5 trends from NFL Week 1 that will continue all season
By Brad Rowland
The Saints can’t (and won’t) stop anyone.
The Arizona Cardinals have been very good at times in the recent past, but no one would mistake Carson Palmer’s bunch as an offensive juggernaut. That makes what happened on Sunday even more troubling for fans of the New Orleans Saints, as the Cards ran up 31 points and 427 yards of total offense on the way to a 12-point victory.
Some have pointed to the “only one game” corollary for New Orleans, and that is partly fair on the offensive side of the ball, but this defense isn’t playoff quality. For reference, the Saints finished 28th in the NFL in scoring defense (26.5 points allowed per game) and 31st in the NFL in total defense (384.0 yards allowed per game) a year ago, and in some respects, the talent is even worse after injuries and defections.
Defensive coordinator Rob Ryan is a big name in the NFL world, in part because of his affiliation with his brother (Rex) and father (Buddy), but in totality, the results generated by Ryan’s defenses have been underwhelming. That will continue this season, because not even the ghastly NFC South can mask the deficiencies put forth by the New Orleans defense over a 16-game schedule.
Drew Brees is still a stud and Sean Payton is fully capable of doing big things with a more run-based offense in 2015, but the defense simply won’t allow the Saints to become a legitimate contender.
Next: Peyton Manning