There’s a lot of people counting out the New Orleans Saints this weekend. Only 33% of Week 2 game picks came in for New Orleans at NFL Pickwatch, with a staggering 67% of experts and fan sites around the league’s media landscape backing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Didn’t they learn they lesson last time?
An overwhelming 99% of picks came in for Tampa Bay ahead of last season’s prime-time game at Raymond James Stadium, a game that the Saints won in a 9-0 upset. Seemingly everyone making picks except for former Saints quarterback Drew Brees took the Buccaneers instead, and Brees made sure to gloat about that afterwards. The New Orleans defense throttled Tom Brady and their undermanned offense did just enough to pull away with a win.
Sure, all of those Bucs backers could come out ahead this time. Ultimately these are just opinions. Some are better-informed than others. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens when both teams hit the field. But the Saints have made a habit of proving their doubters wrong. Maybe they manage it again on Sunday.
