Saints’ penalties are the biggest thing holding this team back
By Terry Kimble
An area the New Orleans Saints wanted to improve on from last season was penalties. If the first two games are any indication, then this team has gone from bad to worse.
It’s hard to beat a team when you continually beat yourselves. The first two games for the New Orleans Saints look like the bathroom scene in Jim Carrey’s Liar Liar movie.
The disturbing thing is that this trend is a carry over from last season, so if this is the makeup of this team the Saints will be holding themselves back more than the other team is.
New Orleans was bad last season committing penalties. According to the Team Rankings website, they were 26th in the league committing an average of 7.4 per game for about 64 penalty yards a contest.
If there has been one thing that 2020 has taught us is that the saying Hold my Beer has been used more this year than seemingly in human history. The Saints so far are happy to oblige to that statement.
The Saints through the first two games are averaging 8 penalties a game for a whooping 124 penalty yards a game.
This is by far the worst in the NFL as the next worst team has under 100 yards a game in penalty yards. Teams commit penalties no doubt, but the timing of them compounds the issue with the Saints.
New Orleans was second in the league last season in penalties that resulted in opponent’s first downs with almost three a game. 2020 has entered the chat again. This season the Saints are No. 1 in this category with a staggering 5.5 penalties a game resulting in opponent first downs.
Your defense stays on the field and your offense has no chance to possess the ball. It’s a direct correlation to why the Saints are 26th in the league in time of possession compared to being number 3 last season.
Coach Payton lamented that the film will be tough to watch after Monday night’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders. Adjustments will need to be made quickly on a short week and another prime-time game against the Green Bay Packers.
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The New Orleans Saints know they are a good football team. They need to not beat themselves in order for them to beat the other team.