Canal Street Chronicles
What to look for in the matchup between old division rivals.
The NFL schedule is out, and the New Orleans Saints now know who they will be playing and when. In week 2, an old division rival, the San Francisco 49ers, comes to town.
The 49ers will play their second straight road game to start the season after Seattle. If star running back Christian McCaffrey is healthy to start the season, San Francisco could be a formidable opponent.
“He’s an elite player, and we’re going to do everything we can to get him the ball as much as we can.” Klay Kubiak, the offensive coordinator for the 49ers, spoke about McCaffrey's importance. “He’s one of our central players on offense.”
The first-year OC also said that he hopes second-year wide receivers Ricky Pearsall and Jacob Cowing take a successful second-year jump when asked if he had any specific meetings with players.
“I don’t want to single out players, but you think of the younger guys who were maybe rookies last year, guys like Ricky and Jake who were successful. There’s always a jump in the second year.” Kubiak said. “So, you’re kind of talking through that expectation of what you think they need to do to be consistent and make that jump and to be consistent NFL players.”
Thankfully, the Saints have a former 49ers coach in Brandon Staley, who was their assistant head coach last year and is now the Saints' defensive coordinator this year. This provides a sense of comfort. But that in no way means that San Francisco will be an easy opponent. In fact, this situation should serve as a reminder of how competitive the 49ers have been over the past few years, even if it may appear that they are heading for a down year.
