Sean Payton has stepped away from the New Orleans Saints as the most successful coach in the history of the franchise. Payton went 152-89 during his 16 seasons in charge of New Orleans, as Payton and Drew Brees helped make the Saints a perennial contender. The coach was responsible for 9 of New Orleans’ 10 postseason wins, and he is one of two coaches in Saints’ history to finish with a record over .500. Dennis Allen has awfully large shoes to fill in the Big Easy, but the good news is that the cupboard isn’t bare.
New Orleans Saints Season Win Total
Over 8.5 Wins -104
Under 8.5 Wins -118
2022 New Orleans Saints Schedule
| WEEK |
MATCHUP |
| 1 |
@ Atlanta Falcons |
| 2 |
Vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 3 |
@ Carolina Panthers |
| 4 |
Vs. Minnesota Vikings* (in London) |
| 5 |
Vs. Seattle Seahawks |
| 6 |
Vs. Cincinnati Bengals |
| 7 |
@ Arizona Cardinals |
| 8 |
Vs. Las Vegas Raiders |
| 9 |
Vs. Baltimore Ravens |
| 10 |
@ Pittsburgh Steelers |
| 11 |
Vs. Los Angeles Rams |
| 12 |
@ San Francisco 49ers |
| 13 |
@ Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| 14 |
BYE WEEK |
| 15 |
Vs. Atlanta Falcons |
| 16 |
@ Cleveland Browns |
| 17 |
@ Philadelphia Eagles |
| 18 |
Vs. Carolina Panthers |
New Orleans Saints Offense
Jameis Winston is back under center for the Saints after his first season with New Orleans was cut short by injury. New Orleans got off to a 5-2 start with Winston and knocked off Green Bay, New England, and Tampa Bay before Winston was lost for the year. Taysom Hill, Trevor Siemian, and Ian Book all saw action for the Saints after Winston went down, but none of the three signal callers were able to take New Orleans to the playoffs.
Veteran Andy Dalton was brought in to be the backup in case Winston went down again. There is no doubt that Winston is the starter though, as Dennis Allen is not as likely to use Taysom Hill under center as Sean Payton. Winston threw 14 touchdowns and three interceptions last season, but he completed under 60% of his passes and most of his damage came in wins over Green Bay and Washington.
There is a lot of talent at the skill positions and along the offensive line. Alvin Kamara is one of the top dual threat running backs in the game, and Mark Ingram II is a quality back-up running back. Kamara had a down year in 2021, but he should be more effective this year.
Michael Thomas is expected to be ready for the season opener, and the Saints signed Jarvis Landry and drafted Chris Olave to have one of the best receiver rooms in the NFL. Thomas missed all of last year due to injury and only played in seven games in 2020, but he is still in the prime of his career. Olave has the potential to be a game changing rookie opposite Thomas too.
New Orleans Saints Defense
The offense defined New Orleans for years, but the defense has carried the team for the last couple seasons. The Saints have two excellent pass rushers in Cameron Jordan and Marcus Davenport, and that has helped this team shut down opposing offenses. Jordan and Davenport combined for 21.5 sacks last season, but health has been an issue for the former pass rusher over the last few years.
New Orleans has a very good secondary with sensational cornerback Marshon Lattimore shutting down receivers on one side of the field. The Saints added excellent safety Tyrann Mathieu in the offseason, and that will help this defense force more turnovers. Marcus Maye also joined the team in free agency, and he is solid.
Prediction
This is Allen’s second stint as a head coach. He was 8-28 in two years and change with the Oakland Raiders last decade, but he is in a much better situation in New Orleans. There is much more talent on both sides of the ball, and the Saints have the potential to be very good if Winston performs well.
The Saints are one of the bigger enigmas in 2022. It feels like the ‘Over’ is the better bet though, as there is plenty to like about the defense and everything the front office has done with the offense.
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