Well, there's this..... (1 Viewer)

[Muerte33]

I like our chances vs the Lions too. I think Fairley will have a great game!
This defense is starting to show some promise, I am excited.
If the injury bug stays away (Ellerbe stays healthy) we could win some more games.

 

[BarBar]

A better physician = less injuries? How does that work?

 

[Homebrew11]

a better physician = less injuries? How does that work?

it doesn't.....

 

[SoggyBottomBoy]

The Saints and Chargers are the two most dangerous teams in the NFL. They can beat any team, unfortunately, they are also good at beating themselves. Hence their records.

 

[UFCSaint]

I agree that we are a better team than our record shows. I disagree with the luck part. You make your luck by scouting well, GM'ing well, physical training well ( to prevent certain types of injury), coaching up players, creating depth and competition on rosters, firing coaches who need to be replaced, telling kickers to work on trajectory or they will be replaced, etc. ..THEN after all that the ball may not always bounce your way, but you 'll probably be 7-4 instead of 5-6 .

I like the direction we're heading in, but if everyone was as focused on their job as Brees has been, we'd have a winning record and wouldn't be discussing bad luck.

The saying goes, "Luck is when preparation meets opportunity". Do I think our Special Teams have been "prepared" in all of the botched SP plays this season? Absolutely not. Were other teams? Yep. Thus their preparation met with opportunity.

 

[Optimistic Ozzy]

We are that team that nobody and I mean nobody wants to play. If the Saints played themselves, I'd be afraid to play them. I know that sounds somewhat Yogi-ish, but it is what it is, which sounds somewhat Sean Payton-ish.

 

[gregh]

Special teams. What an unlucky year.

But we're not out of it yet. Rest of the schedule is easy. Just gotta win out - and it's doable over the remaining five games.

tampa may disagree with you

 

[Meachemdat]

We are that team that nobody and I mean nobody wants to play. If the Saints played themselves, I'd be afraid to play them. I know that sounds somewhat Yogi-ish, but it is what it is, which sounds somewhat Sean Payton-ish.

Sounds like 2008.

Lots of close games that didn't swing our way and a couple of blow-out games against the packers and lions that showed what we had built on offense.

I'm not sure what this season holds, but next season we are going deep into the playoffs if not the super bowl.

 

[bobad]

Winning out will take a mighty effort, the odds are very low. The good news is, if we win out, we're dangerous.

 

[LoE]

tampa may disagree with you

Tampa may agree with me.

We'll see.

 

[Swimmer]

.....from ESPN:


Unluckiest and Most Underrated Team in Week 13: New Orleans Saints - Stats & Info- ESPN


I'm putting this up despite my utter and complete detestation for the network, but even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. Like everyone else on the internet, I'm posting it because it echoes the same notes I've been harping on since the Raiders game (and throughout the 0-3 start): The Saints are not a bad team, in fact, they look like a pretty good team. And, thus far, a pretty unlucky team. I know that it all counts, and 5-6 is 5-6, but the team has been extremely competitive in every game but one.
Consider a few of the most damaging spins of Fortuna's wheel:

Has any team been as decimated by injury at a single position group as the Saints were at CB this season?

Has any team seen the results of three blocked kicks bounce so effortlessly into the hands of the opposing team who then possess a largely unfettered path to the end zone?

Who knows, we may lay down the rest of the season, but thus far, I really do see why Payton remains so calm, and has repeatedly stated that he likes the makeup of this team- they seem to have some valuable intangibles.

Really good stuff. THx

This team is not laying down. They may get beat, they may beat themselves, but this team will fight the entire game, every game

 

[jamesbhack]

Well let's see.

Week #1 - Raiders - 9/2 team, division leader, one of best teams in NFL
Week #2 - Giants - 8/3 team, on the road
Week #3 - Falcons - 7/4 team, division leader
Week #4 - Chargers - 5/6 team, on the road
Week #5 - bye
Week #6 - Panthers - 4/7 team, NFC champions
Week #7 - Chiefs - 8/3 team, on the road
Week #8 - Seahawks - 7/3/1 team, division leader
Week #9 - 49'ers - 1/10 team, on the road
Week #10 - Broncos - 7/4 team, Superbowl champions
Week #11 - Panthers - 4/7 team, NFC champions, on the road, on a short week
Week #12 - Rams - 4/7 team

Remaining games.

Week #13 - Lions - 7/4 team, division leader, at home
Week #14 - Bucs - 6/5 team, on the road
Week #15 - Cardinals - 4/6/1 team, on the road
Week #16 - Bucs - 6/5 team, at home
Week #17 - Falcons - 7/4 team, division leader, on the road

Factor in:

1) The crushing injuries that we had, they were early in the season - Breaux, Rankins, Ellerbe, and Armstead are back.
2) We get the best of the remaining teams (Lions) at home.
3) There are no more short weeks.
4) Our team is hot right now, after blowing out the Rams with 49 points on offense, and a defense that's on fire.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems to me that the harder part of the season is over.

every remaining game is difficult. The bummer from here is that even a VERY strong finish (4-1 or 3-2) would probably not be enough. A 5-0 finish against that field would probably say we are the 2nd best team in the NFC because not even the Seahawks could accomplish that.

I do think we are underrated, but the question is: are we better than everyone but the Cowboys? Thats the only way we are going 10-6.

 

[dutar76]

Yeah, this wasn't just bad luck.

This went along with elevating an untested FA rookie kicker straight to the roster as your starting kicker without first fully evaluating him beyond a practice field tryout facing no rush.

Film showed only the blocked kick vs the Giants was a low kick and the kickers fault. One of the others was blown gap assignment and the other should have been a penalty if I'm not mistaken. The defender can jump the Center but can't touch another player in the process.

Denver guy stepped out of bounds. Just another way the league gets the teams they want where they want by the end of the season. js

 

[VPCajun]

Well let's see.

Week #1 - Raiders - 9/2 team, division leader, one of best teams in NFL
Week #2 - Giants - 8/3 team, on the road
Week #3 - Falcons - 7/4 team, division leader
Week #4 - Chargers - 5/6 team, on the road
Week #5 - bye
Week #6 - Panthers - 4/7 team, NFC champions
Week #7 - Chiefs - 8/3 team, on the road
Week #8 - Seahawks - 7/3/1 team, division leader
Week #9 - 49'ers - 1/10 team, on the road
Week #10 - Broncos - 7/4 team, Superbowl champions
Week #11 - Panthers - 4/7 team, NFC champions, on the road, on a short week
Week #12 - Rams - 4/7 team

Remaining games.

Week #13 - Lions - 7/4 team, division leader, at home
Week #14 - Bucs - 6/5 team, on the road
Week #15 - Cardinals - 4/6/1 team, on the road
Week #16 - Bucs - 6/5 team, at home
Week #17 - Falcons - 7/4 team, division leader, on the road

Factor in:

1) The crushing injuries that we had, they were early in the season - Breaux, Rankins, Ellerbe, and Armstead are back.
2) We get the best of the remaining teams (Lions) at home.
3) There are no more short weeks.
4) Our team is hot right now, after blowing out the Rams with 49 points on offense, and a defense that's on fire.

Maybe it's just me, but it seems to me that the harder part of the season is over.

.

Good bet that it will come down to that last game against the Falcain't in Atlanta!

Geaux Saints - Time to Kick Championship Butt Again!!!

.

 

[saintmdterps]

Can't agree about this per se. Statistical significance is not simply the number three. The bad luck part of the kicking game is not the blocks, that's poor play, but where the ball is going after its blocked. No doubt improvement in our special teams would eliminate this, but I, and this author are implicitly referring to what happens, the bounce of the ball, so to speak, after our level of play is accounted for. Blocked kicks are one thing-returning them for points/big yardage is another.

And the injuries = poor medical staff correlation you suggest is extremely unlikely, to say the least. It is a belief held by a small subset of every team's fans, and I'm not sure why, it seems irrational to me. No doctor could have prevented PJ Williams' concussion, nor Breaux's broken fibula, as examples.

Saints fans, like most other fans, love to play "poor me" when the ball literally and figuratively does not bounce their team's way. No amount of luck will cover up for poor coaching, and ST has been a weak spot for too long. If coaching was effective the block would never have occurred and so there would be no need to attribute the resultant bounce to luck.

Injuries do occur more frequently and take longer to resolve if the medical staff is less proficient and less proactive. Again, luck takes a back seat to conditioning and preparation.

And I'll say it again, spa camp is no benefit...