Early-season stumbles are par for the course for Sean Payton’s Saints

Another year, another slow start for the New Orleans Saints. After handling their business in the season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady, they dropped losses in each of the following weeks to the Las Vegas Raiders and the Green Bay Packers by a combined margin of 71-54. New Orleans also lead the NFL with 24 fouls for 331 penalty yards, further evidence of their sloppiness out of the gate.

Unfortunately, that’s been the norm since Sean Payton was hired to coach the team. Under his management, the Saints are 25-22 during the month of the September, usually the opening games of each season; but their record jumps to 38-13 in October, reflecting the in-season adjustments he and his staff have made year after year.

Put another way, that’s a leap from a September winning percentage of .532 all the way up to .745. Over the course of a full season, that’s the difference between an 8-7-1 regular season record and a 12-4 finish. That’s, uh, significant.

So don’t lose faith yet, even if the Saints are making it easy to doubt their process. There’s plenty of time for Drew Brees to get in better sync with his weapons (especially once Michael Thomas is back in the lineup), and for the pass rush to wake up from whatever’s put Cameron Jordan to sleep — returning third-year defensive end Marcus Davenport should help with that.

The Saints are set to visit the Detroit Lions before returning to New Orleans for another prime-time game with the Los Angeles Chargers, and both teams have 1-2 records.

There’s a world where the Saints go into their Week 6 bye with a 3-2 record, before coming out the other side and going on a tear. But they have a ton of work ahead of them if we’re going to see it.