Brandin Cooks, Malcolm Butler eager to show Saints what they’re missing

With veteran cornerback Delvin Breaux on injured reserve for the first half of the season, the Saints’ top three cornerbacks Monday were rookie Marshon Lattimore, third-year pro P.J. In 2001, our Titans were coming off a 13-3 season when our secondary was ravaged by a succession of injuries to starters.

That said, the Saints are 7-2 ATS in the past nine meetings despite losing four of the previous five, so look for them to lose yet again but pull off the cover. However, the past does not matter on Sunday when the Saints and Patriots square off.

No Tom Brady and the New England Patriots aren’t in Rockford.or are they? Coach Bill Belichick is highly regarded as a master of adjusting when key players are lost, and he traded for former Colts No. 1 pick Phillip Dorsett. The talent of both the offenses coupled with the game being played inside could lead to a high scoring game.

The #Tom Brady that Foxboro fans saw this past Thursday night was something out of a B-rated horror flick. In 2009, the Black and Gold blew out the Pats, 38-17, on their way to a Super Bowl title.

The New England Patriots quarterback is not a person who is used to being at the bottom of any category during his career and right now he owns the worst completion percentage and his team is tied for the worst record in the AFC East.

Again facing the Haslett-Brooks Saints, the circumstances were far different on November 20, 2005. Are some of Brady’s other weapons ready to step up in his absence? If the Saints manage to win this game it would be the biggest upset in team history since the Saints defeated the defending Super Bowl Champion St. Louis Rams in Aaron Brooks first National Football League start.

And even if the unthinkable happens on Sunday, starting off 0-2 is hardly the end of the road for one’s Super Bowl aspirations in the NFL. Out went Haslett and Brooks, and in came Payton and Brees. Much like a favorite dying relative your instinct might be to stay away as the 2017 Saints slip into the abyss of terrible because you’d rather not see Sean Payton and Drew Brees’ time in New Orleans end this way, but don’t let the ending ruin the good bye.

Still, the first glimpse at the Patriots offense minus Julian Edelman wasn’t pretty. That would be Sam Bradford, now with the Minnesota Vikings, who shredded the New Orleans Saints for 346 yards on 27 of 32 passing and three touchdowns. But it’s not just the Bills, Cincinnati had Rex Burkhead for years and New England arguably already did more with him in one game. With New Orleans missing both of their tackles, Flowers could get started on a big 2017 season.

What looked like surgical precision for the first five minutes turned into one of the most ugly losses in the Belichick era.

“I just look at it as another game”, Cooks said, via the team’s website. Some short yardage plays to establish Brady’s confidence will do wonders in the second half.

MORE: Can Patriots defense be fixed? One forgotten aspect of that iteration of the team was its irrepressible ability to mount a comeback.

May the best quarterback win. None had a more dramatic final touchdown than against the Saints. It’s going to be a tough game and a tough environment. With Brady’s comments it could light a fire under the team.