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Should anyone be surprised?
The Saints entered the 2024 season with most expecting the team to finish the year with between 7 and 9 wins and again missing the playoffs.
The Saints were a 7.5 win team in betting odds to open the season.
Most local media predicted the Saints win total around 8 wins, the highest 10, and the lowest 6. Most national media had the Saints placing 3rd in the division behind TB and ATL. At least one had the Saints finishing last.
And for good reason. The Saints were coming into the 2024 having missed the Playoffs 3 years in a row. They won 9 games in 2021, 7 games in 2022, and 9 games in 2023. That's an 8.33 average win total over 3 years.
The Saints entered the 2024 season with an entirely new Offensive Coaching Staff (sans the TE coach) which included a totally new system and play caller in newly hired Offensive Coordinator Klint Kubiak. His 2nd stint in that position.
The Saints entered the 2024 season having to replace 3 out 5 starters along the Offensive Line. They entered Week1 by starting a Rookie at LT, a journeyman at LG, and a reclamation project at RT. It was new positions for both LT & RT.
The Saints didn't add any new playmakers on offense. They lacked experience and quality depth at the WR position. The main change on defense was adding an underperforming DE, a backup LBer, and a Rookie CB.
The depth across all position groups was weak except for CB. The TE room had underwhelmed for almost a decade, yet the only addition was an undrafted free agent rookie who has yet to make a reception.
The team chose to enter the season without a veteran backup QB, instead, going with a 2nd year 4th Round draft choice and a Rookie 5th Round draft choice.
The team had salary cap issues that didn't allow them to make major moves in free agency in positions that were in major need of upgrade.
Who would have thought losing a few starters and several backup players from 2023 wouldn't be replaced by better players in 2024?
James Hurst, Andrus Peat, Marcus Maye, Isaac Yiadom, Zach Baun, Jimmy Graham, Malcom Roach, Lonnie Johnson, Jr., Lynn Bowden, Jr., Michael Thomas, and Jameis Winston.
Then there was the loss of a few players to begin the season in Tanoh Kapassagnon, Nephi Sewell, and Ryan Ramczyk.
The team returned a limited number of players from recent drafts. Many of the Saints high draft picks had not performed to the level in which they were drafted. Some were considered busts. Many were no longer with the team.
Who remained on the active 53-man roster or the 2024 practice squad to open the season?
2017 - Marshon, Lattimore, Alvin Kamara. 2018 - Nobody. 2019 - Erik McCoy. 2020 - Cesar Ruiz. 2021 - Payton Turner, Pete Werner, Paulson Adebo, Landon Young. 2022 - Chris Olave, Trevor Penning, Alonte Taylor, D'Marco Jackson. 2023 - Bryan Bresee, Isaiah Foskey, Kendre Miller, Nick Saldiveri, Jake Haener, Jordan Howden, A.T. Perry. 2024 - Taliese Fuaga, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Spencer Rattler, Bub Means, Jaylen Ford, Khristian Boyd, and Josiah Ezirim.
Of these players only 12 have been starters on the team on a regular basis. This covers 8 years of drafting players. The core of the team is not young players. The team has age issues.
The Saints kept Dennis Allen on as Head Coach after his 1st 2 seasons produced a 16-18 record and missed making the playoffs in his 1st 2 seasons as the Saints Head Coach.
With everything mentioned above only those of us wearing Black and Gold glasses and full-on optimism expected the Saints to do much better in 2024. Count me in that number. Of course, all Saints fans hoped they would.
The Unpredictable:
When the season began there was plenty of unknown. The team surprised all the first two games of the season by winning in convincing fashion, blowing out Carolina and Dallas. Then the wheels fell off. The injury bug struck and became a pandemic. The Saints lost several starters for the season and several for multiple games, and some for at least one game, or parts of games. Even backup players weren't immune to it.
Some of those players include: Derek Carr, Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, Taysom Hill, Rashid Shaheed, Lucas Patrick, Shane Lemieux, Chris Olave, Will Harris, Khalen Saunders, Pete Werner, Paulson Adebo, Willie Gay, Marshon Lattimore, and Demario Davis.
It's a tough task to win in the NFL without your starting QB. Missing several starters on offense at the same time makes winning almost impossible. The results have proven that to be true to this point.
Excerpts from a 9/3/24 article by Jeff Duncan as it appears at www.nola.com
Expectations are low for the 2024 New Orleans Saints.
Vegas oddsmakers have set the Saints’ over/under win total at 7½ wins this season, the lowest preseason projection in years.
Local media members are just as pessimistic.
Less than a third of the respondents (10 of 31) to our annual survey of reporters and broadcasters who regularly cover the team predicted the Saints to have a winning season.
While some media members were more optimistic than others, few forecast a major breakout campaign.
The highest win total was 10. Most project another season around .500, with 18 of 30 projecting either a 9-8 or 8-9 season.
Link To Full Article Below:
www.nola.com
Something that goes unmentioned when discussing the Saints woes:
For everything cited above there is something that hasn't been brought up lately.
Prior to the start of the season most predicted/expected the Saints to open the season with a record not much better than 1 win against 5 losses. Losses to Dallas, Philly, ATL, KC and TB were reasonable to expect.
Many had slim hope that the Saints would open those first 8 games no better than 3-5 and those optimistic with hope of the Saints being at .500 after 8 games at 4-4.
That was the mindset with a healthy Saints team opening up the season with what was then considered to be the toughest part of the schedule being in the 1st half of it.
Now taking a look at the first 8 opponents current win/loss record those teams combined now have a win/loss record of 34-26 which includes the 1-7 Panthers. That's a .566 winning percentage.
Of the 6 teams the Saints have lost to they have a combined win/loss record of 30-15 which is a .666 winning percentage.
Of the 6 teams the Saints have lost to all are in playoff contention. KC #1 Seed in the AFC. Broncos #5 Seed in the AFC. Chargers #7 Seed in the AFC. Clowns #3 Seed in the NFC. Eagles #7 Seed in the NFC. Yuks #9 Seed in the NFC.
If the season were to end today 5 out of the 6 teams the Saints have lost to would be in the playoffs with only TB on the outside looking in. This shouldn't be taken lightly. It's not as if the Saints have been losing to bottom feeders.
Looking at the remaining schedule:
The Saints have a chance to stop the 6 game losing streak this week. It's the longest skid since 2005. A loss this week would extend the losing streak to 7 games, not done since 1999, 25 years ago. This is a must win game!
It appears the Saints get their starting QB back this week with the return of Derek Carr. With Ruiz and Patrick returning last week and what may be the return of Shane Lemieux this week, there's reason for optimism for a win this week.
Will the Saints get a spark with the addition of MVS at WR? Will the Saints trade for any players before the trade deadline next Tuesday? Will the Saints activate Lemieux or Sewell anytime soon? Will Kpassagnon return this season?
The Saints remaining 9 games include: CAR (1-7), ATL (5-3), CLE (2-6), LAR (3-4), NYG (2-6), WAS (6-2), GB (6-2), LV (2-6), TB (4-4). These teams have a combined win/loss record of 31-40, a .437 winning percentage.
Of the Saints 9 remaining opponents if the season were to end today only 3 of the 9 would be in the playoffs. WAS #2 Seed in NFC. ATL #3 Seed in NFC. GB #5 Seed in NFC.
The Saints have 5 remaining home games and 4 remaining away games. After this Sunday it will be 5 home games and 3 away games. There should be some comfort in that. Getting McCoy back after this Sunday could be huge.
No matter the optimism that can be brought up for the remaining games of the season, the Saints have a big hill to climb to make a push for a playoff spot. ATL, WAS, GB and TB will be favored. The LARs may be favored in the Dome.
The Saints have now played 42 games with Dennis Allen as Head Coach. Their record during these 2 and a half seasons is 18-24. That's a .429 winning percentage. They have never had a 4 or more-game winning streak under D.A.
The Saint probably need to win 8 of the remaining 9 games in order to make the playoffs.
Must wins include ATL and TB. It will also include both ATL and TB losing a game or two that they will be favored to win.
ATL remaining schedule: DAL, @ NO, @ DEN, BYE, LAC, @ MIN, @ LV, NYG, @ WAS, CAR.
TB remaining schedule: @ KC, SF, BYE, @ NYG, @ CAR, LV, @ LAC, @ DAL, CAR, NO.
There's still Hope!
Should we really be disappointed?
The Saints entered the 2024 season with most expecting the team to finish the year with between 7 and 9 wins and again missing the playoffs.
The Saints were a 7.5 win team in betting odds to open the season.
Most local media predicted the Saints win total around 8 wins, the highest 10, and the lowest 6. Most national media had the Saints placing 3rd in the division behind TB and ATL. At least one had the Saints finishing last.
And for good reason. The Saints were coming into the 2024 having missed the Playoffs 3 years in a row. They won 9 games in 2021, 7 games in 2022, and 9 games in 2023. That's an 8.33 average win total over 3 years.
The Saints entered the 2024 season with an entirely new Offensive Coaching Staff (sans the TE coach) which included a totally new system and play caller in newly hired Offensive Coordinator Klint Kubiak. His 2nd stint in that position.
The Saints entered the 2024 season having to replace 3 out 5 starters along the Offensive Line. They entered Week1 by starting a Rookie at LT, a journeyman at LG, and a reclamation project at RT. It was new positions for both LT & RT.
The Saints didn't add any new playmakers on offense. They lacked experience and quality depth at the WR position. The main change on defense was adding an underperforming DE, a backup LBer, and a Rookie CB.
The depth across all position groups was weak except for CB. The TE room had underwhelmed for almost a decade, yet the only addition was an undrafted free agent rookie who has yet to make a reception.
The team chose to enter the season without a veteran backup QB, instead, going with a 2nd year 4th Round draft choice and a Rookie 5th Round draft choice.
The team had salary cap issues that didn't allow them to make major moves in free agency in positions that were in major need of upgrade.
Who would have thought losing a few starters and several backup players from 2023 wouldn't be replaced by better players in 2024?
James Hurst, Andrus Peat, Marcus Maye, Isaac Yiadom, Zach Baun, Jimmy Graham, Malcom Roach, Lonnie Johnson, Jr., Lynn Bowden, Jr., Michael Thomas, and Jameis Winston.
Then there was the loss of a few players to begin the season in Tanoh Kapassagnon, Nephi Sewell, and Ryan Ramczyk.
The team returned a limited number of players from recent drafts. Many of the Saints high draft picks had not performed to the level in which they were drafted. Some were considered busts. Many were no longer with the team.
Who remained on the active 53-man roster or the 2024 practice squad to open the season?
2017 - Marshon, Lattimore, Alvin Kamara. 2018 - Nobody. 2019 - Erik McCoy. 2020 - Cesar Ruiz. 2021 - Payton Turner, Pete Werner, Paulson Adebo, Landon Young. 2022 - Chris Olave, Trevor Penning, Alonte Taylor, D'Marco Jackson. 2023 - Bryan Bresee, Isaiah Foskey, Kendre Miller, Nick Saldiveri, Jake Haener, Jordan Howden, A.T. Perry. 2024 - Taliese Fuaga, Kool-Aid McKinstry, Spencer Rattler, Bub Means, Jaylen Ford, Khristian Boyd, and Josiah Ezirim.
Of these players only 12 have been starters on the team on a regular basis. This covers 8 years of drafting players. The core of the team is not young players. The team has age issues.
The Saints kept Dennis Allen on as Head Coach after his 1st 2 seasons produced a 16-18 record and missed making the playoffs in his 1st 2 seasons as the Saints Head Coach.
With everything mentioned above only those of us wearing Black and Gold glasses and full-on optimism expected the Saints to do much better in 2024. Count me in that number. Of course, all Saints fans hoped they would.
The Unpredictable:
When the season began there was plenty of unknown. The team surprised all the first two games of the season by winning in convincing fashion, blowing out Carolina and Dallas. Then the wheels fell off. The injury bug struck and became a pandemic. The Saints lost several starters for the season and several for multiple games, and some for at least one game, or parts of games. Even backup players weren't immune to it.
Some of those players include: Derek Carr, Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, Taysom Hill, Rashid Shaheed, Lucas Patrick, Shane Lemieux, Chris Olave, Will Harris, Khalen Saunders, Pete Werner, Paulson Adebo, Willie Gay, Marshon Lattimore, and Demario Davis.
It's a tough task to win in the NFL without your starting QB. Missing several starters on offense at the same time makes winning almost impossible. The results have proven that to be true to this point.
Excerpts from a 9/3/24 article by Jeff Duncan as it appears at www.nola.com
How will the Saints fare this year? 31 local media members share their predictions.
Expectations are low for the 2024 New Orleans Saints.
Vegas oddsmakers have set the Saints’ over/under win total at 7½ wins this season, the lowest preseason projection in years.
Local media members are just as pessimistic.
Less than a third of the respondents (10 of 31) to our annual survey of reporters and broadcasters who regularly cover the team predicted the Saints to have a winning season.
While some media members were more optimistic than others, few forecast a major breakout campaign.
The highest win total was 10. Most project another season around .500, with 18 of 30 projecting either a 9-8 or 8-9 season.
Link To Full Article Below:
How will the Saints fare this year? 31 local media members share their predictions.
Jeff Duncan's annual survey of media covering the New Orleans Saints has them squarely in the middle of the pack
Something that goes unmentioned when discussing the Saints woes:
For everything cited above there is something that hasn't been brought up lately.
Prior to the start of the season most predicted/expected the Saints to open the season with a record not much better than 1 win against 5 losses. Losses to Dallas, Philly, ATL, KC and TB were reasonable to expect.
Many had slim hope that the Saints would open those first 8 games no better than 3-5 and those optimistic with hope of the Saints being at .500 after 8 games at 4-4.
That was the mindset with a healthy Saints team opening up the season with what was then considered to be the toughest part of the schedule being in the 1st half of it.
Now taking a look at the first 8 opponents current win/loss record those teams combined now have a win/loss record of 34-26 which includes the 1-7 Panthers. That's a .566 winning percentage.
Of the 6 teams the Saints have lost to they have a combined win/loss record of 30-15 which is a .666 winning percentage.
Of the 6 teams the Saints have lost to all are in playoff contention. KC #1 Seed in the AFC. Broncos #5 Seed in the AFC. Chargers #7 Seed in the AFC. Clowns #3 Seed in the NFC. Eagles #7 Seed in the NFC. Yuks #9 Seed in the NFC.
If the season were to end today 5 out of the 6 teams the Saints have lost to would be in the playoffs with only TB on the outside looking in. This shouldn't be taken lightly. It's not as if the Saints have been losing to bottom feeders.
Looking at the remaining schedule:
The Saints have a chance to stop the 6 game losing streak this week. It's the longest skid since 2005. A loss this week would extend the losing streak to 7 games, not done since 1999, 25 years ago. This is a must win game!
It appears the Saints get their starting QB back this week with the return of Derek Carr. With Ruiz and Patrick returning last week and what may be the return of Shane Lemieux this week, there's reason for optimism for a win this week.
Will the Saints get a spark with the addition of MVS at WR? Will the Saints trade for any players before the trade deadline next Tuesday? Will the Saints activate Lemieux or Sewell anytime soon? Will Kpassagnon return this season?
The Saints remaining 9 games include: CAR (1-7), ATL (5-3), CLE (2-6), LAR (3-4), NYG (2-6), WAS (6-2), GB (6-2), LV (2-6), TB (4-4). These teams have a combined win/loss record of 31-40, a .437 winning percentage.
Of the Saints 9 remaining opponents if the season were to end today only 3 of the 9 would be in the playoffs. WAS #2 Seed in NFC. ATL #3 Seed in NFC. GB #5 Seed in NFC.
The Saints have 5 remaining home games and 4 remaining away games. After this Sunday it will be 5 home games and 3 away games. There should be some comfort in that. Getting McCoy back after this Sunday could be huge.
No matter the optimism that can be brought up for the remaining games of the season, the Saints have a big hill to climb to make a push for a playoff spot. ATL, WAS, GB and TB will be favored. The LARs may be favored in the Dome.
The Saints have now played 42 games with Dennis Allen as Head Coach. Their record during these 2 and a half seasons is 18-24. That's a .429 winning percentage. They have never had a 4 or more-game winning streak under D.A.
The Saint probably need to win 8 of the remaining 9 games in order to make the playoffs.
Must wins include ATL and TB. It will also include both ATL and TB losing a game or two that they will be favored to win.
ATL remaining schedule: DAL, @ NO, @ DEN, BYE, LAC, @ MIN, @ LV, NYG, @ WAS, CAR.
TB remaining schedule: @ KC, SF, BYE, @ NYG, @ CAR, LV, @ LAC, @ DAL, CAR, NO.
There's still Hope!
Should we really be disappointed?
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