Yeah, but you're also forgetting Payton and Brees' "golden era" from 2006-11 where we made the post-season four times, advanced to two NFCCG'S, won one and then won the biggest game in franchise history (SB 44) then that deflating, ultra-bitter, devastating loss to Niners in the 2011 NFC Divisional Rd. game which after that season led to "Bounty gate" controversy, losing draft picks, the cover-up stigma for the NFL's decades-long ignorance and dirty laundry for elderly players suffering from CTE-related symptoms and notable ex-players like Dave Duerson, Andre Waters, Junior Seau--we were Goodell's perfect, convenient scapegoats to show he was "doing something" when he really wasn't. Payton is suspended for the entire 2012 season, forbidden to have any contact with anyone--players, assistant coaches, FO personnel--save for being allowed to show up for a 2012 SNF game as a spectator to see Brees' break Unitas record for most consecutive NFL games with a TD pass vs. San Diego Chargers. Meanwhile, Goodell tries to use his allied owner-minions to not resign Payton, to let him go somewhere else so one of them might be able to eventually sign him and forking BS us and Benson by claiming it would be "mutually beneficial" for both sides.
The NFL FO, Goodell, and other jealous, perturbed owners tried and succeeded in some respects forking us over nunerous different ways, Jack and I'll never forget and forgive them for that. That sordid period is when Roger Goodell became the #1 intractable enemy for 99.9% of all Saints fans on this site or other related ones. The Devil himself, even for hardcore athiests and agnostics among us. When Payton returned a year later, it was a radically different team, organization, culture and attitude and he essentially had to do a mini-rebuild and our 2017-2020 run was mostly due to having one of our best drafts since 2006.
Unlike 2006-2011, we all instinctively knew those great teams from 2017-2020 had an eventual expiration date and it would start that day Drew Brees' decided to retire in January 2021 so it was kind of a race against time to see how much we could win and how far we could advance in the postseason with Brees' last remaining really decent seasons.