The Saints are not expected to be sellers when the NFL trade deadline arrives next Tuesday, and head coach Dennis Allen has made that clear for two straight weeks. New Orleans operates under the belief that it can solve whatever is happening internally. This is the same thing that was said before, and the problem is that it is not resolved. Honestly, it feels like the situation is getting worse, and that’s why there are even more skeptics than usual.
New Orleans has lost six straight games, and now it’s poised to once again enter November behind the eight ball. For anyone wondering, the Saints are only 9-15 in September and October under Dennis Allen. Naturally, this is also their worst stretch, as they were at least 4-4 at this point last season.
There’s a lot of finger pointing outside the building about who’s to blame here, and while there are some angles you can take, the reality is the Saints have already said they don’t care outside opinions.
Allen said on WWL Radio Monday night: “I don’t think we look at things the same way as people outside of our building. We don’t focus on what happened in the past. We’ve been focusing on the things we can control, the things we can change, and that starts this week by going to Carolina and getting a win. »
Here’s the problem with that. When you say certain things that you don’t realize when you said you were going to do it, then where is the real responsibility? What else is there if the results are not there? How can a team that says they know the standard but doesn’t follow it feel like they’re meeting a specific standard that only they can define?
At the end of last season, Dennis Allen and Mickey Loomis met with the media for their usual pressers, and here are some reminders of what was said during that meeting.
So here we are. The Saints appear to be in turmoil, drawing comparisons to the 2005 team. Is this what they have been reduced to?
The Saints did all their normal work in the offseason to challenge the salary cap to prove the critics wrong, but the problem is that the criticism is actually valid when you’re not playing. What’s the point of operating like this when you don’t get results? What is the point of players committing to the organization to move on and end their careers on a low note? They don’t deserve this. Cam Jordan doesn’t deserve to lose. Neither does Demario Davis or Tyrann Mathieu. You can now add Alvin Kamara to that list after his two-year extension.
The goal posts also continue to move. There have obviously been a lot of injuries, and it feels like it’s changed more to serve as an excuse for why they’re not doing well. Isn’t that why you’re supposed to write well, have the right depth, and develop yourself? Injuries happen and they are part of the game. You can’t just say that the return of one or two specific players will help save a season. This is a ridiculous way of thinking. It’s like they’re operating like they’re actually the team that’s 2-0 instead of the team that’s 2-6 when the results say otherwise.
What if this team lost to the Panthers? How not to make radical changes? Even if they beat the worst team in the league, you could get beaten by the NFC South division leader the following week. There is no moral victory here. You can also bet there won’t be as much fan support when they return to the Superdome. No one can blame them either, because like what was said, you have to win and perform well, and that doesn’t happen at all.
This is certainly the lowest point a Saints team has recorded in nearly two decades. At least you knew that when the team started in the hole in 7-9 seasons they had Drew Brees and Sean Payton. There’s not much optimism here about real change, nor is there much evidence to suggest it.
