It has been a rough start to the season for the New Orleans Saints.
The popular pre-season Super Bowl pick allowed Matt Ryan to throw for nearly 450 yards in an overtime loss in Week 1 before blowing a fourth-quarter lead to the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Yes, the same Cleveland Browns that were missing offensive weapons Ben Tate, Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron.
The only reason to stay optimistic: the Saints have lost both games on the road, where they’ve been mediocre under Sean Payton. The lack of improvement, though, from a defensive unit that added Pro Bowl safety Jairus Byrd has been concerning. Rob Ryan has a ton of work to do to get this right.
Monday had to be an even harder day for the Saints as the club lost running back Mark Ingram to a hand injury. Ingram was in the midst of what looked like a breakout campaign, but he’ll be out for at least a month. Not only that, New Orleans had to watch ex-Saint Darren Sproles shred the Indianapolis Colts in front of a national audience. The Saints traded him to Philadelphia in the off-season for a measly fifth-round draft pick. Think they could use him now?
Here’s what else we learned in Week 2:
What were the Colts thinking? Let’s get this out of the way. The two missed calls that went against the Indianapolis Colts in the fourth quarter were abysmal, but bad calls happen. It’s part of the game. What Indianapolis did after that drive, however, was inexcusable. I know, it’s easy to play Monday morning quarterback (well Tuesday, in this case), but it’s difficult to comprehend why the Colts decided to run two straight plays with Trent Richardson on what turned out to be their final series of the game. That’s a huge reason why they went three-and-out. When you have Andrew Luck, you simply shouldn’t take the ball out of his hands. It was foolish coaching that bordered on pure stubbornness. The Eagles weren’t defending the run very well and the Colts lack consistent pass protection, but it still wasn’t a logical decision. He’s been better than any other quarterback at orchestrating late-game drives. If anyone, they should know this.
What’s going on with injuries? Maybe it was a karma-related strike by the football gods for the hypocrisy and all of the off-field nonsense of the past week, but there was a massacre of injuries during Week 2. It was almost unprecedented. Just look at this list: High-end players such as A.J. Green, Jamaal Charles, Vernon Davis, Robert Griffin III, Gerald McCoy, Eric Berry, Ryan Mathews, Eric Decker, Knowshon Moreno, Ingram and DeSean Jackson all were bite by the injury bug on a single Sunday. Injuries are a common part of an NFL weekend, but fans have rarely seen anything like this. It’s bad for the league and its fans.
Don’t jump on the Bills bandwagon just yet: The Buffalo Bills deserve credit for their 2-0 start. They’ve played sound football and have exceeded just about everyone’s expectations thus far. But remember, it’s the Bills, the franchise known for crushing fans’ dreams. Remember, they started the 2011 season 4-1. History isn’t the only reason to be hesitant, because they have a truly difficult schedule over the next month. During that four-game stretch, the Bills have to play the San Diego Chargers, Houston Texans, Detroit Lions and New England Patriots. Those are four very good football teams. If they can hold up, then there’s a legitimate reason to believe but until we see more, we implore you to remain grounded.
Bengals doing just fine without Zimmer: Many wondered how the Cincinnati Bengals would be able to maintain its defensive presence with a new coordinator in Paul Guenther. Mike Zimmer had been in that role since 2008 before taking the job as the head coach of the Minnesota Vikings this past January. But they haven’t missed a beat. The Bengals stymied Joe Flacco and the Ravens in Week 1 before limiting Matt Ryan, who was coming off a career day for the Atlanta Falcons, to 24-of-44 for just 231 yards (5.3 yards per attempt). It’s obviously a small sample size, but Cincinnati has the pieces to be as good as any defence in the league this year. Even you, Seattle.
49ers issues come to fruition: All of the rumours of a possible demise of the San Francisco 49ers looked laughable after their destruction of the Dallas Cowboys in Week 1. But Week 2 was a totally different story. The 49ers got off to a strong start before blowing a 17-point lead against the Chicago Bears. And the concerns that led to those rumours is exactly what proved to be their undoing. The team had no pass rush without Aldon Smith. Jay Cutler was barely pressured in the second half and the 49ers, which lost key members of their secondary in the off-season, had no answer for Brandon Marshall. The Bears wideout clearly wasn’t close to 100 percent, but still scored three touchdowns. Overall, San Fran’s defence didn’t look right. They missed the physical presence of safety Donte Whitner and the dynamic playmaking of injured linebacker NaVorro Bowman. Mix that in with three fourth-quarter turnovers from Colin Kaepernick and it was clear why they had real roster concerns heading into the season.