Saints Report # 10 - November 17, 2016

Take Sunday off.
We get this Sunday off after a Thursday night debacle.

In the space of 5 days it all fell apart for the New Orleans Saints.

The second loss in that period, to Carolina 23-20, looked so much like the Sunday loss to Denver that you could practically hear Dionne Warwick singing.  The pattern is that familiar.  First the offense struggles, turning the ball over and digging a hole.  Then the offense leads a comeback, only to be derailed by a special teams disaster.  

 In the case of Thursday night, Marcus Murphy proved to be no improvement over previous return men when he decided to stop the momentum of a kick headed out of bounds and carry it out at the one yard line for a nice little 40 yard swing.  It was the latest bonehead kick return move in an incompetent kick return year.  (By the way, who told him he could wear Pierre Thomas' #23). 

Then there are the blocked kicks.  Carolina feasted on the film that the Saints must not be watching. Their block of a field goal attempt was like an instant replay of the Denver block 5 days earlier, right down to a return down the sideline.  Only a weak penalty on Carolina prevented it from being a total déjà vu.

There’s a particular irony to the special teams struggles that have derailed a mildly promising year.  The Sean Payton legacy is built on iconic special teams plays – the Steve Gleason blocked punt, and the “Ambush” onside kick in the Super Bowl.  These were daring plays that pale in comparison to the adventures in placekicking that this season has become.  I’ve often said that if you can’t run the ball one yard when you need it, you don’t deserve to win.  Here’s another tidbit.  If you can’t block for your kicking game, you don’t deserve to win.  What makes this even harder to swallow is that the defense is actually improving.  You can’t pin these two losses on the defense.

So, unless they can turn this inexplicable ineptitude around, the 4-6 Saints will have wasted another year.  They almost certainly have to close the season with a 6 game winning streak to make the playoffs.  They are in need of a Sunday off as much as their fans are.  They sure have plenty to think about.  They wander through games like they’re waiting for the other shoe to drop, an apt metaphor if there ever was one.