Ouch. Just one year after he picked the New Orleans Saints to win the No. 1 NFC playoff seed, NBC Sports’ Peter King wrote the black and gold out of his playoff picture altogether. His latest “Football Morning in America” column included predictions for the 2023 season and playoff squads in both the AFC and NFC — with New Orleans on the outside looking in.
King has the Atlanta Falcons edging the Saints out of first place in the NFC South a meagre 9-8 record. That would suggest he isn’t a believer in Derek Carr’s ability to get the offense back on track or in Dennis Allen’s ability to improve on their 7-10 record from a year ago.
Buy Saints TicketsMaybe he’s still salty about getting burned last season. King expressed concern that the offense could remain a force without Sean Payton conducting it, and that proved to be an issue with offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael Jr. running Alvin Kamara into the ground and failing to field a competent passing attack with either Jameis Winston or Andy Dalton under center.
Hopefully King is wrong again this year. That would mean Carr is the upgrade at quarterback the Saints have treated him as and the team wins more than they lose to punch their ticket for the playoffs. We’ll circle back in 2024 and see whether he hit the mark.
