Fansided

Each NFL team’s biggest burning question in 2018

By Brad Weiss

PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 27: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the invited attendees to the 2017 NFL Draft at the NFL Draft Theater on April 27, 2017 in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PHILADELPHIA, PA - APRIL 27: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and the invited attendees to the 2017 NFL Draft at the NFL Draft Theater on April 27, 2017 in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
22 of 32
Next
NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 07: Mark Ingram ll #22 of the New Orleans Saints runs the ball against the Carolina Panthers during the first half of the NFC Wild Card playoff game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 7, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Layne Murdoch/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LA – JANUARY 07: Mark Ingram ll #22 of the New Orleans Saints runs the ball against the Carolina Panthers during the first half of the NFC Wild Card playoff game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on January 7, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Layne Murdoch/Getty Images) /

New Orleans Saints: What impact will Mark Ingram’s suspension have?

The New Orleans Saints got back on the map in 2017, as they finally made it back to the playoffs after a three-year hiatus. In fact, the Saints had not won more than seven games in each of the last three seasons, as they basically relied on the right arm of Drew Brees to do everything for them on offense.

This past season, the Saints were so much more than just Brees throwing for 5,000 yards and hoping the team would win. The 2017 Saints featured not only an improved defense, but an incredible running back tandem in Mark Ingram and rookie Alvin Kamara.

Head coach Sean Payton was on the hot seat when the season started, but that quickly faded away, and now he has another issue to worry about. Two weeks ago, Ingram was suspended for the first four games for a violation of the league’s policy on performance enhancing drugs, leaving them thin at running back.

The team has said they are not going to add anybody to the position group, and they are not going to run the second-year Kamara into the ground. The problem is, with the NFC South being so loaded, is the four-game suspension going to put them in a hole they cannot get out of, much like the Cowboys last season.

New Orleans still has Kamara, and Brees is still one of the best quarterbacks in the league. Another big difference with this team is they are loaded on defense, so while the rest of the division is pretty special, the Saints should be able to tread water until they get the second part of their two-headed monster at running back back.

Home/NFL