The Saints Won’t See Delvin Breaux Again This Year
The New Orleans Saints are playing better football than we've seen out of the black and gold since they crushed a Super Bowl parade. After three straight 7-9 seasons, it's a little surprising to see them crack off a 6-game winning streak...but that's what they're rocking with right now.
Over the last three 7 win seasons, a lot of people blamed injuries for the under-performance. But with this season going the way it is, I think that should be addressed again. First, here's some of the latest injury news from the Louisiana Radio Network:
"Saints cornerback Delvin Breaux is not expected to play this season. Head Coach Sean Payton said today he’ll remain on injured reserve after he suffered a setback as he tries to come back from a fractured fibula that he sustained in August. Breaux was the Saints top cornerback in 2015, but the pass defense has improved without him."
See, that last line in the Louisiana Radio Network report is part of what I'm realizing. The injuries weren't the problem...the depth was.
Over the last few years the team would lose players every week, and the players that would step up would be such a drop-off in talent that the team would suffer. The distance between first team and second team was so big that it ended up hurting the team throughout the season.
But this year, the Saints seem to have loads of players ready to step up every week. Delvin Breaux is out, here's 2-3 guys who are going to fill in, and actually improve the team. Players on the offensive line are going down? We've got a guy over here you can fill in if you shift a guy over...done...and it works.
Depth, not injuries. I think that's the mistake we were all making while assessing the Saints 7-9 seasons.