viewed Johnson as TE3 (behind the injured Nick Vannett) going into Week 1 based on the snap counts, but Iām sure they would like Trautman to be TE1 considering he has more experience there. Johnson was certainly the more targeted guy in training camp. Weāll see if that trend continues, as he was targeted three times against the Panthers and Trautman wasnāt targeted at all. Thatās something to watch.
(Photo of Sean Payton: Bob Donnan / USA Today)
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RIP Mike Tagliere. Used to do an incredible matchups column with FantasyPros but has been battling Covid the past 5 weeks.
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I listened to the podcast from time to time, usually once a week anyway in season, he seemed like a decent guy, warmth in his voice, fantasy twitter is in mourning
Iāve just read your post from earlier and subsequent attacks. Fuckin headbangers 
His matchup columns went into an incredible depth that a lot of the newer ācontent creatorsā donāt appreciate. Never listened to the podcast but seemed an alright sort.
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Never heard of this chapā¦ Did he run a podcast?
I read his online stuff but tackie listened to the pods the odd time. He was fairly well known in the industry, up there with the Evan Silvas and the Adam Ranks of this world.
Lamar questionable for today. Seems the ravens have the China invasion again
Heāll be grand. Tweaked his hip, doing cartwheels the other night the bollocks.
Non covid illness is the line
He is a properly stupid bastard, going to get raked over the coals because he has no agent and getting injured doing celebrations
Kezzana 25s to 66s before the off, dots up
Nasty looking hip injury for James White there.
That is an elite-level throw by Lawrence
Genius from Winston
Unreal drama
Scenes in Jacksonville!
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109 yards
AGNEEEEEEEEEW