Saints offense needs to step up for the defense

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Saints defense is doing something special every week, and it isn’t just dominating opposing offenses.

There’s something, they say, they do before every game that they believe is the secret to their success. Eventually, they assure us, they’ll let us in on whatever it is they’re doing. But for now, they want to keep it hidden. What they can’t keep hidden, though, is how good they’re playing on that side of the ball right now.

If it wasn’t for a garbage-time touchdown during Monday night’s 20-17 win over the Panthers, they’d have gone two full weeks without allowing an offense into the end zone.

It doesn’t matter who you play, that’s hard to do. And that fact has this group feeling itself right now.

“I feel like we’re a top-two defense, if not No. 1,” cornerback Alontae Taylor said. “I think that’s just what we do.”

Who else is in there if the Saints aren’t No. 1?

“I feel like everybody is going to throw out their No. 1,” Taylor said. “Whoever they throw out there, we’re ahead of them.”

Hard to argue with him right now. Of course, time has a way of turning facts into fiction and fiction into facts, so eventually, we’ll find out which is which with this Saints defense. But while the Saints might have equals on defense, it would be hard to argue another unit is playing better.

Marshon Lattimore told me he wasn’t responsible for any catches this week. He’s on an incredible run to start the season.— Nick Underhill (@nick_underhill) September 19, 2023

Through two weeks, the Saints have tallied seven sacks, 15 quarterback hits, four forced turnovers and is allowing just 16 points per game. The success is unmistakable, and maybe it won’t always live at this level, but it’s hard not to believe in this group considering the talent and the fact that Dennis Allen is one of the best defensive coaches of his era.

The team believes. And it should. The Saints have played two pressure-packed games where there was zero margin for error and came out of both of them clean. Sometimes it takes weeks, even months, for a team to forge an identity. There is no need to pay for fraud protection on this one. Even if Derek Carr and the offense figure things out, New Orleans is going to be a defensive-minded operation.

And, yeah, that’s going to be annoying and sometimes boring, but it would be ridiculous for this group to try and pretend to be anything else. When you have a group that can coil around an opponent and suffocate the life out of them, well, that's an identity you should embrace.

“We’re just looking it at like we know we got a defense, so it doesn’t matter what’s going on outside of us,” safety Tyrann Mathieu said. “We feel like we got a legit chance to win every series. I would probably say we were in a lot of close games last year, and maybe you feel tension. Maybe you feel pressed to make a play. I feel like the last couple weeks we’ve just been in our zone, not worrying about what’s going on.”

The Saints defense dominates again in win vs Carolina PanthersThe Dot presented by Matt Bowers Auto Group pic.twitter.com/BNYkwpIjgn— NOF (@nofnetwork) September 19, 2023

A lot of that mentality comes down to leadership. Guys like Mathieu, linebacker Demario Davis and defensive end Cam Jordan are doing a lot to make sure everyone stays on the same level and doesn’t falter to the pressure. Because make no mistake: The pressure has been significant.

This defense is operating with almost no margin for error, and as good as they’ve been, that needs to change. Right now, the defense is buying the offense time to dial in, but Derek Carr and Co. need to start taking advantage.

The offense has come through with big plays in clutch moments, and those can be character-building. The problem is, the flow on offense has been almost nonexistent until some big plays in the second half the past two weeks. Wide receiver Mike Thomas stepped up with some huge plays early on, but he was mostly a lone operator.

Mike Thomas: “That’s what I’m here to do — make a big play and then go talk shit to DA and get him turnt up.” pic.twitter.com/pcZv0IWhmB— NOF (@nofnetwork) September 19, 2023

The blocking must improve. The quarterback play must improve. The play calling must improve. Everything needs to be better, and it probably will be. Carr can win this team games and get the offense in a flow. And at some point, New Orleans is going to have some healthy running backs. They were down to one (Tony Jones Jr.) by the end of Monday’s game after Jamaal Williams suffered a second-quarter hamstring injury.

The offensive line has too much talent to remain a problem, and we saw second-year left tackle Trevor Penning already improve from Week 1 to Week 2. He told NOF after the game that he was playing not to lose last week, whereas he was playing to win this week and felt like he played with much more confidence.

If Penning keeps ascending, Carr settles in and offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael figures out how to make things a little bit easier on offense, this team should find its stride. There are a lot of ifs there, and not enough reasons to believe in them after the way last season went, but worst-case scenario: Getting Alvin Kamara and Kendre Miller on the field should at least make it possible for this team to run the ball more efficiently.

It was supposed to be easier than this. The team wants to be better on offense. The offseason was all about figuring that out, and it’s going to quickly become an urgent issue if things remain tough against Green Bay next week.

But here’s the thing: This defense is so good right now, that even if the offense takes another week to find its footing, it might not matter.

They believe they're good enough to beat anyone. And that’s no secret.

Chris Olave vs Carolina Panthers🍓 6 receptions🍓 86 receiving yards🍓 1 bully catch pic.twitter.com/g0ifoetGtt— NOF (@nofnetwork) September 19, 2023