We are currently 5 weeks into the 2022-23 NFL season and, while things aren’t going particularly well for the Saints, with a lot of games left to play and a lot of the teams that the experts thought would do well actually struggling instead, there is still EVERYTHING to play for. The Saints currently find themselves 2-3 coming off the back of a free-scoring win over the Seahawks in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome this past Sunday, 9th October. 39-32 to be exact, talk about an entertaining game for the neutrals eh?
Today, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the New Orleans Saints news that has been doing the rounds over the last week or so, covering injuries, players who are playing well etc. We will also be taking a look at some of the betting odds from experts on the Saints upcoming fixtures, as well as a brief look at how likely they think it is for the Saints to go all the way this season, so let’s not fumble any longer and dive straight in!
Firstly I want to talk about one of the Saints players who has been recognized for a BIG performance in game week 5. Taysom Hill was named the NFCs Offensive Player of the week after being responsible for FOUR touchdowns in a 39–32 win over the Seahawks. Hill recorded a career-high 112 yards, scoring 3 touchdowns himself and throwing a 22 yard pass to tight end Adam Trautman which also resulted in a touchdown, this would be Hills FIRST career offensive player of the week award and his second player of the week award in his career. Fantastic performance and rightly awarded, Taysom!
As for Injuries, it seems to be that the Saints are looking to bring Michael Thomas back into the fray in game week 6 if at all possible. Thomas finally got back into action this season after an ankle injury he picked up in 2020. He missed game week 3’s fixture against the Panthers with what has been noted as a “foot injury”. Unable to practice, Thomas still traveled to London in game week 4 and was quickly ruled out of game week 5 vs the Seahawks. It’s seeming increasingly likely however that Thomas will finally get back on the field in game week 6 against the Bengals.
The Saints medical team have been taking a pretty cautious approach when it comes to returning players from injury, so there’s a possibility he MAY not return until game week 7 vs the Cardinals, given the turnaround between the Bengals and the Cardinals is only a few days, including travel to Arizona. So if we were to see a more cautious approach, you COULD be looking at seeing him against the Cardinals instead!
Something that a LOT of fans loved in game week 5 was the uniform choice. Returning to the tried and true combination of black on black for jersey and pants, the Saints went with the clean look as seen above. Question for Saints fans, what is your favorite combination? Do you like the black jersey with gold pants? What about the White jersey with gold pants? Or is your favorite the black-on-black? Let us know!
Now is as good a time as any to take a look at what the experts are thinking for some of the Saints upcoming fixtures, SO, next up the Saints play the Cincinnati Bengals in their second home game in a row, both teams currently sit 2-3, so what are we saying here? The Saints currently sit 11/10 meaning a $5 stake returns $10.50 with the Bengals sat JUST AHEAD as slight favorites at 10/13, returning $8.84 from the same $5 stake.
Taking a look at Caesars Louisiana sportsbook for more odds, we can look a week ahead as the Saints travel to Arizona to take on the Cardinals, who coincidentally are also sat 2-3 going into game week 6. The Saints find themselves sitting 23/20 so a $5 stake returns $10.75, again the Saints opponents find themselves ahead as slight favorites. With the Bengals being 20/27 returning $8.69 from that same $5.
If, by some absolute miracle, all the stars align and the Saints get a fantastic run of results and build a lot of confidence going into the postseason, what do the experts think are the odds of them winning it all? Well, right now they’re 80/1, so they don’t think it’s likely at all, that same $5 stake from earlier would return $405 on this. For reference, gameweek 7 opponents the Cardinals are 66/1, returning $335 and gameweek 6 opponents, the Bengals are 30/1 returning $155 from the same $5 stake above.
And that’s gonna do it for this one, so, Saints fans, after 5 game weeks. How are we feeling? Do you folks think the team did enough in the off season? Do you believe that the Saints will make the playoffs? If so, how deep do they go? Do they really have what it takes to beat a team like the Bills? Assuming they go all the way, all the experts still have them as favorites afterward!
What about the possibility that playoff football doesn’t happen for the Saints this season? Is there anything you folks think was a big miss in the off-season that the Saints should aim to do after this season? Are we thinking that approaching this season as a transitional season is a smart idea, perhaps? One thing is for sure, this season still has a LONG way to go and absolutely anything can happen, stranger things have happened than the potential outcome is the Saints winning the Super Bowl this season, right? Until next time, take care!
“Writer. Amateur musicaholic. Infuriatingly humble zombie junkie. General internet maven. Bacon enthusiast. Coffee nerd.”