The Saints Are Playing Their Starters In The 4th Preseason Game For The First Time Since 2006

#Saints plan to play starters in preseason finale -- including QB Drew Brees for first time since 2006 https://t.co/YzLjPMu5zZ

— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) August 30, 2016

Who's panicking? I'm not panicking. You're panicking. This is actually a good thing. Yeah, totally a positive sign. Just trying to create a little forward momentum going into the season opener. Not at all an indictment of a starting offense that - regardless of their performance in the first 3 games - never (over the course of the last decade) needed to start the 4th preseason game to prove to themselves they are capable of being one of the most formidable in the league. Definitely NOT a manifestation of the overwhelming concern surrounding an offensive line that has only been successful in testing whether or not Drew Brees is still calm under pressure. I can't imagine this is an overreaction to a defense that looked great up until Ben Roethlisberger and Antonio Brown provided them a stark reminder of just how bad they can be when at their worst.

Nope, Sean Payton seems totally confident with what he's seen on both sides of the ball. That's why he's having his future Hall Of Fame starting quarterback play meaningless snaps just one week before those snaps actually count for something. He's actually sooooo sure that his protection has improved to a point that nothing bad can possibly happen to him while playing against Baltimore Ravens backups that will do anything to make the final cut. Yeah, that's it. Let's go with that. The Saints play has actually been such a huge reason for optimism that they don't want to take a week off and get cold. Whew, and to think...I was almost worried that the underlying logic behind playing imperative players in an insignificant game was one that spelled potential impending doom. Silly me.