Saints not listed on Sports Illustrated’s list of Super Bowl contenders
As we inch closer to the beginning of the regular season, people are having a hard time figuring out who the 2021 New Orleans Saints are. This isn’t unusual considering the Saints lost their future Hall of Fame quarterback to retirement and haven’t even named his successor yet.
With Drew Brees, the Saints were typically given the respect they deserved because they had a Hall of Fame quarterback under center and a talented roster surrounding him. Without Brees, however, it’s not weird that the Saints aren’t getting that same respect.
Sports Illustrated released a list of 12 teams who are the favorites to win the Super Bowl and if you read the title of the article, you know that the New Orleans Saints were not included on that list.
The teams were (in this order): Chiefs, Buccaneers, Browns, Bills, Packers, Rams, 49ers, Cowboys, Colts, Ravens, Seahawks, Chargers. While it’s easy to laugh at seeing a team like the Cowboys on there over the Saints, the reason they’re probably included is that they have a reliable quarterback in Dak Prescott and the fact of the matter is that no one knows what the Saints have at quarterback.
The Saints are not considered to be a Super Bowl contender by Sports Illustrated.
This isn’t all that surprising because of the change at the quarterback spot. If Brees hadn’t retired, the Saints are probably on this list but near the bottom of it, as Brees’ arm looked weak near the end of last season and the team has a tendency to collapse in the playoffs (sad but true).
Without Brees, the Saints have uncertainty at quarterback, which is the most important position in the sport. Jameis Winston could end up having a breakout year and surprising some people or Taysom Hill could be the same guy we saw in his four starts last year and maybe the Saints make it into the playoffs. It’s still tough to envision them getting to the biggest game in football with either of those guys taking the snaps.
Saints fans are used to the team getting overlooked this offseason for multiple reasons so lists like these shouldn’t be surprising in the least bit. Not only do the Saints have question marks at quarterback, but the Buccaneers won the Super Bowl last season and they’re the talk of the town in the NFC.
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The Saints are going to have a tough enough time making the playoffs, let alone a Super Bowl. They couldn’t get back to one with Brees as their signal-caller so it’ll definitely be a challenge making it without him leading the offense.