The learning cycle never ends, and the hope is that it's heading in a positive direction for the New Orleans Saints and Coach Kellen Moore as the Saints (0-1) prepare to face San Francisco (1-0) on Sunday in the Caesars Superdome.
Despite the Saints' opening loss to Arizona, there were significant positives to build on while the team patches holes that prevented a victory. Here are a few areas to address if New Orleans hopes to post its first win of the season:
1. CLEAN UP ON AISLE D
The "D" stands for "Dome," and New Orleans needs to clean up its act inside the facility this week. Thirteen penalties are a significant amount; it's impressive that the Saints actually had a chance to tie the score and force overtime in the final 10 seconds, so there's something to be said for the resilience. But a cleaner effort is key to producing the best chance to win, and a handful of pre-snap penalties is about as unclean as you can be. We'll attribute the blemishes to unfamiliarity, lack of chemistry, etc. But this team can't afford to beat itself with false starts and illegal procedures; at present, it doesn't appear to have a margin for error that allows for numerous errors.
2. RED ALERT
The Saints went 1 of 4 in the red zone in the opener. One. Of. Four. And lost by a touchdown. Sixes instead of threes. Enough said.
3. CAPITALIZE ON THE HELP
Niners tight end George Kittle is on injured reserve and won't play. He has had modest numbers in two games against New Orleans (nine catches, 93 yards and a touchdown) but, trust, the absence of the five-time All-Pro and six-time Pro Bowler is a plus for a Saints defense that held up well against the Cardinals. New Orleans allowed just 276 yards in the opener, but 146 of that was rushing and with Christian McCaffrey in the Niners' backfield and San Francisco likely without starting quarterback Brock Purdy, a heavy dose of McCaffrey (142 yards from scrimmage on 31 touches in the opener) can be expected. Linebackers Pete Werner and Demario Davis will lead the effort to slow him down but it'll be a group job, and safety Justin Reid will be in the mix.
4. RATT PATROL
Three things Saints quarterback Spencer Rattler did very well in the opener: He protected the ball (no turnovers); he avoided negative plays (sacked once); and operated the two-minute offense efficiently enough to put the Saints in position to tie the score at the end. It was especially impressive given that he had 46 pass attempts and that aside from Alvin Kamara's 18-yard touchdown run, Kamara (11 carries, 45 yards) was held in check (13 touches, 57 yards). They'll need more of that from Rattler against San Francisco, which allowed just 150 passing yards – and 230 total – in a 17-13 win against Seattle. They also will need more involvement with Kamara and some deep shot plays from receivers Chris Olaveand Rashid Shaheed, who combined to catch 13 passes for 87 yards against Arizona. New Orleans needs a few triples and homers on offense, and Olave and Shaheed are the best bets to hit them.
5. GET A RUSH
Whether it's Purdy or Mac Jones lining up at quarterback for San Francisco, neither will be quite as mobile as was Arizona's Kyler Murray. That's not a knock on either; they're not statues. But they're not as elusive as Murray, and yet, New Orleans sacked Murray five times, led by edges Cameron Jordan and Carl Granderson (1.5 sacks each). The best way to protect the secondary is to get the quarterback moving or on the ground, and the Saints need another good rush day to unsettle San Francisco's offense.
