2 takeaways from the Saints’ win over the Panthers

1. The offense will improve with time

The New Orleans Saints offense got off to a slow start through the first six quarters of the season, scoring just one touchdown and settling for five field goals. Once the second half of the game on Monday came, we saw a glimpse of what the offense could be as two of the Saints final three drives ended in a touchdown, while the third was simply derailed by a sack on 3rd and 2 in Carolina Panthers territory. They finally started to throw down field with Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed and turned to Taysom Hill in the run game. Olave and Shaheed are legit burners who can easily stretch the field, and Hill is a fast and powerful runner that should be a part of the ground game each week. The offense has lagged far behind the defense thus far, but the increased role seen by Michael Thomas and the knowledge that Alvin Kamara will return after just one more game should be encouraging for a Saints offense that I expect to shake off any rust they have fairly soon.

Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

2. Carl Granderson has been the unsung hero of the defense so far

Carl Granderson has been a Saint for five years. He now finally has his shot as the starting defensive end opposite Cam Jordan, and through the first two games of the season he is not letting the opportunity slip away. Granderson is leading the team the 2.5 sacks which is also top 10 in the NFL. He also has 11 quarterback pressures which ranks fifth in the NFL and second on the team only to Jordan’s 12. Granderson caused a sack fumble on a Panthers drive that at the very least would have resulted in a short field goal attempt. In a game that was ultimately decided by three points, you could argue this was the biggest play of the night. This is a contract year for Granderson and if he keeps this up, he is going to have a very good offseason.

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