IN THE BIZ SP ORTS
Domecoming, Again Saints have just two “home” games before Halloween. BY C HR I S PR ICE
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BIZ NEW ORLEANS
OCTOBER 2021
of town for the majority of the beginning of the season, lessening congestion on the region’s highways and surface streets, will assist the recovery. Saints fans, no doubt, have been tuning in to games on television and radio early in the season, but having the team back in New Orleans and being able to cheer on the team in person will lift the spirits of those doggedly working on ongoing repairs and renovations. The return to the Superdome will be good for the Saints, too. Star receiver Michael Thomas will miss at least the first five games of the season after he started the year on the physically unable to perform list due to a lingering ankle injury from Week 1 of the 2020 season. He’ll likely be back for the Seattle game on Oct. 25 or the Bucs game on Oct. 31. His return will give the Saints a huge boost on offense. Thomas missed more than half of the 2020 season, but in five years as a pro, he has almost 6,000 receiving yards and more than 30 touchdowns. Additionally, starting defensive tackle David Onyemata will be allowed to return for the Tampa game after serving a six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy. In the preseason, I predicted the Saints will hover around .500 through Week 15 and close the season with a three-game win streak to finish 10-7 overall and second in the NFC South with a 4-2 division record. Through everything the region has faced, and assuming there are no key injuries, I stick with that assessment. I think the NFC South will be a two-horse race between Tampa and New Orleans. If the Saints can post a winning regular season record, they should be on rather solid footing for a wild card berth and fifth-straight return for the postseason. Of course, once they’re in the postseason, anything can happen. Laissez les bons temps rouler! n
I L L U ST R AT I O N B Y T O N Y H E A L E Y
Chris Price is an award-winning journalist and public relations principal. When he’s not writing, he’s avid about music, the outdoors, and Saints, Ole Miss and Chelsea football. Price also authors the Friday Sports Column at BizNewOrleans.com.
IN PREVIOUS YEARS, BY THE TIME THE CALENDAR
reached Halloween, the NFL regular season was halfway complete. But not this year. With a 17-game season introduced in 2021 and a later opening day than normal — Sept. 12 — this season will push well into January 2022. That anomaly is affecting the entire NFL, but the season is hitting a bit different in New Orleans. The Saints’ 2021 schedule allowed for only three games in September, including the season opener against the Green Bay Packers. Hurricane Ida, of course, caused the team to relocate to the Dallas area for the beginning of the season. They had to play their first “home” game at TIAA Bank Field in Jacksonville, Florida, followed by road trips to Carolina and New England. Their f irst true home game in the Superdome is Oct. 3, when they host the New York Giants. They’ll go on the road to play the Washington Football Team in D.C., have a Week 6 bye, and then head to the Pacific Northwest to face the Seahawks in Seattle on Oct. 25. That means the Saints won’t play their second game of the 2021 season in the Caesar’s Superdome until Halloween, when they face division rival and the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The following week, they’ll welcome the Atlanta Falcons. Then for the next eight weeks, they’ll alternate two weeks on the road and two weeks at home until they travel to Atlanta for the final regular season game of the season. As the greater New Orleans and New York City regions were affected by Hurricane Ida (more people were killed by the storm in the northeast than the gulf coast), expect the Saints home opener against the Giants to receive a ton of national media coverage. The scene may not be as intense as the Saints’ original 2006 “Domecoming” against the Falcons — the year after the 2005 season, when the team played all their home games in New York, Baton Rouge and San Antonio. But, after COVID-19 safety protocols limited capacity at Saints games in 2020, the Giants game will be one of the first opportunities for a large audience to come together and put voice to the region’s resiliency. Hurricane Ida was one of the top five strongest storms to make landfall in the United States. It was a physically punishing storm that caused widespread power outages in the state. Southeastern Louisiana is still recovering from Ida’s impact. Having the team play out
