I will be honest, I haven't felt this unsure about this team's trajectory in over 20 years......... (1 Viewer)

[HoustonSaint68]

This is what I am worried about because DA needs to win now.

Indeed. That's why we'll never know if Winston would have been our next QB.

 

[Pkessling]

Just glad I lived long enough to see a Super Bowl win and the Brees years.
I just don’t see DA being anything other then a mediocre head coach.

 

[RJ in Lafayette]

HoustonSaint68, you probably need to quote the entire sentence. But the wording "cares nothing about the long-term interests of the team" is at best sloppy writing. What I meant to say (and did say in part in the following sentence) is that the organization seems to have a singular focus to win now with a team that in my view is not a contending team, regardless of how its actions taken to win now might adversely affect the team after the next season, and needs to look beyond the 2023 season.

 

[Saint Jack]

 

[MJ in Calif]

Everything happening right now points to it being Sean Payton who made the program into a sustained success.

As soon as he left, we reverted back to dumb dumb dumb decisions at every turn.

I think there were dumb decisions under Payton as well. Quite a few of them. Yes Payton made it a success but you're forgetting one other major component; DREW BREES.

With a QB that good leading the team, dumb decisions can be neutralized to a degree.

 

[Saint Jack]

Everything happening right now points to it being Sean Payton who made the program into a sustained success.

As soon as he left, we reverted back to dumb dumb dumb decisions at every turn.

I do think that is a little unfair to the organization.
You have about 37 seasons with the Bensons and the only period you can point to as a total failure (so far) is the three Ditka years.

 

[Bayouboy]

The difference between now and back then is we've been to the mountaintop, we know how hard it is to get to it, and we can see how far away it is from where we currently are.

THIS^^^^^^

To make the playoffs in this division is no herculean effort.....but to legitimately compete for another championship may not ever happen again in my lifetime.

 

[saintsdash]

I don't know what the Saints offseason could possibly look like to get me to renew my season tickets. No faith in the coaching staff, got burned in games that I had to sell last year because of lack of interest (in what was a hopeful year).

 

[rsmith2783]

I can’t answer that question for rsmith2783 but I can for myself. When Ditka was hired we were getting a Super Bowl winning coach. I even played blackjack with him several times at what was at the time Casino Magic in Bay St Louis. He was a great guy to talk to and always left you feeling pumped up about the team. But then it became clear that he wasn’t the man to get the job done. It was time to move on and the team did. Mora had some great teams but we had to play the 49er’s twice a year and that’s what kept us out of the playoffs each year and it was time to move on and the team did. Haslett showed some flashes and the year we had Jeff Blake was looking good until he got injured. Then Aaron Brooks came in and looked like the QB we had been missing. Then there was the backwards pass and the wheels started falling off. Then Katrin…. I’ll just stop there.

Then we got a coach that hadn’t made a name for himself outside or coaching circles and a QB coming off a major injury. Then the draft hit and we got Reggie Bush and the rest is history.

Drew retired and then Sean left. So here we are with Dennis Allen and I think most fans were ok with the hire but something just didn’t feel right. As the season progressed we started to see the way things were headed. I got this sick feeling that I hadn’t had since the late 90’s-early 2000’s. At the end of the season there was no excitement on game day. I watched the games but there was nothing there. I felt like it was time to move on but the team didn’t. Now I’m feeling bad for guys like Cam Jordan who has busted his arse for this team but a championship ring doesn’t look good for him and that’s wrong. I hope to get excited about the team after the draft but I’m not sure that I’ll be able to. So right now I’m just in holding mode hoping for a spark but not counting on it.

While Payton was here, he was the figure and shot caller for the team. Since he's gone, I believe Loomis is now that person and that's not too enticing. Loomis was the cap manager before Benson promoted him. Meaning personnel decision wasn't his strong point. Granted he found Payton, which is amazing. Yet as of now we're seeing the same things we saw under Haslett starting to rear it's ugly head.

 

[sfidc3]

I think you're on to something here, perhaps.

I don't feel the same about all things NFL, including our Saints, since the Rams game fiasco and the clear officiating bias against us (conscious or subconscious)...and that on top of the NFL's overreaction to "Bountygate". I let go of Saints losses more easily now and watch a LOT less non-Saints NFL.

But this current period is NOTHING compared to having the complete sheetshow that was the Saints Mecom ownership, and the Ditka years. Not even close. I am totally fine giving Loomis a two-year mulligan if DA doesn't work out -- he's earned it.

I'm kind of in the same boat, only I watched a few Saints games when they were playing in primetime but other than that I watch Redzone. And I now consider the NFL what it really is....entertainment, and not meant to be taken so seriously for many of the reasons you list above...

What bothers me about the decisions the Saints organization has been making lately is they are similar to the decisions that resulted in coaches (Haslett, Ditka and Mora) staying around longer than they should have....you can't find the next really good - great Saints HC if you aren't even looking.....and I'm pretty sure at this point DA ain't it.....I mean the last game of the season was the same pathetic loss that was the epitome of the season.....no lessons learned.....

 

[SmallTownSaint]

Saints fan since the day they drafted Archie. Been through a lot of unpleasant years but got totally spoiled by Brees/Payton. Had hoped this "continuity" experiment might keep us relevant, but I think this year I'd be smarter to go fishing on Sundays and watch highlights (or lowlights) when I get home.