The New Orleans Saints have gotten to a bit of a rough start through the first two games of the season that saw them narrowly avoid a 0-2 hole after edging out the Cleveland Browns 21-18 last Sunday afternoon.
Much of these issues have stemmed from their defense struggling to find any fluid level of cohesion on that side of the ball that has been a shadow of their stellar play from last year. This is something that star cornerback Marshon Lattimore addressed stating that the team needs to step it up from their “embarrassing” play so far in the 2018 campaign, according to Herbie Teope of NFL.com.
“We're at the bottom of the league right now,” cornerback Marshon Lattimore told NFL.com. “Man, that's embarrassing. We just got to get it right. That's motivation enough just to see those numbers up on the board. We don't want to be known for being a terrible defense.”
New Orleans has had plenty of problems defensively through the first couple of games this season currently ranking 27th overall while being tied for the second-most points per game allowed (33.0). This has seen the bulk of those issues come against the pass being 28th in the NFL while giving up a league-worst 133.0 opposing quarterback passer rating and tied for fourth with five touchdown passes allowed.
Granted, much of this came from the phenomenal performance that Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick put up in the season opener with more than 400 passing yards and four touchdowns, but it does outline their issues defensively. If the Saints hope to make another serious push to the playoffs and possibly toward the Super Bowl it will require them to possess a stout defense, especially against the pass.
There is still plenty of time left for them to turn things around that will begin on the road this week against the Atlanta Falcons' potent offensive attack that is led by their passing game.
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