Panthers vs Saints: 5 more questions with Canal Street Chronicles

What a season of change it has been.

Welcome to the end of the 2022 season. Fittingly, the Carolina Panthers are going to see it off in the company of their most hated rivals: the New Orleans Saints. I suppose hate is a strong word, but these teams have a history of not getting along and both have an easy excuse to be upset this week after Carolina’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers eliminated them both from playoff contention last week.

To get an idea for how the Saints are looking at the stakes for this week and check in on the general state of a team that the Panthers haven’t seen since Matt Rhule was head coach, I spoke with Tina Howell over at Canal Street Chronicles. Read on for the expected impact of a returning Marcus Lattimore and advice on whether you should trust the 3.5 point spread that DraftKings Sportsbook has on this game.

The Panthers haven’t seen the Andy Dalton Saints yet. The ‘quarterback’ we’re most familiar with at this point is Taysom Hill. What can Panthers fans expect to see from Dalton working against an injured Carolina secondary? (Read: how’s his deep ball?)

Dalton has developed some great chemistry with WR’s Chris Olave (who is on the cusp of a 1000-yard season) and undrafted speedster Rasheed Shaheed. I expect the Saints to try to take advantage of the Panthers situation and have a big passing game.

Speaking of our old friend Taysom, he has almost 1,000 yards of offense this season. He has a combined 867 yards rushing/receiving/passing. Does his brand of positionless football naturally suit a team that has struggled to find its identity all year?

Yes, statically the Saints are better when Hill is on the field. His versatility is definitely an asset because teams cannot plan for him. It may not work for everyone, but it works for us.

Marshon Lattimore, recently returned from injury, is the only Saints corner to have recorded an interception this season. The team only has five total. Sam Darnold has thrown only one pick in his five starts this season, but used to have a propensity for multiple-turnover games. What are you hoping for out of the New Orleans secondary this week?

Getting Lattimore healthy and back on the field changes everything. Unfortunately, it came way too late in the season, but rookie Alontae Taylor has been impressive, really stepping up in Lattimore’s absence. I think they will continue to improve based off of last week’s performance.

With the Panthers single-handedly and completely intentionally crushing the Saints playoff hopes by ingeniously losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, what kind of moral victory is Dennis Allen trying to sell the team on this week? Actually, what are the odds that Allen is still the head coach of the Saints on Monday?

The players have been playing hard the last few weeks for Allen, but I don’t know if it will be enough to save his job. Fans have been extremely vocal about wanting him gone. Not everything that went wrong this season was his fault (injuries) But a lot of the issues were due to poor decisions made by both Allen and Pete Carmichael. What will be the fallout, if any? We will see soon.

The Saints opened as 3.5 point favorites against the Panthers and that line has shifted a whopping 0.5 points since in the Panthers favor. Do you trust the Saints at -3 or are you expecting a sillier finish to these two, ultimately inconsequential, seasons?

Yes, I do actually have some trust in the Saints right now. They have managed to put together a 3-game win streak and the defense has given up 20 points or less. Although things started to come together a little too late, I think they will finish this season strong with a win. 24-14 Saints