The New Orleans Saints have had difficult times ever since Drew Brees announced his retirement following the 2020 NFL season. It’s normal to expect a team to regress after losing one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. But few anticipated what the Saints really produced over the next three seasons, even with many of their key veterans still there.
New Orleans has finished 9-8, 7-10, and 9-8 in the three seasons since Brees’ retirement, missing the playoffs each time. Everyone knows it’s time to start producing now that the franchise is getting ready for the 2024 campaign. There will be a lot more folks joining Brees as former Saints if the Saints have another subpar season.
But Brees is confident that it won’t come to that. The retried quarterback took some time to talk with the media about the Saints when he was recently in attendance to start French Quarter Fest. His main takeaway for the supporters was to get excited about the new season since New Orleans has a strong chance of winning the NFC South, which is still up for grabs.
Drew Brees thinks the Saints can prevail in the open NFC South.
Derek Carr, in Brees’ opinion, is capable of playing in a high-powered offence. In order to support him, he added, New Orleans boasts a strong offensive line and several excellent skill position players. He then turned his attention to the other side of the ball and discussed how well Dennis Allen had managed the defence. Brees ultimately made it clear that the Saints must go for the division, which is completely open.
That much is undoubtedly true. With some of his earlier remarks, Brees might have given the team some leeway, though. First and foremost, the offensive line requires improvement. Presumably, the Saints will choose one or two offensive lineman in the 2024 Draft. The line might be strong if the players chosen are prepared to play right away, which would allow New Orleans to have a top-tier offence.
Brees added that the defence was in the top five. Not totally, but the Saints had strong defence, allowing opponents to score only 19.2 points per game (ranked eighth in the league) and 327.2 yards per game (ranked 13th in the NFL). They performed poorly defending the pass and had more difficulty stopping the run.
The Saints stand a solid chance of winning the NFC South again and making the playoffs for the first time since Drew Brees’ retirement if they make the required adjustments to strengthen the areas on both sides of the ball that hindered them in the previous campaign.
