That non-call may have closed the door on this era of the Saints (1 Viewer)

[UFCSaint]

Doesn’t need to be that’s how trash that post was chicken little

English?

 

[LAhotsauce]

Alshon Jeffery was the #1 receiver for the Bears in 2016, not Meredith.

Ignoring the rest of it, let's start here. This is true according to what? Where do you get that from?

 

[Westbank4Life]

I know this will not be a popular post and I will get a lot of thumbs down and I am fine with that. I am still sick over that non-call and still not sure if I will even watch the NFL anymore. I firmly believe that travesty in the NFCCG sent everything into a tailspin. Ingram never got his ring and moved on to Baltimore (maybe he would've stayed had the Saints won the Superbowl...maybe not.) Unger was a mainstay on that line and should've had a ring with the Saints as well. Watson should've gotten a ring with us before he retired. Brees should've been 2-0 in the Superbowl and Brady should've been 5-4...and the GOAT argument would suddenly become a little more interesting. There is no telling who else's legacy it will affect down the line. Last year was our year and sadly I think the door is now closed. I do believe that Brees is on the decline and unfortunately I think we may see a drastic drop next season ala Favre after his stellar season in Minnesota. Everything was in place last season for a Superbowl - First year without Mr. Benson, all the eerie similarities to 2009, very few injuries, etc. Instead the Saints and their fans got robbed. I don't think we will be as injury-free this season nor do I think Peat and Armstead will be as healthy as they were last season (which is saying a lot considering they were both injured this year.) And I hate to say it but without Unger I think our line may be suddenly be in trouble. And we know that how the line goes...so does Brees. I wouldn't be surprised at all if this team winds up going 7-9 or worse and missing the playoffs. I hope I am wrong but it certainly has that feeling to me.

Solid post. the unger loss is tremendous, drew definitly has to have that "umbrella" + this is a "trenches" deal. you have to have your OL and DL interiors rock solid in this area league style of play. Center is TOP priority imo then TE/DE

as far as the ride being over....we've been there ....

I felt the saints were in trouble after 2011 (san fran debacle) and that should have been the end to the saints "run" after sproles and JG..etc left.

Then there was bounty gate..which should have by all means could be seen as the death penalty for a franchise

Then there was the mixed bag / young bunch a couple of seasons ago that i felt had ZERO shot in minnesota (let alone even make the playoffs) that team came within a bad tackle of going to the NFCCG

Then there was last season (the all in team) where we should be holding a THIRD trophy

none of this happened....so what have I learned....I've learned I have no clue what's going to happen and to just ride it out and see how things unfold

what I do know is this team is not in as bad shape going into the next season as prior units but next year is literally all or bust.

 

[JackT.]

look at it this way, at least we are not the Falcons. So we win automatically.

 

[VPCajun]

English?

;

;

Just put them in the correct places...

 

[onanygivensunday]

The peak of the NFL is a true pinnacle. Staying balanced on that precipice is almost impossible. The Saints had a great run last year but got jobbed in the NFCCG. The window could still be open but don't bet the house that it still is.

 

[fahad]

We will be fine. We still capable of making a run to the Super Bowl. We still have Great team that have Brees to lead the team.
I know the window is getting smaller but we still have a shot.
Let us enjoy our success while we are capable.

 

[Slaw]

I won't be surprised if Murray/Easton player better than 2018 Ingram/Unger.

 

[RJ in Lafayette]

Interesting question. And I agree with the earlier post that we are still a playoff-caliber team, but beyond that, who knows. I know I don't have the same optimism about 2019 that I had 12 months ago about 2018.

In 2018, we got the breaks--for the first 10 weeks or so of the season. But then the tide turned. The injuries started to hit when the games were most important. In the NFC championship game, we did not have Rankins; we had so many offensive linemen injured that the line was a shell of what it had been earlier; our tight ends and wide receivers were respectively poor and mediocre units to begin with and then were hit by injuries; and Davenport's injury clearly affected his play.

Entering 2019, we will be facing the second consecutive devastating loss in the playoffs, the second consecutive below-average draft, and a quarterback who will be months shy of 41. And given how high they are drafting and the depth in this year's draft, we can expect the other three NFC South teams to be better simply because of the 2019 draft. There is the apprehension that 2018 will prove another 2011 season.

 

[saint_drago]

Interesting question. And I agree with the earlier post that we are still a playoff-caliber team, but beyond that, who knows. I know I don't have the same optimism about 2019 that I had 12 months ago about 2018.

In 2018, we got the breaks--for the first 10 weeks or so of the season. But then the tide turned. The injuries started to hit when the games were most important. In the NFC championship game, we did not have Rankins; we had so many offensive linemen injured that the line was a shell of what it had been earlier; our tight ends and wide receivers were respectively poor and mediocre units to begin with and then were hit by injuries; and Davenport's injury clearly affected his play.

Entering 2019, we will be facing the second consecutive devastating loss in the playoffs, the second consecutive below-average draft, and a quarterback who will be months shy of 41. And given how high they are drafting and the depth in this year's draft, we can expect the other three NFC South teams to be better simply because of the 2019 draft. There is the apprehension that 2018 will prove another 2011 season.

It's definitely going to be an uphill climb. After the Minneapolis Miracle I knew the team was going to come back strong. This was the year. But it didn't happen.

More than anything else I'm concerned with the way Drew finished the season. He just wasn't the same the last six games including the playoffs, throwing 7 TDs against 5 INTs. Prior to week 13 he had thrown 2 picks all season!

His Qb rating the first 13 weeks was 122.4. The last six games it was around 88. That's a pretty big drop off. It's hard to face this reality but at some point Drew Brees will not be awesome at throwing a football anymore. Hopefully that was just arm fatigue and not the start of a steep decline.

 

[fishing4food]

The non-call hurt and may have closed the door on this era but the Saints also didn't play well from the Dallas game on. There was no line push from the offense and the pocket was collapsing around DB on allot of plays and the blitz packages were non effective to include the pass rush. They barely beat the Eagle's. I love DB but I thought he showed his age in the last game and he made a poor decision at the end to throw the ball with players in his face that caused the interception. We can complain all day about the no call but how the Patriots played in the SB, could the Saints have beaten them?

 

[UFCSaint]

The non-call hurt and may have closed the door on this era but the Saints also didn't play well from the Dallas game on. There was no line push from the offense and the pocket was collapsing around DB on allot of plays and the blitz packages were non effective to include the pass rush. They barely beat the Eagle's. I love DB but I thought he showed his age in the last game and he made a poor decision at the end to throw the ball with players in his face that caused the interception. We can complain all day about the no call but how the Patriots played in the SB, could the Saints have beaten them?

I definitely think the Saints would've beaten the Patriots in the Superbowl. I know we were sputtering at the end but it's just a gut feeling.

 

[UFCSaint]

Interesting question. And I agree with the earlier post that we are still a playoff-caliber team, but beyond that, who knows. I know I don't have the same optimism about 2019 that I had 12 months ago about 2018.

In 2018, we got the breaks--for the first 10 weeks or so of the season. But then the tide turned. The injuries started to hit when the games were most important. In the NFC championship game, we did not have Rankins; we had so many offensive linemen injured that the line was a shell of what it had been earlier; our tight ends and wide receivers were respectively poor and mediocre units to begin with and then were hit by injuries; and Davenport's injury clearly affected his play.

Entering 2019, we will be facing the second consecutive devastating loss in the playoffs, the second consecutive below-average draft, and a quarterback who will be months shy of 41. And given how high they are drafting and the depth in this year's draft, we can expect the other three NFC South teams to be better simply because of the 2019 draft. There is the apprehension that 2018 will prove another 2011 season.

Exactly what I am trying to say. We did get all the breaks, calls, and balls bouncing our way for the first half of the season. Not to mention we had to have some of the least injuries of any team (which is very abnormal for us.) Throw in an unexpected collapse from both the Falcons and Panthers and it was definitely our year. The law of averages alone doesn't bode well for the next season.

 

[saint_drago]

We can complain all day about the no call but how the Patriots played in the SB, could the Saints have beaten them?

All homerism aside I think the Saints could've beaten the Pats. The Rams were only able to score 3 points because Belichick was easily able to outmaneuver the boy wonder McVay. He was out of his league and could not make the adjustments. McVay showed up to play checkers. Belichick was playing chess.

SP would've been able to make some adjustments. I have no doubt. I think our defense would matched up nicely with the Patriots offense.

 

[fishing4food]

All homerism aside I think the Saints could've beaten the Pats. The Rams were only able to score 3 points because Belichick was easily able to outmaneuver the boy wonder McVay. He was out of his league and could not make the adjustments. McVay showed up to play checkers. Belichick was playing chess.

SP would've been able to make some adjustments. I have no doubt. I think our defense would matched up nicely with the Patriots offense.
[/QUOTE]

What bothered me the most about the game also was DB had only one reliable receiver to throw too. The O became predictable and SP had run out of magic to work with. Broke my heart to watch this happen. Just one more WR and we could have another SB under the belt.