The truth is Saints outplayed the Falcons

Koo making a 58-yard walk off FG was against the odds. His career long prior to that was 54 yards. The longest in that stadium to that point was 57 yards.

To his credit, he made the kick. :tiphat:

There’s a lot of doom and gloom being cast about here after back-to-back last-minute losses in which the Saints outplayed their opponents throughout the games, games in which the Saints have held the lead in the waning moments, only to lose after surrendering a single desperation big play in each game.

Some of the threads and posts seem outrageous considering the Saints themselves have not been blown out in their two losses. Yet had the Saints won both games and started the season out undefeated at 4-0 the same folks would be here, albeit chirping a little lower, complaining about how the team performed.

The Saints blew out their first two opponents. They lost their last two games in the last few seconds, each one a result in a single critical mistake. One on a 61 yard reception on a 3rd and 16 play that 3 Saints players collided into each other. The other resulting from a 30 yard questionable pass interference penalty. Two end of the game plays, regardless of what transpired earlier, became the catalysts that ultimately prevented the Saints from winning. Two losses by a total of 5 points.

The Saints have played hard in all 4 games. Before the season began most people expected the Saints to be 1-3 at this point. Most everyone would have been happy with a 2-2 start especially when the Saints coulda, woulda, shoulda, be a 3-1 or a 4-0 team at this point. It's true that the Saints have suffered back-to-back embarrassing losses, not because they lost, but because of the way that they lost. The Saints have to find a way to close out and win close scoring games.

All teams have to deal with the injury bug. Some have it worse than others. The Saints were playing with 3 journeymen linemen, a rookie, and a project yesterday. Lemieux was playing Center for the first time in his entire life. For it to be a game in which he was starting in the NFL was way beyond belief. Young got his first career start playing Guard. This unit had a mere few days of practice time together. Considering that, they could have played a lot worse than they did.

Missing Demario Davis in the middle of the Defence was a bigger factor than what it appeared to be. It didn't seem so at first but then Gay got injured early and couldn't return. Pete was playing out of position the entire game and every other LB normally would have been watching from the bench. Even the Ho ey Badger watched from the sidelines in the 4th quarter.

With Taysom Hill in the lineup for 9 1/2 quarters the Saints 2024 offense has been unstoppable. During that span the Saints have only punted one time.

Without Hill in the lineup the offense looks out of sync with no rhythm and lacks the ability to oppose their will on their opponents. The Saints offense has to find an identity that works when Taysom is not on the field, whether injured or resting. To this point they haven't. We've seen enough to know this isn't a coincidence.

After 4 games we already have the panickers in thread after thread. Some threads wondering about a quarterback change and a coaching change. Ridiculous!

With that said, it's highly realistic to believe the Saints will lose this week against the defending SB Champs and undefeated KC Chiefs. Imagine the doom and gloom should that happen. Saints would be on a 3 game losing streak, falling to 2-3 on the season. The naysayers from this week will be back in full force with many more coming out of the woodwork. To hear it from that crowd, the sky is falling and the season is lost. Making the playoffs would only be a tease.

On the other hand, should the Saints, as a heavy underdog road team, travel into KC as wounded warriors set to be slaughtered, find a way to win against all odds, the naysayers will simply hide for another week waiting for a possible return the following week. Like rust, it never sleeps.

Jump off the Bandwagon if you will. True Saints fans will ride the Saints Express Train until the end of the tracks. It's a long season with plenty of football to play.

Enjoy the ride. There will be bumps along the way but there will also be some smooth sailing throughout the season.

It's not unrealistic to remain optimistic nor is it unrealistic to become pessimistic. It's up to you to decide where you want to place your emotions. To each his own.

Who Dat!