That's right people! I did an interview with the very exclusive Dave Cariello, our very own head blogger here at Canal Street Chronicles, to finish off the NFC South series.
I asked Dave a few questions to get his opinion about the Saints and his answers are below. So make the jump to find out what he had to say.
Jon: After the Saints Super Bowl win last year, how did that effect your expectations going into this season? Were the hopes of a Two Dat an actual expectation for you?
Dave: Yeah. I think as long as the core of the team is around I will always believe winning a championship is a possibility. Winning two consecutive Super Bowls is a pretty tough task so I didn't think the odds were good but there's always a chance.
Jon: The Saints losses to the Cardinals and Browns were very surprising. Were the Saints just not prepared? Or did the Saints succumb to a "Super Bowl Hangover"?
Dave: The Saints finished the season 11-5 so I don't think they were hungover. In retrospect I'm pleased with the how the post-Super Bowl season was handled. So many teams really struggle after a successful season. It was entirely possible that the Saints could have fallen into that same trap. It's nice to finally see some consistency with the franchise. Consistency of the positive kind has been rare for the Saints. As for those losses against Arizona and Cleveland, those were obviously because Sean Payton was day dreaming about living in Dallas.
Jon: What was the biggest win of the season for you and why?
Dave: At the time, the win over the Vikings to end all that off-season crap was pretty sweet. I really thought the late-season win over Atlanta was a statement and meant the team was ready to go deep into the playoffs so that one was meaningful at the time. But the most memorable was definitely the Thanksgiving game against Dallas. What an ending!
Jon: Considering the Saints are keeping all of their coaching staff minus a secondary coach, do you think the defense will get better next year?
Dave: Just by taking the summer off and getting healthy I think the defense gets better. If they can add some help on the line and at linebacker through the draft or via free agency (if there is free agency) then I would assume they'll get better.
Jon: What do you think is the biggest need the Saints face going into the offseason?
Dave: It's tough to pinpoint the biggest need. I would probably say improve the pass rush. Others might say improve at outside linebacker or improve at the running back position. But I think improving the pass rush would make the biggest difference and have a positive trickle down effect on the rest of the defense.
Jon: "If the Saints did ___ during the 2010 season, they would have gone back to the Super Bowl.
Dave: "a better job of staying healthy" I'm not sure staying healthy is something within the teams control, but if it is, the Saints need to improve.