i'm interested in other peoples opinions as to what happened to my saints.....i'm looking for serious discussion, so take all that 'saints suck' and 'aints' crap to the smack thread. i am almost fully convinced that last year was a fluke.....i guess the sun shines on everyone at least once. this team looks like complete crap. i am preparing myself to go at least 0-5.....we play the panthers after the bye, then the seahawks. i can't grasp how last years #1 offense looks like a pop warner team what the heck happened to brees? i know preseason doesn't mean crap.... but he looked better then than he does now. what the heck happened to coach payton's play calling? he looked like a genius last year. could he be overwhelmed and is trying to do too many things at once? this team needs an identity....i don't know if they want to be finesse or smash mouth....pick one please.
I wonder how much of it is down to the fact that Colston is now the #1 guy and teams know how to play against him and nullify his threat
not just colston....but wr's in general the poor play of our o-line demands quicker shorter routes, thusly negating any possibility for a deep pass to develop
Even with Joe Horn gone and Colston as the #1 guy, they haven't run the ball well when they've actually decided to. Their offensive line hasnt played well, Brees is playing like the Grossman of the south and Reggie Bush is a non-threat. I will have to lay most of the blame at the feet of Sean Payton. I think he started to get a little too confident in his abilities and is calling the game differently now. Since Duece is injured and possibly out for the season, I dont think they'll be able to restart the running game to the level they had it at last year. I havent seen them try to utilize their TE and the defense has played terribly.
:agreed: , the loss of Deuce may be a slight blessing in disguise for you as it takes away the smash mouth style and leaves you the finesse
There are a bunch of things this year: Softer schedule compared to this year. Defenses better prepared for Reggie Bush. Colston was a flash in the pan last year. Yeah he was good, but you're still a 7th round pick for a reason. Saints played over their heads and fed off the energy from Katrina. Saints have a defense that's can't penetrate the line of scrimmage and can't cover anyone. I'm actually glad the Saints are 0-3. Not for the fans or the team. They deserve better than this. But their owner is such a pompous butthole that he doesn't deserve a winning team.
i didn't want to admit it last year, but i think another problem is that ALOT of our starters are 'rejects' from other teams that didn't want them anymore.....kind of like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. simoneau is a glaring example...but there are plenty others.
It reminds me a lot of when the Falcons brought in Jim Mora Jr, his enthusiasm and a quick start carried them to the NFC championship, but the next couple years, his players just lost interest. I'm afraid I see a lot of similarities. Hopefully, you don't have anybody out there dogfighting or something, I wouldn't even wish that on a Saints fan.
my next question..... is the bye week (this week) enough time to turn things around? i was angry when i saw our bye was so early......now i'm glad we have the opportunity to right this ship
You all may beat us if we don't pick up our play on getting pressure on the quarterback because our defense hasn't look like its former self. Now offensively though you may have problems with us with Steve Smith, Foster, & Williams looking good plus mattering on which quarterback is in that game Jake or Carr. It will be a good game though. Your alls biggest problem is your o-line and the fact you have to rely on Bush now and have no Power running game which makes it harder on Brees you can't throw 45 passes a game and not expect alot of turnovers the defense will catch on that your passing so much.
To jump back to your original post SF - My take is that last year was not a fluke, I expected the Saints to improve and it helped to have emotion on their side but it was more than that. The NFC was so wide open, a break here or there could have got a number of other teams as far as the Saints got. This year, I expected a step back but not something like this. The back seven never really got addressed and over achieved last year but the loss of form of Brees and in particular, Jamaal Brown are bigger problems. I do think the loss of Joe Horn is underrated, he was a better receiver than many gave him credit for. Brees will get his mojo back, maybe Brown too, but Bush is not a 25-30 carries a game bruiser back and the Saints running game needs serious help. This season might be beyond saving (and I think it's a good time for a bye, they can step out of the focus of why they are 0-3 and concentrate on getting things right) but the long term building of the franchise is not. They have a number of key positions that will see them right for the long term but the off-season must see the whole of the defense addressed.
