With only 2 1/2 NFL games under his belt, Bears quarterback Tyson Bagent understands the value of experience.
He sees it in the New Orleans Saints defense, which the Bears will face in the Superdome on Sunday.
“Yeah, they’re a veteran group,” Bagent explained. “They’ve been together for a long time and don’t back down.
“So they are where they’re supposed to be. They’re an older group, but like I said, everybody is where they’re supposed to be and they’re sound in what they do.”
Coach Dennis Allen’s defense has held five of the eight Saints opponents to 20 points or less but was leaking against Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars in a 31-24 loss, then last week against Gardner Minshew and the Colts in a 38-27 win.
The same veteran emphasis is there on offense as the Saints continue to transition toward the future in the post-Drew Brees era, now with Derek Carr at quarterback. New Orleans has 15 players on its roster in their 30s, second-highest total in the league behind the Jets (16). By contrast, the Bears have seven.
Here are Saints who provide the biggest challenges for the Bears in Week 9 at the Superdome, a place where they haven’t won since 1991.
1. DE Carl Granderson
The five-year veteran has picked up his pass rush as teammate Cameron Jordan’s has seemingly begun to fade. The 6-foot-5, 261-pound Granderson already has matched a career high with 5 1/2 sacks and has done the same with nine tackles for loss. He has three sacks in the last four games and will be lining up across from Larry Borom, unless Braxton Jones is able to come off injured reserve and play this week.
2. DE Cameron Jordan
Now 34, the Saints top pass rusher is starting his 200th game on Sunday and appears to have slowed this year. He ha only one sack and four QB hits but has not had less than 7 1/2 sacks for a season since his rookie year of 2011.
In his last regular-season games against the Bears, Jordan had 3 1/2 sacks, six QB hits and three tackles for loss. So he has a record for giving the Bears fits. Jordan will be going against rookie Darnell Wright in this game.
3. RB Alvin Kamara
In his seventh season, Kamara has never had a 100-yard rushing year but doesn’t need it. He adds so much in the passing game that he still gets as many touches as some backs do who are carrying it 300 times. He had 280 touches last year but 57 on passes. This year Kamara’s yards per catch are way down at 5.8 yards but he’s still a screen threat and last week the Bears looked particularly inept defending the screen.
4. QB Derek Carr
They’ve blended Carr’s passing into the attack with mixed results. The 32-year-old QB’s TD pass rate is down at 2.8%. In fact, it’s by far the worst of his career. However, they’ve managed to bring his interception rate down to his second-best. So he’s taking less risk with lots of screen and short passes to backs and tight ends or the slot receiver.
5. LB Demario Davis
The 34-year-old inside linebacker is another of the veterans who rarely gets fooled. He seems to have little problem being effective as a 12-year veteran. His 54 tackles is right on pasce with last year’s 109-tackle total and he has four tackles for loss to go with two sacks and three pass deflections. The former All-Pro and Pro Bowl linebacker also has missed only three tackles this season, or 5.3%, which is his lowest missed tackle rate since 2019. He has gone 95% of his team’s defensive snaps six times and is ahead of that pace again this year. His pass coverage is part of the reason New Orleans is seventh against the pass
6. QB/TE Taysom Hill
The 6-2, 221-pound Swiss army knife is still doing his quarterback-tight end-running back routine to complement Carr. It’s not quite what most 32-year-old football players do, but he’s averaging 5.3 yards a carry as a ball carries and has 16 catches, which is the second-highest total of his career. His pass attempts have come down the last two yeasjust five this year and 19 in 2022, but one was a 44-yard completion and he averages 8.0 yards per pass attempt for his career. At least he has cut back on playing special teams as he has just one tackle and only two in the past four years after he was a special teams wild man his first three seasons.
7. CB Paulson Adebo
For years Marshon Lattimore was the standard for the Saints at cornerback but now Adebo has made a surge forward in Year 3 as Pro Football Focus’ 16th-ranked cornerback out of 116 graded, and 18th ranked in both pass coverage and run defense. The 6-1, 192-pounder has dropped his passer rating against to 45.2 from 119.6 and he has two interceptions on the season, five for his career. Lattimore, the four-time Pro Bowl player, is still playing at a high level, just not where Adebo is.
8. WR Chris Olave
Justin Fields’ former Ohio State teammate has taken over the receiving lead from 30-year-old Saints veteran in receptions and receiving yards. He’s a true big-play threat with speed and excellent hands as well as advanced route-running ability. He has team highs of 44 catches and 517 yards.
9. WR Rashid Shaheed
Adangerous punt returner who averages 16.2 yards a return with one TD. He is also being blended into the offense at a better rate than in his first season and needs only six catches to pass his rookie total. As a receiver, he leads the NFL in yards per catch at 20.8 per his 23 receptions.
