The New Orleans Saints are coming into the season still looking to build off of how they finished last season. Winning the last four of their five games last season, the Saints ended up finishing with a winning record but it wasn't enough to get them into the playoffs. Saints quarterback Derek Carr has high hopes for the team, and he thinks the team is better than they were last year.
“Coming into this year, we’re just trying to build off of what we had last year,” Carr said on Mad Dog Sports Radio. “The relationships, the bonds, the unity, the time we spend together. I felt like coming into this offseason, compared to last offseason, we’re 10 times farther ahead of where we were. And I mean that as a team, as a group, as a unit. The bonds that we have. It’s the ultimate team sport and that’s the most important thing is the team. So we’re stepping into this year trying to build off how last year ended.”
As Carr reflected on last season, he thought things would come together faster for the Saints, but with a whole year under their belt, things should be better.
“We started out of the gates hot, we lost the crazy one in Green Bay with injuries and all those things, but I think the cool thing with our team, we kept growing through a lot of different adversities, we kept sticking together, we kept trying to build that unity, trust, and that bond,” Carr said.
The Saints will be battling in a tough NFC South division
The NFC South has been rough over the past few seasons, but this year it may be better with a few of the teams making some improvements. The Atlanta Falcons probably had the biggest offseason out of the division, signing Kirk Cousins early in free agency, and recently adding Matthew Judon and Justin Simmons to the roster.
The Carolina Panthers made a coaching change, hiring former Tampa Bay Buccaneers offensive coordinator Dave Canales as the head coach. The Panthers finished last season 2-15, and with a new vision and offensive scheme, they should be more competitive this time around. The Buccaneers didn't make many changes to their team, but they re-signed Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans, two of the key pieces of their offense.
The Saints also have not made that many moves in the offseason, with their biggest addition being Chase Young. This will be Derek Carr's second season as the Saints quarterback, which means he'll have a better feel of the offense and the chemistry should be better with players such as Chris Olave, who is slated to be the No. 1 receiving option on the team.
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