Two weeks after soundly beating the Carolina Panthers, the New England Patriots will again be going up against an NFC South team this coming Sunday: they will travel to New Orleans to take on the Saints. Like the Panthers, they are a rather unfamiliar opponent.
So, in order to find out more about the team, we reached out to Nic Jennings of Pats Pulpit’s sister site Canal Street Chronicles — the SB Nation community for all things Saints. Here is what he told us about the upcoming game and what to expect
from New England’s Week 6 opponent.
1. How has Kellen Moore put his fingerprint on the Saints organization early in his tenure?
Starting off, Kellen Moore completely won over the fanbase in the offseason with an immediate culture shift. He emphasized efficient time management and recovery, which earned high praise from his players — and it evidently paid off, as New Orleans has dealt with far fewer injuries than in years past to this point.
TE Juwan Johnson said the vibes are the best they’ve been since the Saints started the 2021 season 5-2 before Jameis Winston’s ACL tear. Johnson, C Erik McCoy, and RB Kendre Miller all mentioned they felt better than ever that deep into the offseason, while former Patriots DT Davon Godchaux called it the best training camp he’s ever been part of.
Through five weeks, the Saints may be 1-4, but they’ve been competitive in four of those games aside from the Seattle Seahawks fiasco. The team hasn’t lost morale and just doesn’t quit, and it all finally came together on Sunday against the New York Giants — you can see how much they respect their head coach in the postgame speech that surfaced on social media.
DE Chase Young summed it up best when asked about Kellen Moore:
“We love Coach Moore — just what he’s doing right now, what he’s providing to us… He’s won it; he’s bringing all that. He knows how to win, and he’s doing things with us to be in that position also. Can’t say enough about Coach Moore.”
It’s safe to say Moore has already won over both the team and the fanbase.
2. Is the blame some have placed on Spencer Rattler for his 0-10 career start fair? How did he contribute to last week’s comeback?
I wouldn’t say it’s fair, no. The dumpster fire he was thrown into — considering the number of injuries, the limited supporting cast and the fact he was playing under an interim HC in Darren Rizzi at the end of the year — I don’t think you can ask any fifth-round pick to produce wins with what Rattler had to work with as a rookie.
As for his sophomore season losses, like I mentioned in the previous answer, Rattler has kept the Saints competitive in games that many thought they shouldn’t be in — and there’s absolutely no questioning his competitive spirit.
I’ve seen a lot of fans argue that continuing to start Rattler is stunting the development of rookie QB Tyler Shough, but at the same time, Rattler is a year younger, already has a season under his belt, showed promise last year, and followed it up with an impressive offseason. He’s just as much of a developmental player as Shough — and I’d argue his mobility makes him even more intriguing.
I understand that when a team spends a second-round pick on a 27-year-old rookie QB, you want to see what you’ve got right away to know if you need to take another quarterback in next year’s draft. But I personally agree with Kellen Moore’s approach: go with the guy you believe is most ready for the speed of the NFL right now. And I’d say Rattler has done a really solid job while taking immense strides in his development.
In terms of what stood out in his first career win as a starter, Rattler has been dominant in play action, posting a perfect 158.3 passer rating, going 5-for-6 for 108 passing yards on play-action passes against the Giants — including the 87-yard TD to Rashid Shaheed.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again with the utmost confidence: if Rattler can clean up some of his accuracy issues, he has all the intangibles to be the franchise signal-caller for this football team.
3. How have Alvin Kamara and Kendre Miller performed on the ground? How have teams slowed them down?
Alvin Kamara had a strong start to the year on the ground and has been his usual self in the receiving game as well — Kamara is now top five all-time in receptions by a running back after surpassing Marcus Allen and Tiki Barber on Sunday. You know what you’re going to get out of AK, as he still has plenty of good football left in the tank, although he is currently day-to-day with an ankle injury after being limited during Wednesday’s practice.
The real bright spot in the run game, though, is Kendre Miller. After spending his first three years in the doghouse due to injuries and a poor relationship with former HC Dennis Allen, Miller has completely taken off this season.
Heading into Week 6, his workload has increased each week:
- Week 1: 11 snaps (14.7%)
- Week 2: 11 snaps (15.5%)
- Week 3: 20 snaps (27.4%)
- Week 4: 21 snaps (31.3%)
- Week 5: 26 snaps (39.4%)
Through five games, the 23-year-old’s 80.2 overall grade ranks fifth among all tailbacks, while his 79.0 rushing grade ranks ninth, and his 15 missed tackles forced rank eighth.
Kellen Moore on Kendre Miller: “He’s done a phenomenal job since I’ve been here. I really enjoy this guy. His play style is awesome. He’s a really physical runner. He’s earned more opportunities, and it’s a good blend between him and Alvin to be able to play and get some balanced snaps.”
4. Patriots fans are familiar with Demario Davis, Cameron Jordan, and old friend Davon Godchaux, but who are some other impact defenders who should be on their radars?
Aside from DE Carl Granderson — who’s emerging as one of the league’s premier pass rushers and should be sitting alone in second place on the NFL sack leaderboard if it weren’t for one of the worst roughing-the-passer calls in football history — Saints third-round rookie safety Jonas Sanker has quickly made his presence felt.
The 22-year-old out of Virginia has filled in for injured free-agent addition Julian Blackmon and has more than exceeded expectations. He’s shown impressive range and ball skills, consistently cleaning up missed tackles and playing with an infectious fire.
Sanker currently ranks among the league’s most productive defensive backs through five weeks. His 78.9 coverage grade ranks 16th among all DBs, while his 78.3 overall grade ranks 20th (minimum 25 snaps).
Through five games, Sanker has recorded 17 tackles, two stops, three pass breakups, one interception and one fumble recovery.
5. If the Patriots live up to their status as 3.5-point favorites and leave New Orleans with a win, what happened? If the Saints pull off the upset, what happened?
At the end of the day, both clubs’ chances hinge on one thing: winning the turnover battle.
New Orleans forced five consecutive turnovers against the Giants (three straight fumbles followed by two interceptions), marking the first time they’ve done so since the 1991 season against the Philadelphia Eagles (Oct. 13) and Arizona Cardinals (Dec. 22). The last NFL team to force five straight offensive turnovers was the Kansas City Chiefs on Sept. 25, 2016, against the New York Jets.
The Saints enter Week 6 tied for first in the league with five fumble recoveries. They’ll need to take advantage of Rhamondre Stevenson’s ball security concerns — he’s already lost two fumbles this season and 17 in his career.
On the other hand, rookie quarterback Drake Maye has been much more careful with the football this season, throwing just two interceptions and only four turnover-worthy plays after tossing 10 picks as a rookie. For New Orleans to pull off the upset, its young secondary — led by NFC Defensive Player of the Week Kool-Aid McKinstry, who notched his first two career interceptions last week — will need to force Maye into mistakes.
