OK, so the Super Bowl jinz may not be dead. As much as the New Orleans Saints and every other team vows not to let winning a Lombardi Trophy go to their heads, it’s obviously not as easy as it sounds. Recent history points to a major letdown for both teams that participate in a Super Bowl. For the Colts it was an opening day loss to the Texans. For New Orleans it was an overtime loss to the Falcons.
The big question is how does a defending Super Bowl Champion respond to the letdown? We may get some answers this week at the Louisiana Superdome. The Carolina Panthers are a winless NFL team. Yet they come into the game with an offense designed to pound the football. It’s an offense aimed directly at the heart of a Saints weakness, which is stopping the run. For three weeks the Saints defense has been devestated by Frank Gore, Adrian Peterson, and lastly Michael Turner. Now the face the Panthers who have DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart to throw at them. It’s gut check time in new Orleans. What seems like an easy win could be a defining loss for the Saints. Or a blowout.