The Saints traded Brandin Cooks to the Patriots in a move that everyone thought would be brilliant for the Patriots. However, Tom Brady looked like an old man on Thursday night against the Chiefs, the Saints have no wide receivers, and Cooks needs time to work things out with Brady. This trade could hurt the Saints much more than it helps the Patriots, and that is scary for New Orleans.
Brees has no one
The Saints have running backs, but they do not have any star receivers because Willie Snead has been suspended. Brandin Cooks could have become a good receiver for Brees, but he is up in New England.
Brees will have to create a dump off offense that does not represent much of a downfield threat, and it could be compounded by the fact that Adrian Peterson will want to have the ball 30 times a game. The Saints could have no offense at all, and it is scary to imagine how bad they could be if Cooks is excelling in New England.
Cooks in New England
No one said that Tom Brady should retire, but he did look like an old man on Thursday. He looked bad enough that the only sound bites anyone got were about how bad the Patriots were. Bill Belichick smacked his lips a lot as he admitted that they did not play well enough to deserve to win the game, and they could not really do much with Cooks. We forgot that Julian Edelman is a brilliant slot receiver, and it will take time for Cooks to become a part of the Patriots offensive juggernaut.
The Saints are hurt more
Sean Payton had one good season with the Saints in which he won a Super Bowl, and we can applaud him for that. However, he is not the kind of coach who coaches up all the people on his roster. He has been leaning on Drew Brees for years, and he has been through a number of scandals and bad seasons that should have shown us that he would not have an answer if Cooks was traded or got hurt.
The Saints clearly have no answer for what they should do this season, and Brees needs to make use of his running backs because he has not been given anything else that will help him.
The Patriots will correct themselves
The Patriots will adjust themselves after having a very bad week one, and they will ensure that they do not play that badly again.
The Patriots will find a way for Cooks to be a part of the offense on a regular basis. They simply need to find something that he does well, and he will start scoring for the Patriots as they inevitably go 13-3 or 12-4. The Saints messed up, and we can see that.
