Could the Saints once again be Tom Brady's Kryptonite after making valuable additions in free agency?
When Tom Brady announced that he was retiring from the NFL, teams around the league let out a sigh of relief. The greatest quarterback to ever play the sport was hanging up his cleats and moving on. Then, 40 days later, Brady stunned the NFL by announcing that the retired life was not for him and that he was going to come back to try to lead the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to another Super Bowl victory.
Tom Brady has the retirement funds secured. 😅💰 https://t.co/2yiIrOsYi0
We know that, when Brady retires, he has a lucrative commentating job lined up for him with FOX, but when that will happen is still a mystery. NFL teams are going to have to wait a bit longer to stop game planning against a man who is almost impossible to plan for.
However, not every team has had a difficult time against Brady. The New Orleans Saints have always seemed to give Brady and the Buccaneers trouble. The Saints are one of two teams (the other being the Seattle Seahawks) who have a winning record against Brady. The legendary quarterback is 4-5 against the Saints all-time with four of those five losses coming in the past two years. In fact, in week 14 of the 2021 season, the Saints shut out the Buccaneers, limiting Brady to 214 passing yards, an interception and sacking him four times.
It definitely seems like the Saints have something over Brady and the Buccaneers.
The full list of division teams to sweep Tom Brady in the regular season in his 21 years as a starting QB in the league:
2020 New Orleans Saints
2021 New Orleans Saints
Entering the 2022 season, the New Orleans Saints don't seem to be giving up on their dominance of Brady. They recently added Jarvis Landry to complement the return of Michael Thomas and rookie Chris Olave. If quarterback Jameis Winston is healthy, he will have no shortage of options to throw to, making them an instantly dangerous offensive team.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Saints feature plenty of defenders who have given Tom Brady nightmares. Cameron Jordan has always been able to get to Brady, sacking him twice in the 9-0 shutout. The same goes for Marcus Davenport, who always plays well against the Bucs and also sacked Brady. Adding to Brady's woes is the Saints' newest acquisition, the "Honey Badger" Tyrann Mathieu, who adds another ball hawk to a defensive backfield that already features Marshon Lattimore and Marcus Maye.
New Orleans might not have head coach Sean Payton on their sidelines anymore, but they have retooled and restocked in an attempt to make the playoffs. It, no doubt, seems that the Saints are, once again, lined up to give Tom Brady and the Tampa Buccaneers nightmares once again, providing them with a legitimate challenge in the NFC South.