A born-and-raised Louisianan, Matt Miguez covers the New Orleans Saints for Canal St. Chronicles. He spoke to The Denver Gazette for our weekly Broncos Q&A:
The Denver Gazette: When I think Louisiana, I think (ex-Broncos wide receiver) Brandon Stokley. What's the local scoop on Stoke?
Matt Miguez: “We’re very proud of Brandon. He’s a kid that nobody thought would make it big — kind of like a lot of guys from here. Son of a coach, played high school football in the Lafayette area. Then he played for his dad at UL. In 1996, they threw a quarterback out there by the name of Jake Delhomme and Brandon was with him. Those guys beat Texas A&M, which was No. 24 at the time. Brandon embodies the Cajun spirit of being constantly overlooked but succeeding in the world anyway. We love Brandon."
DG: What’s the buzz around (Saints quarterback) Spencer Rattler?
Miguez: “Saints fans are begging for Spencer Rattler. It’s one of those things where Derek Carr hasn’t performed to the level that was expected, and they’re looking for something new. Spencer had a really good college career (at South Carolina and Oklahoma). Good arm, great vision of the field. And when his pocket broke down (Sunday against Tampa Bay) he could extend the play. If you’re asking me from a journalistic perspective? This is still Derek Carr’s team. But the Saints are keeping (Carr’s) injury close tot he vest, which is concerning. The Saints are notorious for not giving out a lot of information on injuries. So we don’t know.”
DG: What were the preseason expectations in New Orleans?
Miguez: “Expectations were not super high, but fans were hopeful the Saints could make the playoffs. When they started out by scoring (91) points (through two games), everybody said, ‘OK, this team could be for real.’ Then you get ravaged by injuries. … A third of their roster is on the injury report (this week). And that’s a large contributor to the four-game losing streak. But you saw — especially offensively — what this team was capable of. Now fans hope they can get some pieces back before it’s too late.”
DG: What’s the sentiment around (Regis Jesuit and Colorado State graduate) Klint Kubiak, the Saints’ offensive coordinator?
Miguez: “Saints fans are really pleased with what Klint Kubiak does. He’s brought in a system the whole league has wanted to run or is running, and he’s sprinkled some of his own wrinkles into it. There’s some shades of his father (Gary) in what he does. And the Saints have the personnel to run his system — when they’re healthy. It’s really instilled a good culture in the Saints organization. Fans really like Klint Kubiak.”
DG: How hot is (head coach) Dennis Allen’s seat?
Miguez: “Well, I wouldn’t mind if Klint Kubiak is the next coach of the Saints. Yeah, I think (Allen’s seat) needs to be pretty hot. His record’s not there. You look at this Saints team and, yes, they’ve been ravaged by injuries and that’s an issue. But you want to see that level of improvement over time. You just haven’t seen it from Dennis Allen. The last two years you fall one game short (of the playoffs). Now this season looked promising and you’re 2-4 with Sean Payton, the guy who got the Saints where they are, coming in. If things don’t turn around there will need to be a change.”
DG: The Saints’ success during that run — was it more Sean Payton or more Drew Brees?
Miguez: “You don’t have one without the other. I don’t think Drew Brees is as successful without Sean Payton, and Sean Payton isn’t as successful without Drew Brees. He struck gold with Drew Brees. They went hand-in-hand. In New England, with Brady and Belichick, maybe some people pick sides. But with the Saints, Payton and Brees needed each other. It worked.”
DG: What did Payton mean to New Orleans?
Miguez: “It was something I’ve never seen before. Your life revolved around the Saints. We joke that if the Saints played at Noon, you went to 7 o’clock Mass to get home for the Noon kick. You didn’t go out the night before so you were ready for the Saints game. And that lasted over a decade. I can remember when I was a kid the Saints were going 6-10, 5-11, 3-13. Then Drew Brees and Sean Payton came together and it started clicking.
“The funny thing is, (Hurricane) Katrina helped in a way. It forced (general manager) Mickey Loomis and (owner) Tom Benson to undergo a rebuild of the team. If Katrina doesn’t hit in 2005 and the Saints end up winning 7-8 game, there’s a real possibility that Jim Haslett doesn’t get fired and Aaron Brooks is the starting quarterback. Things looked bleak. Instead, they find this young (offensive coordinator) in Sean Payton and this broken quarterback in Drew Brees and somehow it worked. You can’t call it a dynasty, but they built an awesome football team.”
DG: What does the Manning name mean in New Orleans?
Miguez: “The Mannings are everything here. I mean it: they’re everything. Archie has this legendary carer where he plays for the Saints. Then you have Peyton and Eli play (high school ball) here and have great college careers and even better NFL careers. And they’re still involved in the city. That’s the amazing part. They still come back to Thibodaux to do the Manning Passing Academy. The way they still choose to be so involved, it’s so awesome to see. If you go out to Thibodaux and Nicholls State, they play on Manning Field. They’re everything.”
DG: We need Arch Manning, Saints quarterback.
Miguez: “The whole city would be onboard with that. He would sell the most jerseys in history.”
DG: Give us the can’t-miss spots for Broncos fans traveling to New Orleans for the game.
Miguez: “It’s New Orleans. There’s so many. There’s Walk Ons (Sports Bistreaux). Brennan’s. Manning’s. Drago’s. There are so many. A spot that a lot of people don’t talk about is Creole House on Canal. That’s really good, authentic Louisiana food.”
DG: Prediction time.
Miguez: “I’ll take Saints 28, Broncos 24. I think both offenses make some plays. Both defenses make some plays. The Saints have shown this season they can force turnovers. They forced three (interceptions) on Sunday (against the Bucs). I’ll say Alontae Taylor forces a turnover late and the Saints win in the fourth quarter.”
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