The Saints SOS in 2022 was tied for 7th. We played the 1st seed Eagles, 2nd Seed Niners, 3rd Seed Vikings, 4th Seed Bucs and 7th Seahawks from the NFC. We played the 3rd Seed Bengals and 6th seed Ravens from the AFC. Went 2-7 against playoff teams.
In 2023 we had the easiest SOS. We went 1-6 against playoff teams. The highest seeded play off team we faced was the 3rd seed Lions. This does not even factor in the luck we had facing so many back up QB's.
We paid Carr 40 million for 2 extra wins with a far easier schedule, I struggle to find any way to paint this as a good season for DA.
Baker Mayfield had a better season more yards, TD's with only 2 more INT's then Carr. He was paid 8 million not 40 million. Andy Dalton in 2022 played 14 games and had 1000 less yards, 6 less TD's . If had played a full 17 games he would have finished we similar stats to Carr's and he had a much worse WR group.
You don't earn the right to call out people on the field until you have accomplished something in the NFL. Carr had issues with his teammates handle it like a pro in the locker room.
Starting to have doubts yes.
Almost counts for nothing. The fact is we missed the playoffs.
TO is always about variance, this stat has zero impact on what will happen next year.
I would worry more about the massive gaps in the OLine and Dline that needed to be filled. In fact this team needs a ton of fresh talent at almost every position.
Lutz had a better year, but I agree I feel like Kicker is the least of are worries.
One point you missed was the clear fracture in the locker room and the clear change in culture that has started to happen. DA might not have lost the entire team but he certainly lost players.