Tuesdays are normally a day for coaches to watch film and devise game plans for the upcoming opponent, but the Saints spent theirs trying to get home after Monday night’s game against the Seahawks.
Coach Sean Payton said that the delay didn’t stop the Saints from getting to work on preparations for Sunday night’s clash with the Panthers. Technology offered the team a helping hand and a way to kill the time until their plane back to New Orleans was finally ready to get off the ground.
“Everything is on the iPads now. Anytime you play a Monday night game, you don’t have the time to go back through and necessarily cover that opponent, the game you just played like you normally would because you are on a short week,” Payton said, via the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “We got in around 3, 3:30, came over to the offices and started our work. But the iPads had all the games of Carolina, cut-ups, everything that you necessarily needed. I don’t think there is a big adjustment or a big deal about getting back in the next day as opposed to 6 a.m.”
The Saints will hold their usual Wednesday practice on Thursday and they’ll work on Friday and Saturday as well before facing the Panthers. During his own Wednesday presser, Panthers coach Ron Rivera said he thought the Saints were “beatable” after watching them against the Seahawks but didn’t think the travel delay would hurt their preparations or make them an easier opponent come Sunday.
With the Saints back in the Superdome, that’s probably a wise approach.