We “over” achieved this season (1 Viewer)

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When you really think about it and look at the actual team this year (forget about priors), we were kind of lucky and overachieved.

Think of the bad teams that we narrowly beat (chargers, lions). All the games when we got by with backups in key positions, all the injuries. I also think we rank some players and positions well higher than their actual play and talent as well.

No excuses here but just a thread about context. This is a good team and it was a fun season, but they truly weren’t a super bowl level team and if they got there it would have been with a little more luck.

hopefully we can reload even with cap restraints by developing players within (there are a bunch of potential up and comers) and establish a new identity. I could really see the Saints transition to a run 1st and defensive team from here! Whatever the case, if you’re a real fan you’ll follow along whatever the future holds. I’m anxious to see it and will be along for the ride even if the Saints next chapter sucks, although I’m optimistic...have to be
 
We overachieved in the 2006 season when it was Brees and Payton's first year here and we were just happy to have a team again post-Katrina. We made it to the NFC Championship Game that year. Which much more talent on both sides of the ball, a much better defense, and 16 years of Payton/Brees being together...I would say we underachieved....again.
 
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Totally agree with this.

I’ve been saying internally and a few random times on here that this team, though really talented and fun, were not what I’d call a Super Bowl team.

I felt like if this team were to wind up winning it all, it would have taken some miracle moments much like the 07’ and 11’ Giants experienced. Those were two situations where the “most Super team” didn’t win the actual Super Bowl

I looked back on those close wins over the Chargers and Lions and Bears and the losses to the Eagles and Raiders and feel like that was more representative of where our team was overall. We were a talented but flawed team.

So for this team to have won 13 games (including post season) for the 3rd straight year is pretty remarkable.

Again, while I’m bummed we didn’t make the Super Bowl, I don’t feel cheated this year like maybe I did the previous 3 years.

After that miserable mediocrity we experienced from 2014-16, it’s been a blast to have been in the “conversation” the past 4 years in January.
 
Counterpoint:. We underachieved.

We had the deepest roster in the NFL, studs at every position group.

We had better roster continuity than most in a season with limited practice time.

We could run, pass, defend the run, defend the pass. We could win in any way, shoot out or defensive battle.

We were considered the best to 4th best team throughout the season.

We finished 5th to 8th place. We should have finished 3rd-4th at worst.

We underachieved.
 
Despite all the talk of being the most talented roster in the NFL, over the last 4 years this team was always a great tier 2 team that wasn’t good enough when facing a tier 1 team.

Since 2017, the Saints are 1-7 vs #1 or #2 seed teams (regular season and post season). They are good, but they get bullied by great teams. It’s just more evidence that pressure causes this team to crack.
 
Despite all the talk of being the most talented roster in the NFL, over the last 4 years this team was always a great tier 2 team that wasn’t good enough when facing a tier 1 team.

Since 2017, the Saints are 1-7 vs #1 or #2 seed teams (regular season and post season). They are good, but they get bullied by great teams. It’s just more evidence that pressure causes this team to crack.
Bingo. Just something missing with this team, the last few years.
 
We overachieved in the 2006 season when it was Brady and Payton's first year here and we were just happy to have a team again post-Katrina. We made it to the NFC Championship Game that year. Which much more talent on both sides of the ball, a much better defense, and 16 years of Payton/Brees being together...I would say we underachieved....again.

Brady was on the team?!?! Wow...just playing I know what you meant.

Yeah Saints did overachieve that year.
 
I don't feel like we over-achieved at all. We had a horrible playoff loss, but it's not like we lost to a team we all feared we wouldn't be able to compete with. We lost to a team we had already beaten twice. And we could have won again had we not shot ourselves in the foot 50 times. While we may not have been quite good enough to make it to and win the SB, we made it further than most. It stings to fall short, but to say we over-achieved is just dismissing everything that we were able to do. It wasn't enough, but we knew we could at least go this far.
 
My 2 cents... the difference between now and 09-11 is a transcendent QB that defies Xs and Os

it’s one thing to beat teams you are clearly better then, it’s another to win 3 games in a row against teams as good or better.

I do not believe the Chiefs are an amazing roster... we destroyed them in the trenches but when they needed a play, they had a QB that would escape the rush, extend the play and make an incredible throw you can’t defend. Same goes for the Packers this year.

The Saints had to be perfect in every area to win against teams of the same talent level.

Under achieve/ over achieve... I don’t know but we were limited on offense and we couldn’t make plays against good defenses. We were too easy to defend. This Bucs defense gave up tons of yards to an off the street QB who wasnt and never will be as good as Brees in his prime or even descending.

Just like we beat up old Warner and old Farve on the way to the Super Bowl, old Brees got beat too.
 
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Counterpoint:. We underachieved.

We had the deepest roster in the NFL, studs at every position group.

We had better roster continuity than most in a season with limited practice time.

We could run, pass, defend the run, defend the pass. We could win in any way, shoot out or defensive battle.

We were considered the best to 4th best team throughout the season.

We finished 5th to 8th place. We should have finished 3rd-4th at worst.

We underachieved.
Considered the best to 4th best? By whom?
Deepest roster? Says whom?
Studs at every position? Says you? Name them. Then take a look at our schedule. And the quality of our wins and losses.
Most of your statements and assumptions are based on opinion. Use more facts.
 

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