We haven’t done these all that frequently this season, but this week we got another opportunity to exchange Five Good Questions with the SB Nation site that covers the Minnesota Vikings’ opponent for this week.
Yours truly swapped some questions with Nic Jennings of Canal Street Chronicles, SB Nation’s home for everything relating to the New Orleans Saints. Once they post my answers to the questions that Nic sent me, I’ll put them up on our page and link them here. For now, here are the questions that I sent over
to Nic along with his answers.
1) A year after all four teams in the division finished under .500, it looks like the NFC South could potentially be messy again this year. Nobody is better than 2-2 after the first four weeks, and with a couple of bounces, the Saints could just as easily be looking at a 3-1 mark rather than 1-3. How optimistic are you about the Saints at the quarter pole of this 2026 season?
I’m still pretty optimistic about the Saints. I don’t think they’ve lost morale at all, especially because, like you said, they could very easily be 3-1 right now. There have definitely been bright spots, but there have also been some things that need to be cleaned up.
The biggest thing for me is they have to find a way to start games faster. If they want to turn this thing around, they can’t keep putting themselves in holes and expecting to fight their way out of them. They also need to clean up the penalties, establish a run game and be more disciplined on the defensive side of the ball.
There are still plenty of winnable games left on the schedule, and the NFC South is wide open. I don’t think this season is anywhere close to over. The Saints just have to start playing more consistent football and take advantage of the opportunities they have in front of them.
2) Early last season, the Saints turned to young Tyler Shough at quarterback. Through the first few weeks of this season, he’s put up some very impressive numbers. Do Saints fans really feel that he’s the long-term answer at quarterback in New Orleans?
Absolutely. Tyler Shough is the real deal and his teammates rally behind him. He’s been one of the three consistent bright spots for the Saints this season, along with Chris Olave and Chase Young.
Shough showed a lot of promise in his limited starts as a rookie, then attacked the offseason and blew expectations out of the water. He’s carried that same momentum into this season. His ball placement, ability to stretch the field with his arm, poise in the pocket and ability to extend plays with his legs give the Saints a dimension offensively that they haven’t really had. And most importantly, he has that clutch gene. He’s shown he can make plays when the Saints need them most.
I do think there are still things he can improve on. The offense has developed a habit of starting slowly, and while I’d put more of that on Kellen Moore, Shough still plays a role in getting the offense into a rhythm. But overall, I’ve seen more than enough to believe he can be the long-term answer in New Orleans.
3) For as solid as the Saints’ offense has been, the defense has been. . .not so good, as through the first four weeks they’ve given up more points than any team in the NFL. Given that the Vikings have only scored one offensive touchdown in the last three weeks, what do you think they can do to attack this New Orleans defense effectively?
The Vikings need to lean on the run game and get T.J. Hockenson heavily involved.
The Saints have not been able to stop the run for the life of them, and the interior of the defensive line has been a major weak point. If Minnesota can establish the run early, I think that could open up some things in the passing game.
As for Hockenson, the Saints have consistently had trouble defending vertical-threat tight ends. We saw it in Week 3 when Brock Bowers torched them, and after Hockenson’s big game against Miami last week, there’s no reason to think he can’t do the same thing against New Orleans. I’d expect Minnesota to test that matchup early and often.
4) Give us one “under the radar” player for the Saints who you feel will play a role in any success that they’ll have against the Vikings on Sunday.
It has to be Devaughn Vele.
After the Saints invested a fourth-round pick in him last year to pry him away from Denver, Vele has come in and become the contested-catch slot receiver the Saints have been searching for since Michael Thomas.
He’s quickly become one of Tyler Shough’s favorite targets and has become the go-to guy on third-and-long situations. He and Juwan Johnson have also been quite lethal in the red zone.
Vele is a guy I expect to keep garnering more and more attention as the season progresses. For a six-foot-foot receiver to be able to move the way he does and have that type of body control, it’s truly remarkable.
5) How do you see this one playing out? Will the Saints’ offense be able to solve a Vikings’ defense that has terrorized every offense they’ve seen so far this season, or will someone break through in the pillow fight between the Saints’ defense and the Vikings’ offense?
The Saints are eager to get the sour taste out of their mouth after Monday night’s beatdown.
I think if the defense comes out like it did in the first two weeks and New Orleans can establish its own run game, they have a chance to come out strong and give the Vikings their first loss. If they want any chance of winning this game, however, they have to start fast. They can’t afford to dig themselves into another early hole and expect to fight their way back.
Thanks again to Nic for taking the time to answer my questions for this week!
