The New Orleans Saints have been no strangers to slow starts this season. Three times during their nine game win streak the Saints fell behind by double digits in the first half. That happened once more against the Philadelphia Eagles, with New Orleans going into halftime trailing 17-0.
“I think they looked a little flat,” former Saints offensive lineman Steve Korte said. “Emotionally, teams go through that during the year. You have to understand how hard it is to get up to your peak 16 or 17 times in a row.
“Look, you're pros; you do the best you can at it,” Korte continued. “It doesn't mean it's going to happen every time where you're sharp as a tack. Sometimes you just go out there; and, for whatever combinations of reasons, it's hard to get on track. The first half, they looked a little flat; and then it looked to me they kind of woke up in the second half. But it was a little too late.”
New Orleans looked much better in the second half, outscoring the Eagles 21-7; but it was not enough. Despite the loss to a now 4-8-1 Eagles team, Korte is confident the Saints will be ready for the 12-1 Kansas City Chiefs this Sunday.
“They'll atone for this,” Korte said. “[Saints defensive coordinator] Dennis Allen will get those guys back to not missing the simple, stupid things, the penalties, stuff like that. We'll get back on track in that fashion. Lutz will focus this week and get back to his normal self. Hopefully we'll get some health back in our offensive line, and we should be able to go.
“These guys, [the Chiefs], are just like anybody else,” Korte went on. “They put their pants on the same way. They just happen to have a good squad going on right now, and they're playing well. Look, we can beat these guys just as easily as anything else in this league.”
