Have your expectations for the season changed?

[meily]

Is this sarcasm? Surely, this has to be sarcasm. None of the offense can be considered a working part, given the level of talent it’s some of the worst stuff I’ve seen. Also, each to their own but how anyone can find watching this version of the Saints enjoyable I do not know.

How did you find a way to be offended?

 

[Paul]

I apologize for the long post.
Whenever we have a new coaching regime, I start off with mid-level expectations. That first season dictates my pre-season expectations going forward. After that, honestly, it’s week to week. After the 2006 season, I expected at least a chance to win every game, even when I knew we were probably outmatched based on personnel, coaching, and field conditions - I just felt like we always had a shot to win. Now, I don’t have high expectations of the team as a whole, but I do expect our defense to start off each game being very competitive. The problem is that the offense puts them in a bad spot to where they’re on the field too long and they’re wearing down.
Additionally, we don’t have the coaching staff that understands in-game and halftime adjustments nor do they have good situational awareness. Simple things like - my O-lineman is struggling, let me put in an extra lineman or a TE on that side to chip and give him a bit of help. Or, we’re down by two scores, have all three time outs, and a decent amount time left in the game, but I’m calling a bomb on 3rd and 3? Or, I don’t understand personnel groupings but I’m going to mess up the rhythm and do it anyway because I think it confuses the other team.

Anyway, off my old soapbox. I’m pulling hard for our Saints and I’m watching the games with hope - I’m along for the ride, as bumpy as it may be. Plus, I live in Ohio and purchased Sunday ticket (first time ever) to watch these bastages so, there’s that.

 

[Booker]

Not really. I go into each season hoping for the best, but my objective expectation based on Dennis Allen's career to date is that this will continue to be a mediocre team as long as he's the head coach. It is what it is.

 

[MarylandWHODAT]

Yes. My expectations have changed. Why? Because I, like many of us, bought into the preseason hype. "Carr is an upper tier quarterback. Michael Thomas is back. Olave, Kamara, Shaheed. Oh, and Jimmy Graham is back."

And yet the coaching staff has stayed the same with the same if not worse results. Squeaked a win over the Titans and squeaked a win over the hapless Panthers.

I originally thought that the Saints would be the South champions, they would make to the Divisional round of the playoffs, Carr would have a redemption year and so no. Now? Not so much. I see the following:

Tampa Bay – 10-6 = Wild Card Playoffs
Atlanta – 8-9 = They make the switch to Taylor Heinicke and win some games.
New Orleans – 5-12
Carolina – 4-13

 

[Bill]

I know I’m probably crazy and will likely get clowned … but somehow I still believe there’s time to turn things around … OL needs tightening up and I’m unsure of who should be playing QB … but somehow I still believe we can turn it around … maybe because I can’t believe we’re as bad as we’ve looked

Trust me, this team is really as bad as they have looked. What you see is what we've got this year.

But I could never 'clown' you for being a true believer.
Laugh, scorn, and ridicule could happen. But I'd never 'clown' you.

 

[Bill]

We may have to be realistic at some point. Did we really expect a brand new Qb being installed in our already shaky offense wasn’t going to require any growing pains at all? TB and Baker aren’t having any growing pains, but that is simply rare.

These are good points. However, Baker is having a measure of success mainly because he has a much better head coach; particularly in regard to his offense. Ours never met an offense he didn't burn to the ground.

 

[porculator]

We're 2-2 now with subpar performance from both lines, QB, and RB. RB is better now with Kamara, and would like to think that Carr and at least the o-line can do a little better (d-line may not have the talent.)

We are at .500 because of our WR's, LB's and Lattimore, essentially. If they stay healthy (big if), the rest of the team has nowhere to go but up.

 

[Plow]

After the Green Bay give-away, I was expecting the Saints to bounce back and lay claim to the NFC South lead. But my expectations for the season changed drastically based on what I saw during the Bucs game. The season is far from over, but the Saints will have to dig themselves out of the hole they put themselves in. One game at a time.

 

[jasonsw]

Let's be honest two weeks in a Row the Saints got worked by short handed and injured teams that many believed were mediocre to begin with.

It really is hard to expect anything now. Best case scenario a quick playoff exit. Worst case Saints finish 7-10 and get a in between draft pick like the 16th pick.

 

[fdl16]

I never have expectations anymore. Preseason/offseason hype rarely amounts to much during the regular season, to the point where I basically ignore camp updates entirely. I just let myself see what happens from week to week.

That said, this team doesn't look capable of winning another game with our offense being as terrible as it is. Our defense can't hold on for long when we go three and out constantly.

 

[sfidc3]

I never really had expectations because I don't trust this coaching staff to do the right thing....I was happy that we acquired some personnel that should improve the roster and happy that we had no major injuries going into the season......BUT.....my first sentence....

 

[BBarnes]

Look. My expectations are still the same

We are going to lose some games to some bad football teams bc bad football teams are on our schedule.

The meat of the schedule is actually going to suck bc we are struggling

The Bucs are going to lose 7-10 games

We will be in the mix for the division title but it won’t be a fun ride

And if we don’t make it we will absolutely get to see the Cowboys get bounced in hilarious fashion from the playoffs, so there’s that

 

[Bill]

I never really had expectations because I don't trust this coaching staff to do the right thing....I was happy that we acquired some personnel that should improve the roster and happy that we had no major injuries going into the season......BUT.....my first sentence....

I really tried not to have expectations this year... but I couldn't help it.
I thought that Carr was the missing piece of the puzzle, along with a lot of other pieces that seemed to be falling into place. It wasn't until Underhill posted his concerns about our offensive line that I started to get worried. But I just kept telling myself that the opening drive with our starters in the first preseason game against the Chiefs was the real deal.

It wasn't. It wasn't even close.

 

[Lendro Furioso]

I initially had low expectations, but like many let myself be talked into believing this team could be good. We won our first two in an ugly fashion, and I told myself: “this is what good teams do: they win games they should lose”. The front office has done an admirable job, and on paper we had the potential to be good. Underhill kept saying how competitive they were in camp, and I started to believe things could change.

DA has destroyed that in four games. He stuck with Carmichael inexplicably after last season’s debacle, and is unwilling to move on now. He insists on living by his most famous, worst soundbite: “Keep doin’ what you’re doin’”.


My expectations? Low as can be. I hope the Saints can win some games, and while I never thought we’d seriously compete for a Super Bowl, unlike some I would love to hang another division banner in the Superdome. We can keep winning against the Falcons, that’d put a smile on our faces. But my hope is that whatever happens, we start next season with a new head coach, because I firmly believe we will go nowhere with this regime.

As I stated many times on this forum, I don’t think that’ll happen. Allen will throw Carmichael under the bus by season’s end, get one of his cronies from his Raiders days to be OC and we’ll wade in his mediocrity another season. With the way things are going, he’ll switch PC to other duties and have Curry call the plays after the next few games. It’ll come too late, and won’t be enough.