Jon Stinchcomb to Saints fans: Adjust your expectations

Of course, Stinch is right that we can't expect to see the same high, consistent level of play out of the offense game in and game out without Brees. On the other hand, even with Drew we weren't getting to the big dance. I know, I know, we should have in 2018 if not for the horrible non-call, and we lost in a decent game to the eventual Super Bowl champs last year. Nevertheless, what I am getting at is that I don't think it's going to be like night and day watching the Brees-less Saints. In fact, I think our defense will continue the recent trend of getting better and will be extremely competitive this year. It looks like, rather to everybody's surprise, that we could have our deepest and best front 7 ever under Payton. And if Adebo pans out, we'll be good in the secondary again. It's hardly inconceivable. The question is, of course, how good and how consistent the offense can be. There is a case for some optimism b/c it looks like this could be our best starting O line in some time, as I believe Ruiz is going to perform better in his second year with a full training camp under his belt, and McCoy is really coming into his own now. Our two tackles are among the best in the league. Peat remains something of a question mark but is above average in the run game. Mainly, he just needs to stay healthy. Secondly, Payton is not going to let the offense go into the tank. He's too good of an offensive mind not to come up with effective ways to utilize the talent that we have. Albeit, we're thin at WR, especially until CGM gets back on the field, but we're stacked at RB and should be better at TE than last year. I'm not willing to assume that this is going to be a down season at this point. I want to see how things develop on the field.
You're right about the defense. Everyone was freaking over losing several guys, but the majority of those we lost were simply depth pieces on this team to begin with. We've been so good at finding depth the last 4 years, that I think we are seeing that there shouldn't be much of a dropoff. The key is the young Adebo. If he can hold his own, we are going to be just fine on defense, I do believe. Obviously, offense is the main question mark, specifically QB and receiver. The QB change in itself is a huge adjustment, and it doesn't help to be thin at receiver on top of it. I really hope we are somehow able to pick up a playmaker there.

The defense looks like it will again be able to give our offense every chance to succeed, which is huge considering the potential weaknesses in the passing game. Hopefully once the starter is ultimately decided, the repetitions between the starter and the receivers will increase the overall consistency of the passing game, as everything hopefully starts to click. From the o-line to the QB to the receivers, everyone has to be on the same page, and having the QB locked in should help.