VIVA NOLA September 2019

DEPORTE REPORTE
THE SAINTS ARE BACK!
By Mario Jeréz
This has been a long football
offseason in New Orleans. It feels
even weird to say this after the
Saints made it all the way to the
NFC championship game last year,
but we all know what happened
that night.
On offense, Saints fans better enjoy
watching Brees and Payton’s unit
operate while they’re still around.
Entering their fourteenth (!) season
together, the duo still leads the
most electrifying offense in pro
football.
season.
This team has the talent, experience
and mental toughness to win
another championship. If they
can get a little better luck (and
officiating), the Saints will have a
great chance.
A blown call cost the Saints a trip
to the Superbowl. And the clip of
the Rams’ Nickell Robey-Coleman
illegally hitting Tommylee Lewis has
haunted all of us in our nightmares
ever since.
However, if there’s one team in the
NFL that can bounce back, it’s the
New Orleans Saints.
Led by head coach Sean Payton and
legendary quarterback Drew Brees,
this team has character. It also has
championship-quality talent on
both sides of the ball.
I’ll start by mentioning the defense
because the culture on that end has
completely been transformed under
defensive coordinator Dennis Allen.
The days of no.9 having to bail the
Saints out every game are over,
and this team is capable of winning
games on defense. The Saints have
star defensive players on every
level, with Cam Jordan, Demario
Davis and Marshon Lattimore
producing at their position about
as well as any other player in the
league.
The Saints did lose two key players
this offseason. In center, Max Unger
and running back Mark Ingram, and
it’s yet to be seen if the Saints can
replace their production. However,
Payton has lost contributors
before, and he’s rarely had
problems replacing them.
New Orleans signed Latavius
Murray to fill Ingram’s role,
and he’ll be running
behind a much better
offensive line in New
Orleans than the one
he leaves behind in
Minnesota. The Saints
also took Eric McCoy
in the second round of
the 2018 NFL draft, and
the talented rookie is in
the lead for the starting
center spot.
But what I think could really
put the Saints over the top is
the addition of tight end Jared
Cook. Armed with a 6’6 frame,
an elite quarterback and multiple
weapons sharing the field with
him, Cook can be the most
productive tight end in the NFL this
Drew Brees.
Photography by
Lucas Barrios
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