JACKSON: Health alone won’t save Saints season

By Ross Jackson

Getting healthier throughout an NFL season certainly beats than the alternative.

The New Orleans Saints season so far has been riddled with injuries. Not just numerous injuries, but impactful ones. Seven of the team’s initial 11 offensive starters for the first snap of 2024 have missed recent games, and one of which, wide receiver Rashid Shaheed, is done for the season.

This week, after the “mini-bye” following their Thursday Night Football matchup with the Denver Broncos, the Saints are finally getting healthier. Wide receiver Chris Olave, tight end Taysom Hill, a pair of interior offensive linemen and a pair of key defenders are all trending towards being back out on the field. But getting healthy won’t be enough to turn the team’s season around.

It’s helpful, no doubt. But New Orleans still has more course correction to achieve in the process.

Any defense down a starting linebacker, starting safety and core interior defensive lineman will see a drop-off. But the Saints defense was showing signs of concern even with all of its pieces on the field. Now, they’ve lost one of their starting cornerbacks, Paulson Adebo, for the season. But there is a lot of faith in rookie cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry to help fill the void opposite star corner Marshon Lattimore. Beyond that, though, concerns are still mounting.

Tackling, pass rush and winning the line of scrimmage on defense have all been consistent concerns. Not just consistent through the early goings of 2024, but for multiple seasons now. Health won’t shoulder the load in this department. The Saints are going to need to show marked, and consistent improvement in each of these areas regardless of who is on the field.

The same can be said for the offense.

Sure, getting important pieces back is going to inherently boost the production. But have they got enough back? Still without center Erik McCoy, will the run game be able to pick up again? Will rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler have enough time to operate without being constantly under pressure? These are things that health can start to answer, but the solution relies on more than just that.

Starting linebacker Demario Davis pushed back on the idea that the team hasn’t shown much effort in recent weeks. He maintained that effort is everything in trying to “weather the storm” and turn the season back around. While that is true, execution still has to be bolstered as well. He and the rest of the Saints’ roster and coaching staff know that. 

New Orleans needs to get out of its five-game rut and fast. Beyond just winning a game to stop the bleeding, the team needs to show that they can win consistently. Head coach Dennis Allen’s tenure leading the team has been marred with roller coaster seasons thus far, not being able to string wins together until much-too-late in the season.

The Saints will try to change that rhythm, switch their course, beginning with a win in Los Angeles. If they can do that and then prove consistent and replicable improvements, the results should be much better than those fielded in recent weeks. However, health alone won’t be enough. The Saints must improve their play in order to improve their outlook.