6. The Saints loss was avoidable
The Fitzmagic experience was fully on display in New Orleans. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are one of the most loaded offensive units in the NFL, and they played a great game. Maybe Fitzpatrick can do enough to win the job for this season and not be just a short-term spark plug, but until he proves it, the bigger takeaway has to do with the loser of this game.
Yes, the Saints defense was horrific. It was shocking to see after the unit had figured out their woes in 2017, when they relied on 4-2-5 alignments. While Kenny Vaccaro was a nice player, his absence wasn’t what led to 529 Buccaneers yards.
The Saints ran more Cover 1 and Cover 3 looks this week than they should’ve, exposing their corners to vertical releases and easy reads for Fitzpatrick. As good as Marshon Lattimore is, even he’s vulnerable to the occasional loss.
The result was devastating due to the Buccaneers’ personnel. Desean Jackson for 36 and 58 yards, and Mike Evans for 50 yards, and those were just the touchdown passes. New Orleans can clean this up by going back to a more conservative back-end alignment that doesn’t put as much pressure on their corners.