The New Orleans Saints are still looking for their second win of the season, and they’ll have to find it with their former head coach standing on the opposing sideline.
The Saints head up to face a Chicago Bears squad that features a similar setup to the team they faced a week ago. Rookie coach, second-year QB. The difference is Dennis Allen’s presence leading a defense that has been as opportunistic as any to this point in the season when it comes to taking away the ball.
Who comes out ahead?
THE GAME | Saints (1-5) at Bears (3-2)
- When: Noon, Sunday, Oct. 19
- Series history: Saints 19. Bears 15 (Saints have won last 8)
- Last meeting: 2023, Saints 24, Bears 17
- Betting: Bears -4; over/under 45.5
- TV: Fox
- Listen: WWL AM-870; FM-105.3 & the Audacy app
- Pregame: First Take with Steve Geller & Charlie Long, 8-10 a.m.; Countdown to Kickoff with Steve Geller & Bobby Hebert, 10 a.m.-noon
With all that in mind, here are the three things I’m watching most closely — and a bit of lagniappe — when the Saints face the Bears in Week 7.
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WHO WINS THE REUNION?
Everyone understands what to say in these situations. You don’t oversell the drama, it’s just the next game on the schedule.
“Obviously you’re always excited to have that opportunity, you know, if you go somewhere else to coach," Kellen Moore said, "and so it’ll be a fun opportunity for everyone.”
It all makes sense. I’m still not buying it. The first time facing the team that fired you? That’s going to mean a bit more. It’s human nature.
The question isn’t whether that motivation exists, it’s whether you can actually channel that motivation into an elite performance. And don’t fool yourself into thinking this is only about Allen’s defense.
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I’m also looking at Spencer Rattler, who is getting his first shot against the player who supplanted him at Oklahoma. Again, Rattler knows the right words to say. I'm not buying it, becasue I went back and watched that moment again, where Rattler comes off the field after another unsuccessful drive to hear his home crowd chanting “we want Caleb” in unison. It wasn’t Caleb’s fault, but he was the star in waiting.
“We all have our own paths and we’ve got to do our best with our own path. So it is what it is, the past is the past, we’re focused on the present and the future," Rattler said, "but I would say, that definitely led me to South Carolina and it was a blessing in disguise that I got to play with the Gamecocks and develop there and, you know, get ready to go with the league after that.”
The true irony is that Williams ditched that same Oklahoma crowd not long after to follow Lincoln Riley to USC. Rattler took his college career to South Carolina and we all know the story from there. Yes, it would mean something extra for Spencer this week, whether he’ll admit that or not.
And then there’s Kendre Miller, who just happens to play a position where some extra motivation might be the most valuable. Miller will be the first to tell you his first two seasons didn’t go well. There were injuries upon injuries upon injuries and the young player’s career felt snakebit. It probably didn’t help that his head coach took seemingly every opportunity to take potshots at the player. There was also the awkward scenario where Miller ended up on IR with an injury he said was only expected to keep him out a game. The relationship soured to the point that when Allen was fired, interim head coach Darren Rizzi sat Miller down and laid out the clean slate ahead of him.
Moore said the same thing when he took over this year, and Miller has enjoyed the longest run of health in his young career. What we haven’t seen yet is a truly explosive game, and what better spot than against Allen’s new defense? With Alvin Kamara still managing an ankle injury, there might be plenty of opportunities.
And if Kendre just seems to be running with a little extra juice in this game, you’ll probably know why.
I don’t know about you, but whenever I go to a reunion … I’m still trying to win. I don’t think NFL reunions are that much different.
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CAN YOU WIN CRITICAL DOWNS?
This goes for both sides of the ball, but it’s more about the defense.
Last week’s loss to the Patriots followed a frustrating trend that we saw to start the season: Effective run stuffing … bad third down defense.
The Saints had busts and breakdowns, they had ill-timed penalties, they had multiple plays that looked to be covered perfectly only to see the Patriots win the contested catch situations.
“Hopefully as we continue to play more together, some of those valleys, some of those plateaus we can smooth them out and i think our guys are seeing that, just, you focus on your assignment, play the right technique and then trust your 10 partners to do their part and then this scheme will work for you,” DC Brandon Staley said, "and all of a sudden those plays you’re trying to make, they will come to you instead of you trying to force some things to happen.”
This team is going to continue to rely on its young players in the secondary. Moore was a bit coy when asked about Isaac Yiadom, who returned this week and is still listed as the starter on the depth chart. I don’t see a scenario where rookie Quincy Riley surrenders that job as long as he continues to take steps forward. That doesn’t mean playing perfect, but it does mean correcting mistakes and being coachable.
If all the Saints did differently this season was get off the field at a league-average rate in 3rd and 7 or longer situations, we’re having much different conversations about this team and defense. This would be a great time to start.
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OLAVE’S BOUNCEBACK
The Saints are 1-5 and in a situation where every loss seems to have a new “tear him down” player. Things didn’t go perfectly, there was a critical drop, there was a critical mistake, suddenly we’re all against that player.
It’s not fair, but that’s the reality in the type of situation the Saints find themselves in. The only way out is through. This week that player is WR Chris Olave.
The trade deadline is approaching and his name will certainly be included in listicles and hot takes and probably several faceless aggregator accounts on social media who steal those takes, report them as fact and often get them wrong in the process (I’m not bitter … do I sound bitter?).
The reason why so many seem to be down on Olave is the handful of critical drops we’ve seen this season, most notably on a potential touchdown late in the first half against the Patriots and then another that cost the team a first down on a potential go-ahead drive. The first drive ended in a short field goal, the other a punt that marked the end of the game when the Patriots converted first downs and ran out the clock.
“It’s part of the game, man, you’ve just got to take it to the chin," Olave said. "I’ve been in those situations plenty of times in my career, especially going to Ohio State, with the platform, everybody watching, it’s the entertainment business, so everybody sees your mistakes, everybody sees when you’re playing good, everybody sees when you’re … doing stuff like that, so like I said, I’m straight. I’m gonna keep it pushing. I know we’ve got a game on Sunday, so I’m excited for that.”
I get it, drops are frustrating. I get it, Olave is not a perfect player. But there were a lot of positives from that game that were glossed over because of how it ended. Most notably it was the several catches for moderate gains over the middle of the field where Olave sat in a soft spot of a zone, Rattler found him and Olave turned upfield for sizeable gains. Olave ended the day as the game’s leading receiver, but you’d have never known it.
A WR and QB seeing things the same way is crucial, and I think that’s starting to happen for those two.
“That’s something that we work in practice, just having the feel for each other, like I said, I see all the coverage pre-snap, post-snap," Olave said. "I see everything that the quarterback will see, so he trusts my body language, I trust what he sees, so just trying to find a spot and get open for him at the end of the day.”
No player is untradeable, but I think many are underestimating the type of offer it’d take for the Saints to move on from their young pass-catcher. I don’t think he gets traded and I think this team ultimately signs him to an extension.
I put on record earlier in the week that I fully expect the switchup on Olave to be like whiplash throughout this season. He’s still an elite move and his hands are too good for the drops to keep plaguing him. The 100-yard games, the impact moments will come.
I’d love to see that switchup start this week.
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LAGNIAPPE
The New Orleans Saints have been an elite pressure team the last two weeks. They impacted Jaxson Dart 16 times in Week 5, and they moved Drake Maye 18 times in Week 7. It’s only a matter of time until those pressures start turning into impact plays and sacks. … Multiple coaches described the season debut of Chase Young as the player "getting his feet under him.” The Saints really need a game-changing edge player for this defense to play the way it wants, and if Ben Johnson’s plan is to double and chip him all day long, it’ll be on the others to win in their 1-on-1s. Either way he impacts the game. … Blake Grupe had the bounceback game he needed, but the life of a kicker is tough. You’re only as good as your last miss. It’d be nice if the Saints didn’t ask too much of him on what figures to be a windy day out in Chicago, but his feels like an important week for him. He reminded us what he’s capable of with a strong day against the Patriots. He now has to prove that’s the norm and not an outlier. … The Saints downplayed the meaning of Danny Stutsman’s reps last week as anything more than the team trying to develop young players. I’m not sure I buy it, but the next few weeks will be telling. Does Pete Werner keep ceding series to the rookie? Is the rep count increasing? If the answer is yes, that could be a sign that the team might be gearing up for a trade or to simply move a different direction at linebacker. Just something to keep an eye on. … The Bears lead the NFL with a plus-8 turnover differential. They've taken the ball away 12 times on defense and they've protected it on offense. The Saints have been among the league’s best at avoiding turnovers. Something’s gotta give. … The Bears defense ranks 29th in the league in pressure rate. The Saints offensive line is intact and healthy and should keep taking steps forward. This would be a good week to see them dominate. … The Saints elevated Nephi Sewell for this game, but he won’t get to play against his younger brother Noah, who was ruled out earlier in the week due to a concussion.