As I sat in my seat in the dome amongst a crowd that was
about half as enthusiastic as usual, I have to confess that I had that old
sinking feeling. There was never a point
at which I felt like the Saints were going to win.
There was only one point when I felt good, and it was short
lived. When Johnny Patrick picked up an
apparent fumble and raced into the end zone for what should have been their
second defensive touchdown of the day and should have put the Saints ahead 31 –
13 I began to dream of an 8-8 season finish.
But the referees, whom I usually don’t say too much about, made the
worst call since replay was instituted, and their explanation made it
worse. They couldn’t see a clear recovery. I guess Patrick standing in the end zone wasn’t
a clear enough indicator. About 60 seconds
later Deangelo Williams made another big run and the Panthers brought it to
24-20 and the Saints were on their way to total deflation. Brees and company couldn’t keep up, as they
continued to call plays like they’re playing a video game. Sean Payton’s return to play-calling will be
very welcome, thank you.
But the Saints offense is certainly good enough to win in
the NFL. Hats off to the stalwarts. Brees was as productive as usual, although he
was forced to force the ball in a little too often. Pierre Thomas was their most consistent
player on offense. Marques Colston now
has a record 58 touchdowns as a Saint, and he and Lance Moore topped 1000
receiving yards. No one can cover Darren
Sproles. Mark Ingram continues to
improve, although he hasn’t been a difference-maker. Joseph Morgan showed some promise, and will
probably take over completely for Devery Henderson next year. Jimmy Graham continues to be a most tempting
target for Brees, although he led the league in drops. Yes, the weapons are there.
No, the Saints can spend the off-season worrying about a
defense that gave up over 7000 yards to set an NFL record. There’s
one inescapable fact about the Loomis/Payton era: They can’t evaluate defensive talent like
they can offensive talent. Their free
agent/late round picks on offense (Colston, Moore, Ivory, Thomas, Evans, Graham)
consistently outperform their first round picks on defense (Robinson, Jordan, Smith,
Ellis, Jenkins, etc.) Now in fairness,
success pushes you down the draft list, so we’re not talking about high first
round here. We don’t get too many shots
at the defense elite like Willis, Suh, or Von Miller. Every defensive interior free agent we bring
in has struggled. Spags is a proven
defensive wizard, but here’s the problem:
the NFL is changing with the more mobile quarterbacks and no team is
less equipped to chase them than the lethargic Saints. They never generated a pass rush all year and
any desired nastiness only occurred after the whistle. To make matters worse, the pass-happy offense
didn’t control the clock or give the defense any rest. Unless Payton was snacking when the Saints
didn’t have the ball, he’s seen all this and has to be considering a total
overhaul of defensive personnel.
Drew Brees constantly references the character of the locker
room. I’m sure it’s wonderful. But, character can’t tackle. To quote Maverick, “I feel the need, the need
for speed.”
So here’s an interesting debate. Which program had a worse 12 months – New Orleans
or Penn State? The money and power that was at stake led to the same inevitable
stupidity – the cover-up. Both have been
embarrassed and will be associated with scandal for some time. The major difference of course is the age of
the victims. While Penn State’s
administration chose to look away from horrible acts, the Saints administration
chose to embrace a culture that was a rules violation, in an adult league. Roger Goodell probably blew it out of
proportion, and he certainly punished the fans disproportionately with all the
concurrent suspensions. What’s the end
result?
Well, Sean Payton probably isn’t too contrite. His value has been reaffirmed as the team
slid back to mediocrity without him, and he’s got a contract making him the
highest paid NFL coach in his pocket. His
leverage in negotiations improved with each passing week. He’s obviously an arrogant tyrant in a
profession that generally rewards those qualities. Seven fired coaches attest to the value of
the rarest of individuals who can effectively handle an NFL franchise for any
length of time. Ultimately, Goodell
probably emboldened him. Time will
tell. Calling reporters and cussing them
out when they write something negative is neither mature, nor the best use of
time. Here’s hoping he maintains his
edge, but also has a year’s worth of expensive perspective to draw on.
With an off season of less drama, and two important
contracts to not talk about, I’ve said it about 45 times before, and I’ll say
it again.Wait til next year.
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