The New Orleans Saints have had their ups and downs in 2023, but as they head into Week 9 it's time for the downs to go away.
With the Saints currently on a run of offense that hasn't been seen in half a decade, it's time for the team to put it all together against a Bears team that shouldn't be able to keep up, as Bobby Hebert explained on WWL this week.
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"The fans, if you want to boo, you want to boo," the Cajun Cannon said. "Let me tell you right now, if the offense sucks against the Bears, hell yea we should boo. We should boo. We want more perfection. We should kick the Bears’ behind in the Caesars Superdome.”
There are many reasons the Saints should feel confident going into this matchup, including the chance to face off with undrafted rookie Tyson Bagent with Justin Fields still healing up from his thumb injury. But it's the Saints offense that needs to continue to climb against a team that's allowed the second-most passing yards in the league, and has the fewest total sacks by a wide margin.
The Saints, meanwhile, are coming off three consecutive games with more than 400 yards of offense. Derek Carr has thrown for 300-plus yards in all three of those games, a feat that hadn't been accomplished in New Orleans since Drew Brees did it in 2015. The issue has been red zone scoring, and the Saints showed signs of fixing that in Week 8, scoring on their first three red zone trips before a clock-killing drive in the final minutes ended with a clinching field goal. The Saints also scored from 20 yards out, which technically doesn't count as a red zone trip.
"We were spoiled," Hebert continues. "Under Drew Brees and Sean Payton we had one of the most prolific offenses well over a dozen years. It’s almost like a dozen and a handful, is that the Saints if they were not No. 1, they were top 3. Well, what we’re witnessing under Pete Carmichael, whether you want to accept that or not, and coach Curry as far as the yards ... what they’ve accomplished the last three games is what Drew Brees and Sean Payton did."
Even more positive for the Saints has been how they've done it. Chris Olave leads the Saints with 44 catches for 517 yards despite a lot of meat left on the bone in terms of big plays. Past him Rashid Shaheed has emerged as one of the NFL's top deep threats with 23 catches for 479 yards, Michael Thomas has continued to round back into form with 38 catches for 439 yards, Alvin Kamara has returned to his elite receiving back ways with 39 catches for 228 yards and Taysom Hill has been more involved than ever with 20 catches for 129 yards, already approaching a new career high for a season through just 8 games.
"That’s why I’m so encouraged going forward, what we’re doing offensively and how we’re spreading the wealth around," Hebert continues. "If you look at it, it’s not like one or two guys ... It’s a handful of guys that are contributing with Derek Carr."
The Saints (4-4) host the Bears (2-6) on Sunday in the Superdome, with New Orleans going off as a 7.5-point favorite..
