Bijan Robinson ran all over the New Orleans Saints en route to the Atlanta Falcons' blowout victory on Monday night. As he was picking apart the Saints rush defense, Troy Aikman detailed a conversation the broadcast crew had with defensive coordinator Brandon Staley about missing pieces, such as Kaden Elliss and Carl Granderson. Staley revealed he was angered by those comments.
"He doesn't have any answers, and I think he knew it when we talked to him. I think he knew. He didn't tell us, but the guys that are out, some of their big edge rushers and guys who can play the run and set the edge, they're not on the field," Aikman said. "They just don't have that star defender that can erase the mistakes of other people. This was a matchup issue coming in, and it's prove true."
While Aikman's comments were taken as Staley's words by the masses, it's important to say Aikman never said Staley said this. This was all based on an assumption and how Aikman felt when talking to Staley. Still, the defensive coordinator came out Thursday afternoon to make it clear he has "no idea what (Aikman is) talking about."
Brandon Staley letting Troy Aikman's comments go unchecked would send the wrong message to Saints defense
Staley naturally denied the sentiment, but we all saw the product on the field. The Saints may have had answers for Bijan in 2025, but that was not the case in the first meeting of 2026. Whether it's what Staley portrayed or not pregame, Aikman was right about them having no answers Monday night.
The key isn't whether or not the Saints had answers. The key is not coming off defeated before the game's played.
Staley isn't the only one who heard Aikman's comments. If it got back to the defensive coordinator, you can bet it got back to the defensive players. A post of the quote made its rounds on social media, and we know the players on there.
Once it got into the world, the only choice was for Staley to take a strong stance against the comments. Otherwise, the locker room will likely start wondering how the leader of the defense views the executors of the defense.
Hearing that that's how your coach felt about the matchup before the game shows a lack of belief in the players on the roster. The Saints were without Elliss and Granderson, but the other 9 players on the starting unit were starters.
Elliss' replacement, Danny Stutsman, is like a starter, so that could hit him particularly hard. Granderson was replaced by Tyree Wilson and Cam Jordan, the latter of which is a key contributor.
Yes, the Saints were without pieces, but if Staley said that, he would be condemning players who were expected to be contributors coming into the season. This isn't like going from Kelvin Banks Jr. to Asim Richards, where there was never an expectation for the backup to play. One part of it is the locker room in general, and the other part is what this means Staley sees in specific, key contributors.
It's simply about pride and confidence, and if Staley didn't deny that feeling, there would have been massive and valid questions about where his pride and confidence lie. Those traits didn't stop Robinson and won't stop other runners moving forward, but lacking them can quickly permeate through the locker room.
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