Cowboys Extra: Scouting the New Orleans Saints
Before the season, oddsmakers put the over/under on wins for the New Orleans Saints at 8 1/2 games. The under is looking like a pretty good bet at this point.
The Saints have gotten off to an 0-3 start, including a home loss to the rebuilding Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Things aren’t looking much better for the Saints, either, with questions surrounding the health of franchise quarterback Drew Brees.
When you’re sitting here 0-3, you don’t look at a lot of things positively. Otherwise you’d be sugarcoating it.
Saints coach Sean Payton
Brees sat out last week’s game at Carolina with a shoulder injury. It’s believed that Brees has a bruised rotator cuff that will not require surgery, and he and the Saints are optimistic he can play through it.
The team continues to say it’s a “day-to-day” deal with Brees.
“The one thing that’s certain is the day-to-day progress that he’s made,” coach Sean Payton said Monday. “So I would say [we’re] optimistic, and we’ll just pay attention to his symptoms and his strength.
“I don’t know that there’s more clarity [than last week]. The thing that’s positive is the progress daily.”
If Brees can’t go, the Saints are stuck with Luke McCown for the second consecutive week. McCown played all right in his season debut against the Panthers, going 31 of 38 for 310 yards with no touchdowns and one interception.
Missing Graham
The Saints made a head-scratching move this off-season when they shipped Pro Bowl tight end Jimmy Graham to the Seattle Seahawks for center Max Unger.
Graham had led the Saints in receptions for four consecutive seasons, and they haven’t found a suitable replacement yet. Their top pass-catching tight end so far has been veteran Benjamin Watson, who has nine catches for 73 yards.
The top receiving threat has been Brandin Cooks, who has 16 catches for 190 yards and no touchdowns.
Defensive issues
Outside of the quarterback concern, the Saints have more problems on the defensive side of the ball. Rob Ryan’s unit ranks 29th in yards allowed (397.0 per game) and is tied for 27th in points allowed (28.0).
The run defense is of particular concern going into this week’s game, considering the Cowboys are expected to rely more on their rushing attack with Tony Romo out. The Saints have allowed 126 rushing yards a game so far, 26th in the league.
That could be a focal point for the Cowboys to try to expose with Joseph Randle, Darren McFadden and Lance Dunbar.
The Saints struggled last week to contain Panthers tight end Greg Olsen, who finished with eight catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns. They’ll face another stiff test this week against Cowboys tight end Jason Witten, who is averaging seven catches per game this season.
Briefly
▪ The Saints’ rushing attack is averaging 76 yards per game, a year after averaging 113.6.
▪ The Saints have lost six consecutive games at the Superdome.
▪ The Saints have won three of the past four meetings against the Cowboys, including a 49-17 shellacking in New Orleans in 2013. Dallas won the game last season, 38-17 at AT&T Stadium.
Drew Davison: 817-390-7760, @DrewDavison
This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 6:45 PM with the headline "Cowboys Extra: Scouting the New Orleans Saints."