The Athletic followers pessimism level of their favorite NFL team (1 Viewer)

[sammymvpknight]

This lines up with that other Twitter study from last year saying we have the most toxic/negative fans. It's crazy because we used to be what the Lions are now.

We are actually this toxic, though. The "not my QB" fan wars proved that.

The Saints franchise did this to us. Horrible post-Brees plan at best…no plan at all at worst. Misses left and right in the first round of the draft. Not retaining players that go on to be great players. No cap space to improve the team…Dennis Allen as head coach. Meh big contract QB. There is not a clear path to rebuilding. We are in indefinite limbo with a just good enough team to use our free agency resources and not put us in the top 10 of drafts. Objectively…the Saints are in a rough state right now. The findings aren’t surprising. It has little to do with whining/toxic fans. Every fan base is like that and I’d argue the Saints fan base is far more patient that most.

We are in such a tough spot that even if the Saints miss the playoffs yet again many if not most Saints fans are convinced that changes will not be made. It’s status quo with mediocrity being good enough.

 

[sammymvpknight]

To me that's just a mislabeled graph. Instead of hope o meter it should be expectations meter. We have expectations that the team won't, or can't, live up to. Brees and SP forever changed this fan base as far as what we expect from the team every year. We expect to be contenders every year and that's a huge ask in the NFL.

I disagree though. I think I have higher expectations than hope. Can this team make the playoffs if the stars align? Sure. Will the defense be good enough to prevent an otherwise bad offense from getting a top 5 pick in next years draft? Likely. But am I excited about the FUTURE of the team? Thats a more difficult question. I can envision how the stars don’t align this year. I still see Carr and Allen as a middling duo. I still don’t think we have resources to significantly improve the team…both in FA and the draft. Relative to the Panthers for example…where they could be bad again…sure. But the still have a young QB And if they’re bad they could be bad enough for a #1 overall pick.

You look at the other team at the bottom…the Giants. Another team without resources, another team with a middling vet QB. They’re also just good enough to miss a #1 pick. They have a lot of similarities to the Saints franchise right now but are probably in a better place with the cap (years of dead money upcoming), and they have a coach with more HC success

 

[RJ in Lafayette]

It is not just a matter of how many games we will win in 2024. I happen to think the Las Vegas over-under number of 7.5 games is spot-on. I won't touch that bet. It is a matter of your answers to these questions:

1. Do you believe the franchise is being capably managed?

2. Do you believe the team is mired in mediocrity?

3. Do you believe we have the right general manager, the right head coach, and the right quarterback?

4. Do you believe the franchise is headed in the right direction and can contend after 2024?

Even in Payton's last two years, I thought the organization needed to emphasize the future more than it did. After Payton left, I thought the franchise needed to break completely from the Payton years and begin a major rebuild. The organization instead stressed continuity, elevating Dennis Allen as head coach, keeping much of the coaching staff (how do you keep Pete Carmichael as your offensive coordinator for two years?), and last year signing Derek Carr.

This is not the thread to debate whether I am right or wrong. (There are a number of threads in recent years devoted to these questions.) But the reason for the team's high pessimism score is that Saints fans are increasingly answering those questions with no, yes, no, and no. They have lost confidence in the organization starting at the top.