The Las Vegas Raiders have made some bad head coaching hires over the years but Dennis Allen was certainly one of the worst. His 0.222% winning percentage is the worst of any coach in franchise history who lasted at least two full seasons. He was fired four games into his third season after starting 0-4.
Despite being fashioned as a defensive guru, the Raiders allowed 27.8 points a game during his stint with the team. The New Orleans Saints decided to give Allen another chance at being a head coach after the surprise resignation of Sean Payton. The team is 2-5 after having a winning record in each of the last five seasons and Allen is already on the hot seat.
Getting revenge against the Raiders would certainly cool his seat down a bit. Running back Alvin Kamara is committed to making that happen and put Las Vegas on notice ahead of Sunday’s matchup.
“I actually forget about that, that he did coach there,” Kamara said, via Katherine Terrell of ESPN. “S***, we’re going to whoop their a** and make DA feel good.”
Andy Dalton to Start vs. Raiders
The Saints have been one of the most consistent teams in the NFL over the past 15 years but much of that was thanks to Payton, who never won less than seven games in a season. Allen is already flirting with the Saints’ first double-digit loss season since 2005 and only second since 1999.
The starting quarterback position has been difficult for the Saints to figure out this season with Jameis Winston getting hurt and not playing well. Andy Dalton has started four games but threw three interceptions last week against the Arizona Cardinals. That’s not stopping Allen from continuing to use Dalton despite Winston being healthy.
“Andy’s gonna get the start again this week,” Allen said, via ESPN. “I feel like he’s played well. Offensively, I feel like we’re in a little bit of a rhythm. We’ve been moving the ball effectively, we’ve scored points. And so we’re gonna continue down that road with Andy as the quarterback.”
Could Be a Shootout in New Orleans
Dalton may have thrown three interceptions last week but he also threw four touchdowns. The Saints are scoring 25.0 points a game, which is seventh best in the NFL. They have injuries to Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry right now but still have good weapons in Kamara and rookie wide receiver Chris Olave. The Raiders’ defense has struggled this season so the Saints should be able to put up points.
The same goes for Las Vegas’ offense. They are scoring the third most points per game in the NFL this season with 27.2. The Saints’ defense is allowing 28.6 points a game, which is the second most in the league. Sunday’s game has the makings of a shootout with two high-powered offenses taking advantage of two weak defenses. The Raiders are healthier and have a better roster so they should still be able to pull off the win with relative ease but they’ve proven this season that they can lose to any team. Beating the Saints and starting a winning streak would go a long way in getting the Raiders back in the playoff race.
