The New Orleans Saints and their fans have been awaiting the season opener since it was announced that they wouldn’t be making the playoffs a year ago. Now, they take on the Carolina Panthers, their division rivals, in the opener.
Panthers Look A Little Different This Year
The Saints are an interesting bunch, but before we dive too much into their lineup for the first week, we should talk about the Panthers. Carolina is entering the year with a new head coach, this time being Dave Canales. Canales was the former offensive coordinator for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is hoping to bring new life to an offense that looked dreadful back in 2023. Young quarterback Bryce Young also got new options to throw the ball, with Carolina bringing in Diontae Johnson and Xavier Legette alongside Adam Thielen. If there’s any hope for this Panthers team to improve, it’s the fact that Young now has more than just one individual weapon at his disposal.
Saints Offense Should Have New Life
As for the Saints, they have a brand-new offensive coordinator and it’s somebody besides Sean Payton and Pete Carmichael for the first time in nearly two decades. It’s been a long time coming, and it’s a move that was desperately needed considering they were repeatedly towards the bottom of the barrel in terms of motion in their pre-snap. This should help them get with the times a bit and utilize their playmakers better. This includes Taysom Hill and Alvin Kamara. Hill in particular was being used in the backfield, straight up taking carries. While he’s played many positions, we don’t normally see him just taking handoffs in designed run plays. Usually, he’s the quarterback making read-option plays. This would allow the team to run the ball more effectively and give the Saints more options to use Kamara. If he doesn’t have to take every carry, hopefully, he can stay fresh to contribute everywhere else, because they do plan to use him more often than they have.
Defense Likely Swings This Game
It’s the defense for either side that swings this game in my mind. Carolina didn’t make many complete changes to their defense, and they weren’t a terrible unit in 2023. That said, they definitely aren’t the best unit, with a lot of holes that can be exploited if known. The Saints’ defense on the other hand looks complete from top to bottom. Not only do they still have Cam Jordan, Demario Davis, and Tyrann Mathieu leading the way again, but they also brought in Chase Young to partner up on that defensive line that looks better each week. On top of that, Marshon Lattimore is healthy and available for the opener to partner with Paulson Adebo and Alontae Taylor. The team even picked up linebacker Willie Gay to bolster the middle behind Davis. All in all, the Saints’ defense looks to be the clear better group on paper, and that should fluster Young and the Panther’s new-look offense.
Offense Does Remain A Worry
My true concern as a fan is the Saints’ offense. The hope and expectation are that this unit will be better than what we’ve seen in the past. From the preseason matches I watched; this unit didn’t look very good. We’re a few weeks removed from that now though, and Derek Carr and this offense could get clicking early on. The last thing the Saints need is a loss in the opener, especially considering that they later have to face the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs in the next couple of weeks. Getting wins early is their best shot at a playoff run in an overall mediocre division.