Payton on being one of the least injured teams in the NFL

This thread has gone in so many different directions. Three issues discussed:

My impression is that Payton in fact wanted to draft Mahomes in 2017. I would be surprised if the Saints advised Mahomes that with certainty they were going to draft him, Mahomes did not want to go to New Orleans (with Payton as a head coach and Brees as an aging quarterback and mentor), and Mahomes convinced Kansas City to draft up and pick him.

Also, I don't know of any resentment shown by Pete Rozelle towards New Orleans. By nature, Rozelle was not a petty man. And Russell Long was as important as Hale Boggs in the NFL getting its antitrust exemption for the two leagues to merge, and Long remained a power in the Senate for years and was someone the NFL would not want to slight.

I did not think that Payton was taking a shot at the Saints. I do think he is tempting fate. The number of injuries the Saints and Pelicans have suffered is staggering. We seem to be doing wrong. And I also wonder about the Saints not stressing enough in the evaluation process injuries and games missed. But luck is a factor.