Amon-Ra St. Brown's blunt take on brother's Saints: "No one in your f---ing room expects a Super Bowl"
Amon-Ra St. Brown and Equanimeous St. Brown sat down for their podcast and it immediately became clear that when it came to the Saint's Super Bowl chances, there was no love lost between the brothers. The siblings will not be playing in the same NFC North Division for the first time this season after the latter's departure to the New Orleans Saints.
But they will be in the same conference. The Saints did not make the playoffs last year, whereas the Lions, the younger brother's team, went to the NFC Championship game. Detroit is expectant again this year, whereas New Orleans' fans might have more measured expectations.
And Amon-Ra St. Brown was not shy in letting his brother know their team's different standings. He said,
"Everyone gets in the team meeting room, [the] coach is like, ‘What do you want to do? What are your goals?’ No one in your f***ing room thinks they're going to win a Super Bowl. Us? We know we can do it."
Could Amon-Ra St. Brown's Saint's take come back to haunt him?
While Amon-Ra St. Brown is correct that last year the Lions were better than the Saints, this is a new season. And certain dynamics in play could make the Lions wide receiver regret what he said.
The NFC South has been the weakest division in the NFL for a couple of seasons now. The Buccaneers have won for the past two years but had a losing record two years ago in Tom Brady's final rodeo and last year were one game above 0.500 to go into the playoffs.
Meanwhile, the NFC North saw two teams qualify for the postseason, with the Packers joining the Lions last season. Both teams have promising quarterbacks with a good array of weapons. The Chicago Bears have Caleb Williams and Rome Odunze as exciting offensive talents, complemented by veterans such as Keenan Allen and D.J. Moore. The Vikings have college National Champion J.J. McCarthy throwing to the highest-paid wide receiver, Justin Jefferson.
So, the NFC North could be much tougher to top than the NFC South. The Lions might miss out on making the playoffs despite having a better record than the Saints if Detroit cannot finish as the division winners and New Orleans does. In such a case, Amon-Ra St. Brown would be forced to watch from the sidelines as his older brother tries to rally his team in the postseason.
The NFL is always a funny old game and Amon-Ra St. Brown will be hoping he has not spoken too soon.