Before the season, it was hard to find any New Orleanian who was optimistic about this New Orleans Saints team, let alone anyone in the media. In July, I stood next to several of them in Irvine, California, as we watched the Saints offense under new offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak struggle through their sets against their first team defense. While we all were pretty confident that the Saints defense was the “real deal,” we were almost equally confident that the offense, while looking different, would breed similar sluggish results that they did last year.  

Boy, have we been wrong so far. On Sunday, the Saints came marching into Dallas and marched straight into the endzone five times… before halftime, in their 44-19 win. Watching the game on Sunday made me realize that training camp might be harder than the actual games. Klint Kubiak’s new system, which mirrors that of Sean Mcvay and Kyle Shanahan in its emphasis on motion, running the football and the play action pass, has stars Derek Carr and Alvin Kamara playing some of their best football in what has been long and mostly fruitful careers.  

Carr finished the day with 243 yards on just 11 completions, along with two touchdowns. Kamara had 115 yards on the ground and 65 more off a screen pass, leading to four touchdowns, three of which came before halftime: I had him on my fantasy team in one league, and was smiling ear to ear throughout. The other offensive standout, speedster Rashid Shaheed, had 96 yards and a touchdown off another bomb from Carr. This offense has combined for 91 total points through two games, which is the second most of all time. They are behind only the 2009 Saints, who later went on to win the Super Bowl. 

While the offense certainly has caught me by surprise, the defense is exactly how I expected. Even without star cornerback Marshon Latimore, the Saints defense was flying around the field, intercepting Dak Prescott two times. The defense held strong throughout the game, turning many long Cowboy touchdown-hopeful drives into field goals and even forcing them off the field on critical fourth downs late in the game.  

In the NFL, it is easy to start putting your foot on the brake when you get off to a hot start. The Saints’ early opponents make it impossible for them to do that, especially in a tight NFC South. Next week will be even more of a test when the Philadelphia Eagles come to town. The game is in New Orleans on Sunday at 12 p.m. CST. Get ready; the Superdome is going to be rocking.