Saints M.I.A.’s Who Need to Show Up to Jumpstart the 2016 Season
By Bob Rose
Dec 6, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton (1) and middle linebacker Stephone Anthony (50) talk after their game at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The Panthers won 41-38. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
The New Orleans Saints are heading into their weekend off for the Bye, on the heels of their much-needed (and somewhat lucky) victory last week over the San Diego Chargers.
With all of their much talked about injury woes, and with such a young roster still adjusting to each other and to life in the NFL; maybe never in the team’s entire 50 year history has a bye week come at a better time.
Why is that, you ask?
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Well, the obvious reason is that the Saints resemble a a walking M*A*S*H* unit; with a total of 7 starters alone missing on defense in the win against San Diego, due to injury.
The Saints have been reduced to signing players right off the street (literally) after suffering an inordinate amount of injuries that included losing both of their starting cornerbacks in the first 2 weeks of the season.
However, injuries aren’t the only thing that has hurt this Saints team in their (1-3) start.
They’ve also been the victim of some rather uninspiring play, by several key contributors that for one reason or another, have not performed up to the level that has been expected for them.
With that, this evening I’m taking a quick look at seven Saints players that have, for one reason or another, been mostly “M.I.A” (Missing In Action) during the first four weeks of the season.
Their eventual (or so it’s hoped) return to prominent roles could very well be the difference in whether New Orleans can climb into a playoff contending position, by the end of this season.
And we start with this dynamic play-maker, when he’s at the top of his game…….