Speaker #0who that to the who that nation welcome to the who that's a podcast your podcast for the new orleans saints here on the kb radio network i am your fellow who that and host kevin reed and welcome who that nation to the new orleans saints week three preview uh as we open up the for the first time this season yes the saints coming off of our two road game opener which was kind of odd but i guess it's happening around the league as well but uh it's weird that the saints finally get to the dome this sunday in their home opener against the two and oh las vegas raiders nonetheless and this is a kind of a monumental thing and for so many reasons so many reasons you First and foremost, this marks the 20-year anniversary of the Saints reopening the Dome on Monday Night Football against the Atlanta Falcons after Hurricane Katrina. Probably one of the greatest moments, one of, I'm saying it's the greatest moment in New Orleans history, but one of the greatest moments in New Orleans history. the Saints defeated the Atlanta Falcons in that Monday night matchup. I remember watching that game with my cousin and we were we were just blown away. I never felt so much emotion in a game like that. It was it was it was phenomenal. It was phenomenal. I think I had more emotion in that game that Monday night game than I did for the Super Bowl victory. even though it was emotional of course i waited 40 years for it but it was more emotional because it was so much behind it you know the uh symbol of the city coming back and all that good stuff after all of that devastation from that storm and uh the aftermath mainly but that was such a pinnacle moment in new orleans history and for the saints to come out and just dominate the Atlanta Falcons in that game. I don't think anybody was going to win that game against the Saints that night. You could have resurrected the 72 Dolphins, and they would have lost that game against the Saints in the Dome that night. It was just amazing, amazing. But, yeah, we've reached that anniversary this week, and also it is the return of Clint. Kubiak, this time being the head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, in case you forgot. He was the offensive coordinator for a short stint two years ago under Dennis Allen. And the potential was there. We saw it in those first couple of games of that first season. You know, they put up historic numbers offensively. And then injuries happened. The whole thing just derailed from there. Dennis Allen got fired. Next thing you know, we brought in Kellen Moore, you know, coming off of his Super Bowl victory as the offensive coordinator of the Philadelphia Eagles. And now you have the former offensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks, who just won a Super Bowl, coming into the Dome. So you have the two. previous offensive coordinators who won a Super Bowl going up against each other as the head coach in this game and that's another monumental thing to take place in this game and more recently the Saints are coming off of probably the biggest upset of the season so far this young two-week season that we've had so far by defeating the Baltimore Ravens in Baltimore last week, and that was unexpected, to say the least, for a lot of people. And it put the league on notice. You know, if you notice that Saints are getting a lot of national attention this week, and, I mean, rightfully so. I mean, they earned that. If you put the two games together, even though they lost week one against Detroit, it was still an impressive hard fight. Gain. Dead. started the little you know eyes to peeking over at the saints like wait this team this team might be they might be pretty good and then to go into baltimore and pretty much start off the same way they did in detroit uh just luckily this time we didn't fall behind by 21 points but the saints managed to uh come back yet again and really shut down Lamar Jackson to a degree. You know, he didn't. That wasn't your typical Lamar Jackson. It wasn't your typical Derrick Henry. You know, he started off hot. I think he had, what, 51 yards in the first half and then completely disappeared in the second. And you can contribute that to the Saints defense as well as the Ravens offensive coordinator or the head coach, whoever, who was calling the plays because they went away from him. And I'm... trust me I'm happy that they did but a lot of that is what the Saints was throwing at them the way the defense was lined up that's why they didn't really go to Derrick Henry because the Saints adjusted to what they were doing and it made the offense of the Ravens a bit uncomfortable you know they knew that they didn't have anything receiver wise that was a real threat to them so The Saints took advantage of that, managed to fight back offensively. Tyler Shuck, once again, in the second half, he's the best second half quarterback in the league right now. Just lit up the Ravens defense. I mean, lit them up. And the Saints came out victorious. Now the Saints are dead even at 1-1 on the season going into this game. currently tied for first place in the nfc south with the carolina panthers uh this uh this game here between the saints and the ravens is the 17th time that they've met overall and las vegas unfortunately holds a slim lead over the new orleans saints in this series uh las vegas is 8, 7, and 1 overall. uh in the all-time series against the saints last time we met was december 29th uh 2024 i think that was a monday night game i could be mistaken no i know what whatever the case may be uh but the raiders beat the saints handily 25 to 10 in that game i do i do know that but uh new orleans is looking for their fourth consecutive win against the afc for the first time since 2019 and so in spite of all the problems the saints have incurred over the last couple of years they've they've done a pretty good job against the against the afc but this would not be a easy task uh the the raiders look really good i uh went and caught some i didn't watch the whole games but i did catch some highlights of at least a breakdown of the team on YouTube. And they really are a really good team. You know, I'm not saying they're going to go to the Super Bowl, represent the AFC or anything like that, but they really do look good. You know, Kirk Cousins is the quarterback currently for the Raiders as I guess they're taking their time with Mendoza before they just throw him into the lion's den. And so let's put the savvy veteran in, in Kirk Cousins, who I've never seen anybody fail upwards so much than Kirk Cousins. And it is not to say that Kirk Cousins is a horrible quarterback. He's not, you know, he's solid. He's a solid quarterback, successful everywhere he goes, but not not super successful because he has yet to crunch that thirst of a Super Bowl. But he has been. all around the lead on so many different teams but always seem to get a fully guaranteed contract no matter where he goes is is i don't know who his agent is but i need him to talk to uh talk for me on my job but uh kurt cousins is the quarterback and the saints saints it's kind of up and down when we play kurt cousins is all contingent on which kurt cousins we're going to get you know first and foremost kurt cousins is a statue back there you don't he's not lamar jackson who we just played uh lamar jackson has that threat of taking off on you and you blink and he's 50 yards upfield kurt cousins isn't going anywhere you don't have to worry about his mobility he has none uh he's 38 years old so it's not happening but uh he knows defenses he can read a defense he knows to get the ball out quick he knows the saint uh he was in atlanta for a little while he he played uh played us a few times when he was in minnesota and most most prominently i guess for him not for us of course uh for the houdat nation but in that playoff game when the saints played the vikings and the vikings beat us in the playoffs Not the miracle Not the one with Stephon Diggs, but the one with the dreaded push-off in the end zone that wasn't called in overtime. I think that was Kirk Cousins' first playoff win. Might have been his only. If I'm not mistaken, I don't think he won another playoff game. I think that was his only playoff win and it was against us. He has that to hang his hat on. But like I said, it won't be an easy out. Kirk Cousins aside, you still have a lot of talent on both sides of the ball. Their rookie cornerback, Hezekiah Masses, I believe that's how you say his name, he was kind of thrown into action after their lead corner got hurt in the season opener. Devin Porter with a foot injury, and he's worked out very well for them. He's only allowed. two receptions for 16 yards on six or seven passes, I should say. And so he's working out pretty good. Then he had two interceptions against the Chargers. And so he is a threat. Only him and Trent McDuffie for the Rams are the only cornerbacks with a 0.0 opponent pass of reading and at least five targets. So he is a threat. threat. I'm pretty sure he's going to be shadowing Chris Olave this Sunday. We're going to see if Chris Olave can continue the success that he's shown in the previous two weeks when he was just toying with team secondaries. To be fair, both of the secondaries that we've played have been lackluster. And to be fair, again, the raiders secondary isn't that good aside from this corner uh but other than that their success to be had uh but uh the raiders are motivated as well you know they they're looking for their first three and oh start since 2022 and so they they are they are thirsting for that you know to really show that they have turned the corner with this new coach and new system and and really trying to do something and you know i don't have any hatred towards the raiders i actually like the raiders on any other sunday than this sunday coming but uh no i i'm sorry i hope it doesn't happen this week but the raiders defense has an opponent passer rating of 63.2 behind only the seattle seahawks with 59 and so that's pretty decent that's number two in the league uh tyler shuck he leads the nfl with 62 completions and 662 yards passing through the first two weeks of the season um so far if the season was the end right now he'll probably be the mvp uh but the problem i'm having and i'm gonna beat this drum until i beat a hole in it we gotta get this run game together man we really need to get this run game together and there's no better time than now there's no better time than to then to unleash this running run attack at home home opener set the tone and travis etn or travis eachin we need him to step up we need him to step up to and i hate to do this i hate throwing contracts out But you're getting paid to be a top running back in this league. I need to see it. So far, two games in, I haven't seen it. I haven't seen a glimmer of it. Alvin Kamara, he gets a pass last week because that was his first action of the season. You know, he was trying to get acclimated. And then when you really go back and watch that game, I went back and watched it. And all of that. isn't Travis Eachen's fault? All of that unsuccessful run plays wasn't alvin camaro's fault it wasn't it wasn't the running back's fault some yeah it was some tiptoe burglars going on in there but that offensive line bro mainly caesar roll reads if you if you go back and watch that game caesar roll reads he was blocking nothing he was literally blocking air Travis Etienne or Etienne, I got to get used to it. Travis Etienne and Alvin Kamara will be getting hit in the backfield before they can even get to the offensive line, before they can even get to the hole that was created on the other side. It's like, my God, bro, put a hand on somebody. Somebody. I mean, literally, there were plays he blocked no one. He is the worst offensive lineman in football, and I don't understand why he's on the field. I don't understand why they don't bench this dude. He is not good. He is not good at all. Oh, my God. Going back to Tyler Shuck, though, the Tyler Shuck of it all, I have zero complaints, no notes, man. He is everything that they advertised him to be. I am sold. I see why the Saints went and got him where they got him. Of course, I made it known that I was skeptical as all skeptics can be when we made that pick for Tyler Shuck. I'm like, who? First and foremost, who? And then when you hear that he had multiple injuries in college and all this here, oh, God. Then you see him in preseason, and he looks like blah. I'm like, why did we do it? Why? Why? Well... I see why. I see why now. I'm a man. I can admit I was wrong. I was wrong on that one. And I'm happy to be wrong about this. I was praying to be wrong. So far, so good. You know, he is really, really looking good out there. He's starting to look comfortable, look like he's starting to get more command of the offense, especially last week. He really looked like he was in command of his offense as opposed to the Detroit game where he just looked like a deer in headlights but I feel good when he touches the field I get that feeling like okay we're going down here to score you know and that's a really good feeling when your quarterback hits the field and you know we got a chance to score and so uh yeah it's it's good that he's starting to get comfortable I just don't want to wear him out I don't need him throwing the ball 50 to 60 times a game I really don't want to see that. You know, I want the running game. What better weapon a young quarterback can have? Not star receivers. Not even so much an offensive line, even though that is important. But you need a run game. You need a solid run game to help out a young quarterback. Moving back to Chris Olave, as I mentioned earlier, he is looking phenomenal in these first two games. He needs to keep that Guardian helmet on, that little bucket on his head, because that's like his cape. That's like Superman's cape. Ever since he had that on his helmet, he has looked like Superman on the field. He looks like one of the best wide receivers in football. Currently, statistically, he's ranked second in the NFL with 18 catches and 268 yards receiving. He is there. He's unstoppable. He's uncoverable, man. I mean, he looks like, do I want to give him this? Yeah, I'm going to give. He looks like a younger Michael Thomas when we had a little more shiftier Michael Thomas. You know, Michael Thomas was more of a physical receiver, but Michael Thomas did have deceptive speed. He looked slow, but he wasn't. He has some deceptive speed. Whereas. Chris Olave, you can tell he has the speed. He's very shifty. But lately, he's been getting physical. You know, he's starting to develop that attribute. So I hope he keeps it up. I hope he stays healthy. I'm happy for him that he's just balling out out there. Going back to the run game, he's been struggling, to put it kindly, despite the offseason signing of Travis Eachin and the return of Alvin Kamara. from injury. They entered this week, week three matchup against the Raiders, ranked 28th. in rushing i'm actually shocked by that i thought there would have been 32nd honestly because they look that bad running the ball but they're 28th in the lead uh they average 78 yards per game rushing and so i mean what more can i say about it i really have there's nothing else to touch on numbers numbers don't lie let's go over this injury report The last injury report that was released on Friday afternoon. This is pretty much the final one before the game on Sunday, unless something catastrophic happens Saturday or Sunday morning. But we have two players, only two, that are ruled out for Sunday's matchup against the Raiders. Burland Brown, our kickoff return and a rod receiver who had a big return. last week that really it's really not talked about enough all the things that were talked about throughout the week after the Ravens game but that play that kickoff return at the end of the first half that set up the field goal big big return because that really changed the momentum it shifted after that return because the Saints were looking like they were ready to pack it in up to that point and then that little jolt of life and it was all saints after that moment but unfortunately we won't have his services this sunday he's dealing with a hamstring injury and defensive lineman christian miller dealing with a toe injury he had he has been ruled out for sunday's game we have one player that is questionable that is cornerback martin emerson jr with a shoulder injury he is questionable before Sunday's game. Well, I'm going to leave him alone. I really don't have nothing really positive to say, so I'm going to follow my mom's advice. If you have nothing nice to say, don't say nothing at all. So, of course, the most devastating news to come out of last week's game, despite the win, was that we lost our left tackle, Calvin Banks Jr., to IR with that high ankle sprain. Man. As if we didn't need any more bad news on that O-line to lose probably our best offensive lineman. That is our second-year player in Calvin Banks Jr. Yeah, man, that's going to hurt, especially when you have a Max Crosby lined up across from you. So that is devastating. We're going to feel that loss not only this Sunday, but weeks to follow. It is not. for the entire season. They're hoping he can get back in three to four weeks, but we'll see because, you know, we'll see. We'll see. And that brings me to the matchup to watch, and that is the Oakland Raiders' defensive ends versus the Saints' right tackle. We'll see if not only Talion Seifuaga, who kind of struggling this year. He's not. He's kind of scrubbed, but he's kind of deceptive. He's giving up a lot of sacks, but a lot of that's not on him. A lot of that is on Tyler Shuck holding the ball, not stepping up in the pocket. So I put some of that on Tyler Shuck, but I'm not crucifying him either. But how is he going to match up against a Max Crosby and a, what's the other one's name? I can't remember the other. defensive end they have his name but anyways they're they're both decent they're both good and we'll see how he can hold up not only him but the player replacing calvin banks jr uh eason richards who i don't know we'll see we'll see crosby usually is matched up against the right tackles but the raiders move they have moved him and they could test richards And if you was a defensive coordinator, why wouldn't you? Of course, I'm going to attack their weak spot, you know, with my best player. So most likely he'll be lined up across from Richards. Richards is in his fourth NFL season, and he performed well in his comeback season. You know, when he came in last week, I should say, to replace Calvin Banks Jr., he did decent. So... We'll see. We'll see in that matchup. But my key to a Saints victory is pretty simple. Run the ball. Attack. Jump on them early. Set the tone. Enough of this coming from behind. Enough of this resiliency showing that we're never out of it and all this here. We need to set the tone. We need to send a message. And this is the perfect game. First game at home. this season we we need to open that dome like we opened it 20 years ago against the atlanta falcons at monday night football i know the emotion behind it won't be there but we need to have that type of energy we need to come with the energy the saints had that night the energy the saints brought that night was we're not going to lose we're coming out here for the city this is for the city and they went out there and put on a clinic i need that same energy i need that same energy like i said not the same motivations because the city thank god isn't devastated but our fan base is we're tired of losing we're tired of struggling we need to show the league show the world and show the las vegas raiders that you picked with the wrong ones today. You should have stayed in Vegas. You shouldn't have came in that dome. And that leads me to my prediction. My prediction, I had the Saints winning this game, preseason predictions, and I'm going to stick with it. I'm going to say the Saints will come out victorious and bring their record to 2-1. It's going to be tough. This is not going to be an easy win. This will not be. be a gimme uh this is not your dad's raiders here this is this is a pretty good well-coached team uh with some real good veteran players especially at quarterback uh the saints are gonna have they're gonna have some some some hills to climb in this game but i think that the saints if they if they stick to what i said and if they hire me you to be on the sideline this sunday uh to help coach this team we could probably win because i'm gonna run the ball i don't care if it's one yard two yards here we're gonna stay committed we're gonna beat up this defense you're gonna have to stay committed to the run because this is an over aggressive defense at least they have shown that in the past and the only way to defeat that will be with a run game or or a short yards game, you know, screen plays, things like that, something quick to throw them off because they're pinning their ears back and coming after the quarterback. They're not paying attention to anything else. So you got to catch them off guard. But I think the Saints will win. I'm going to say 28-24, something like that. that type of game i think the saints will have control of the game throughout but not not to the point whereas they they're got a lot of distance between them a double digit lead and here there is going to be tight it'll be one possession throughout but i think the saints will hold on to come out victorious but that's that's just my prediction i i've been proven wrong many, many times before. So We'll see, but I am excited for this game. This looks like it's going to be a good one. This could be one of the marquee games of the weekend. We shall see. The Atlanta Falcons already won this week. Thursday night football, they defeated the Green Bay Packers finally. They finally got a victory. But, look, I'm all due respect to them. I mean, B. John Robinson looks like a grown man out there playing amongst boys. I don't know. There's no slander there. I can't talk bad about him, but I'm still not sold on Atlanta. Atlanta just doesn't move the needle for me, show no threat to me. Plus, Green Bay looks completely horrible. They look horrible. They can't do it. They can't run the ball. They can't pass. They can't defend. They just look bad. they looked bad thursday night so i like i say i don't want to take nothing away from the atlanta falcons but i mean come on come on they look bad uh anyways uh just to swing it around the nfc south also playing sunday the carolina panthers will take on the cleveland browns coming off their victory against tampa last week in that in that i don't know tropical depression that went I don't know what that was. They hit Tampa on Sunday during the game. But that ain't the only thing that hit Tampa. It was also hit by the Cleveland Browns. That score didn't reflect it. But Carolina, one and one as well. I don't know. I really have no predictions on that. I'm not even going to attempt to. And Tampa Bay will take on the Minnesota Vikings. Well, I can predict this one. I think the Vikings are going to mollywop the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa looks horrible, bro. Ever since Baker signed that new deal, he has looked like trash. And I was one of the main ones. It was like, man, Tampa needs to go ahead and pay Baker, bro. Baker went out there, played, heard, gave it his all, got him to the playoffs a couple of times, won the division a couple of times. I mean, he deserves his money, bro. Then he signs the deal. And he has looked horrible because the whole team looks bad. He doesn't have his safety valve no more. He doesn't have Mike Evans. You know, it's a different look. I don't know. They just look bad. They look really bad. And they're going up against a really good Minnesota Vikings team. So I think they're probably going to. lose their third game in a row but hey any given sunday right we'll see plus we need to focus on our own issues let's get past the oakland raider well not oakland they're not oakland no more the las vegas raiders uh now espn got the saints favored in this game big time uh they give the saints a 62.7 chance of winning this game i don't know about all that D- That's too high for me. I get nervous when it's too high. That's too high. This is the first time we've been favored this year. But that's besides the point. I don't think it's high. I think the Saints will win, but that just makes me nervous. But like I said, any given Sunday, we shall see. What's your thoughts of this upcoming matchup against the Raiders? Do you think the Saints will move up to 2-1 on the season? do you think they would drop their season opener at home against the raiders out you can let me know on all social media platforms all platforms you are currently listening to this show uh one of them is the kbradionetwork.com website where you can subscribe and be notified of new episodes here and previous episodes that's available for you to listen to and that also includes youtube Subscribe to the KB Radio Network channel and like this video if you don't mind. Don't forget about the five stars, the reviews, and sharing this show. If you're listening on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio, wherever, you are currently listening to the Who That Say Podcast, your podcast for the New Orleans Saints here on the KB Radio Network. Everybody, thank you for joining me for this week three preview of the Saints versus the Raiders this Sunday. Day 3 25 p.m. in the Caesars Superdome. Don't forget to come back and check with me after the game for the recap and reaction to the Saints versus the Raiders as we react to a Saints victory. Until then, I'm going to be screaming, who dat?
