GLENDALE, Ariz. — Walking around the locker room at University of Phoenix Stadium, it was hard not to find a member of the defense who didn’t feel some degree of optimism about their performance against the Arizona Cardinals.
Sure, the Saints were getting ready to board the bus as 31-19 losers, but the unit felt it performed well enough to avoid being accused of throwing the offense underneath it. They kept this group in the game right up until the decision to punt with around two minutes remaining led to Arizona’s final touchdown Sunday afternoon.
The optimism isn’t unwarranted.