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Random Observations: Are the Saints Dysfunctional?

By Thomas Hukel
July 28, 2012; Metairie, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) breaks from the huddle during a training camp practice at the team's indoor practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE
July 28, 2012; Metairie, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) breaks from the huddle during a training camp practice at the team's indoor practice facility. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

I listen to a lot of talk radio while I'm driving. Mainly I tune into ESPN radio or something sports related hoping to catch bits and pieces of something to write about. Well, today I heard Colin Cowherd refer to the Saints as dysfunctional (by the way I'm spelling it with a "y" for a reason).

I don't want to start slinging mud because someone at some point felt like Colin deserved to have his own radio show. I agree with some things he says, but I don't think I would use the word dysfunctional to describe the Saints. Personally I think the team is more functional than any other team in the NFL.

Several other teams are similar, but even teams like the Patriots or the Packers would be a lot worse off if they had to face the same issues the Saints faced this offseason.

Join me after the jump to see how funtional the franchise was, is, and will continue to be.

First let's have a short vocabulary lesson to begin. Today we are examining the definition of the word "disfunctional." According to dictionary.com, the origin of "disfuntional" stems from the word "dysfunctional." Here is their defintion of "dysfunction"...

dys·func·tion·al

  [dis-fuhngk-shuh-nl] Show IPA

adjective

1. not performing normally, as an organ or structure of the body; malfunctioning.

2. having a malfunctioning part or element: It is hard to get bills through a dysfunctional congress.

3. behaving or acting outside social norms: All the siblings in their extremely dysfunctional family lost contact as adults.

So we have three different definitions to deal with here.

The first one is performance based so I'd say they're conducting business as usual. No Sean Payton, but camp has run fairly smooth under Vitt's command so far. In fact, I like the way Vitt has carried himself with the complications he's faced as the interim head coach. No other coaching staff that I'm aware of could function as smoothly without their head coach with them.

The second definition doesn't make much sense either. Mickey Loomis picked up some solid free agents this offseason, managed to sign Drew Brees to a $100 million contract while increasing the Saints' cap space by doing so. If he's referring to how long it took, well, that's a lot of money at work there, and decisions in the NFL come down to the wire in most cases. Other than that all the parts and elements seem to functioning just fine.

The third would be the closest match, but only in regards to the alleged "bounty" scandal. When Roger Goodell's kangaroo court decided the Saints were guilty, the evidence shared with the players and the general public was picked apart by the mainstream media and blogs worldwide. Are our guys guilty of some kind of performance pool? Yes. But many current and retired players have stated they participated in similar programs in different locker rooms around the league. Does that make it right? No. But since many other teams have used similar programs that would make it a social norm.

Again, I'm just a part time blogger who obsesses over football looking for something to write about. I'm not concerned about Colin Cowherd's opinion on this matter I'm just using up the excess virtual real estate before Jason Cole uses it all. The Saints will continue to face adversity this season, but that doesn't make them dysfunctional. I challenge you to name another NFL franchise that could have handled the Saints' offseason as well.

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