What's wrong with the Saints offense, and can it be fixed?

Good morning, and welcome to the October 4 edition of the Saints Insider newsletter.

Still have that bad taste in your mouth from Sunday?

Time to move on.

The Saints return to the practice field today as they begin preparations for their game against the New England Patriots on Sunday. 

Here's what we have for you today:

Breaking down the first quarter of 2023

The Saints are 2-2 after four games of the 2023 season, but it feels like a glass-half-empty .500 after starting the season with two wins. Our Saints coverage team got together to discuss how things are going for the team at the quarter pole of the season. Part I of the conversation focuses on the team's struggling offense. We broke down what's wrong and offered our solutions on how to fix it.

Falling stock

Are experts giving up on the Saints? Predictably, back-to-back losses have caused their stock to plummet with the NFL cognoscenti. The Saints have slipped to the middle of the pack in our weekly NFL power rankings roundup, where we peruse 11 sets of rankings, mixing major media outlets and analytics-based sites to figure out where the Saints rank around the league.

Mr. Smith goes to Denver

You knew this was coming, didn't you? In one of the most predictable moves of the season, former Saints receiver Tre'Quan Smith signed with the Broncos in Denver, where he'll be reunited with former coach Sean Payton.

That's it for today. A friendly reminder: It's still early. The Saints are 2-2 -- not 0-4. But they'll need to figure things out soon as the schedule toughens in the weeks ahead.

Enjoy your Wednesday. 

Cheers,

Jeff Duncan