The Saints are no longer the top dog in the NFC South. It’s clear why.
For the first time in many moons, the New Orleans Saints no longer are the face of the NFC South.
Oh, they’re still a very good football team, still highly regarded by most NFL pundits around the country and still capable of representing the NFC in Super Bowl LV whenever it is played.
But they no longer are the hunted in the NFC South, no longer a safe pick to win the NFC, no longer a strong bet to win a second Lombardi Trophy.
They have been relegated to the role of hunters in the division and conference now that Tom Brady has come on the scene as head of field operations for those swashbuckling Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Seattle and Green Bay have distinguished themselves early.
Yes, the Saints bested the Bucs by 11 points in Week 1 at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome but that was light years ago in this upside-down COVID-19 world in which we are living.
By the way, that season-opening game on Sept. 13th marked the last time Michael Thomas lined up at wide receiver for the Black and Gold.
Since then, Thomas has been dealing with a high ankle sprain, a tweaked hamstring, anger issues, trade rumors and intolerant team officials who want to save a diva from himself.
Whether Thomas is cleared to play Sunday against the punchless Chicago Bears (5-2) at Soldier Field (3:25 p.m., FOX) remains to be seen.
Regardless, the Saints (4 ½ point favorites) should survive and advance. The operative word here is SHOULD.
Sunday’s contest represents the first of three pivotal games on the Saints docket with the next two at Tampa Bay (Nov. 8, 7:20 p.m., NBC) and home against San Francisco (Nov. 15, 3:25 p.m., Fox).
If the Saints can safely navigate this stretch — by navigating, I mean no worse than 2-1 and one of those wins coming against the Bucs — then they should be in a good place by mid-November.
Again, SHOULD being the operative word.
And while 4-2 is a good start, I’m fairly certain neither Coach Sean Payton nor any of his players would say they are satisfied with the way they have played in the first six games.
In several cases, most notably at Detroit and against San Diego, one got the feeling that the Saints, perhaps, felt they only needed to go through the motions and victory would be theirs.
In each case, the Saints were forced to play a full 60 minutes, rallying from early double-digit deficits to emerge victorious.
Last Sunday, former teammate Teddy Bridgewater led his new team, Carolina, to the precipice of victory and kept pace with Drew Brees only to lose 27-24 when a 65-yard field goal attempt fell inches short of tying the game inside the final two minutes.
And so it’s on to the Windy City where the enigmatic Bears lie/sleep in wait. At the moment they appear to have gone into early hibernation, incapable of scoring whether Nick Foles or Mitch Trubisky is under center.
It’s the perfect setting for an ambush, though I suspect the Saints won’t fall for such treachery.
Let’s hope the Saints maintain COVID-19 road protocols on Halloween night, get a good night’s rest with an extra hour of sleep, and come ready to play from the opening whistle.
No more fooling around.
The Bucs appear to be all-in with free agent wide receiver Antonio Brown coming aboard the Good Ship Brady and the NFC South no longer is a walkover.
