How The Mighty Have Fallen: Is Saints Prolific Offense Now Just Average?

Coming off a Super Bowl victory the 2009 New Orleans Saints scored a whopping 31.9 PPG(1st in NFL) and averaged 403.8 yards per game(1st in NFL),with those numbers the Saints offense was  the most feared in the NFL. Heading into the 2010 season expectations were high and so far the Saints have not lived up to them.

The 2010 Saints offense is not terrible,but simply average, and average is not what won the Super Bowl in 2009. The Saints are averaging 331.0 yards per game(13th in NFL) and scoring 21.0 PPG(14th in NFL), some may say it is to early to start looking into these numbers, but last time the Saints scored less the 25 PPG through the first three games was the only losing season under Sean Payton when the Saints scored just 12.3 PPG and got off to an 0 - 4 start and finishing 7 - 9 in the 2007 season. 

It's not just the Saints scoring and yardage, but the Saints O is not as efficient. The Saints are converting 42% of their 3rd downs, last year through three games the Saints were converting 48%  of what is considered the most important down in football.

Another thing that is lost in the 2 - 1 start is the balance of the Saints offense or lack there of.  The Saints have run the ball just 65 times this season(28th in NFL) and have put the ball in the air 112 times(9th in NFL), some of this is due to the caliber of the Defenses the Saints have faced. Though the Saints have gone against tough run defenses the Saints still have not shown the balance that won them the Lombardi trophy last year when they ran 102 times and threw 97 times.

The offense is not the only issue for the defending champs,the NO defense has not shown much improvement either. The New Orleans D is giving up 362.3 yards per game this year and allowing 145.0 rushing yards per game(30th in NFL) and 4.4 a carry(19th in NFL). The only stat the Saints Defense has improved in is the PPG allowed now giving up 20.3 as apposed to the 21.4 they gave up last year.

I don't expect another 13 - 3 season nor do I think the Saints will miss the playoffs, but with out the offense playing at the level that they did last year and the defense not making leaps and bounds to improve then this team cannot TWO DAT! playing as they are.