The Saints traveled to Philadelphia, and they wish they hadn’t as the Eagles dropped the Liberty Bell on them to the tune of 40-22, and the Saints had to rally to get it to that point. The game featured a dismal performance by the defense, and a dreary performance by the offense. The special teams didn’t contribute, other than it is becoming apparent that the Saints best player is their punter.
Any hope that the Saints had evaporated before halftime. Jalen Hurst scored two touchdowns to power the Eagles to a 14-0 lead. The Eagles ran the ball on the Saints easily for most of the game. The Eagles fumbled deep in their own territory, the Saints who had been unable to move the ball, accepted the gift and were down 14 – 7. The Eagles kept driving, but added two field goals. Then they tried to give the Saints another gift, by fumbling deep in their own territory again. This time the referees called it dead, saying forward progress had been stopped. It certainly looked worth a challenge as the two minute warning approached and Payton had plenty of time to challenge, but he didn’t. We wouldn’t know for another minute or so, but the game was essentially over.
Then, Trevor Siemian gave a gift of his own, a pick-six to Darius Slay and the Saint were submerged at the half 27-7.
The Saints then waited until the 4th quarter to begin their normal too-little-too-late comeback. Siemian picked things up late, but it was his worst game of the year, and there were plenty of players simulating his performance. It was a drab, dull, desultory effort, but let’s face it, it was by a bunch of guys who would not normally be playing. Neither of the offensive tackles started, and it showed. Payton doesn’t like to make excuses about injuries, but this has gotten ridiculous. Meanwhile the receivers seem to be on a one-play quota per game.
Three straight losses and that dreamy 5-2 start has transformed into a 5-5 nightmare. They face two strong teams on successive Thursday nights, and expectations have to be low at this point. There’s still time to have a good year, but the personnel doesn’t appear to be present. I’m getting flashbacks to those three straight 7-9 seasons. Ugh.
I've been watching a lot of college football to try to spot the Saints QB of the future, as I don't think he's on the roster. The task is extremely difficult because of a) the idiotic targeting enforcement, and b) I don't see any superstars. This weekend I was kind of impressed with a lefty, Brennan Armstrong of Virginia. But, deep down, I'm just not sure Sean Payton relishes starting fresh with a rookie. I'm not sure the fan base does either.
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