FanPost

The Beginning of the End of the Payton Era

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If you were like me you had a lot of questions for the New Orleans Saints coming in to the season. After the last three 7-9 seasons knowing that two of those seasons the Saints were just two to three offensive or defensive plays away from being between 12-4 and 14-2. You felt it wouldn't take much to get things rolling again. It was that close. Last season alone there were seven games where the Saints lost by 7 points or less. Its not all on defense though. Sean Payton made mistakes along with Brees and the rest of the offense too. But I believe it is past due for a change.

The past few years, even though I've been tough on Payton and the Saints I still knew, to be fair, I needed to acknowledge that they never seem to play with a full deck. It seemed that each draft with promising young players or free agent pickups we'd lose them for half a season or more. In turn, turning their sophomore season into their rookie season. For some only to be injured again or go through a defensive scheme change. Then sometimes play out of position due to injuries of other players. Just to name a few players in the last few years that missed significant time are Kenny Vacarro, Jarius Byrd, Delvin Breaux, Sheldon Rankins, Terron Armstead, P.J. Williams, Danelle Ellerbe, Hau'oli Kikaha, Stephone Anthony, Damian Swann, Kyle Wilson, Rafael Bush, Jahri Evans, Keenan Lewis, Victor Butler, Brandin Cooks, and on and on.

It was exciting to see we made it through camp and the preseason without any significant injuries aside from DB Delvin Breaux and the usual Terron Armstead. What I wanted to see last night was 1.) How would the linebacker rotation play out? 2.) How will the three-headed monster in the backfield work? If at all. 3.) Will our secondary be able to contain the opposing receivers enough to force 4th downs and not give up big plays? 4.) Will the defense be able to form any resemblance of a pass rush?

At first glance I was impressed with the line-backing corps. They seemed to attack and be all over the ball. They were all making plays in the beginning. Aside from a few penalties I loved the aggressiveness. I was against the signing of Adrian Peterson entirely. I've been screaming at Payton for years to feed Mark Ingram. Ingram is a great all-purpose back that just does not get the opportunity. Drafting Alvin Kamara was fine but to muddy the waters and sign a future Hall of Famer and expect him to be happy with getting 6-10 carries per game is just insane. You're already doing that to your pro bowl back that's been on the roster. And he's been unhappy with it. We saw last night that its already going to be a problem. Both Peterson and Ingram need 15-20 touches per game to be effective. It was a disaster and predictable when certain numbers were called in particular situations. The secondary was somehow worse than last season. Sam Bradford for the Minnesota Vikings is not a bad Quarterback but he looked like Drew Brees on steroids. Receivers were wide open on nearly every play from mid 2nd quarter on. At times there wasn't even a defender on the screen when a receiver caught a pass. But to take some blame away from the secondary, Sean Payton and Mickey Loomis have done nothing in the last several years to get DE Cam Jordan some help on the opposite side. Nothing.

The Saints were in this game for a long time. But in the 2nd half when it was obvious they were not going to be able to run the ball and that they were down multiple scores he never hit the panic button. That's not like Coach Payton. He's normally guilty of hitting it too early. But he just kept settling for field goals in the red zone after predictable and vanilla play-calling. I even made the comment that he must have Will Lutz on his fantasy team. At this point in the game when you know you can't stop the other team and Coach Payton is acting as if he's going to trust his defense. Something is very wrong. He looked confused at times on the sideline. He was not aggressive at all. He couldn't figure which ball carrier he wanted to use and where or when. It was hard to watch.

It's not this game that has put me over the edge to move on from the Payton and Loomis era. I was already there and this was their last chance. "Its just one game!" you'll say. No its been about 97 games. That's right, six seasons of going 8-8 or worse. With this season heading in that direction. That's 6 out of 11 seasons of being .500 or worse. Don't get me wrong, they've made some great picks over the years late in drafts but that was in the first few years of this era and mostly on the offensive line. Aside from Marques Colston who was a fan favorite but never near the elite status when it comes to the wide receiver position. Michael Thomas is looking to top that but we don't know how long he'll be with the Saints if they continue down this path.

I'll throw out a few names here for draft busts. Some will be busts as a Saint but not for their new homes. But because they're no longer a Saint they are now busts for the organization as their skills were never properly utilized. Reggie Bush to start it off, Robert Meachem, Sedrick Ellis, Brandin Cooks, Stephone Anthony, and Malcom Jenkins. They had a few years where they had no 1st or 2nd rd pick so that explains the gap. Otherwise there would be more names here. I'm tempted to throw in Mark Ingram as his talents are being held back just like Jenkins. Here are some players the Saints have lost to free agency or trade that would help put this team over the top over the last few seasons or helped make deeper playoff runs in the past. Malcolm Jenkins according to most experts is now a top 5 Safety. Rob Ninkovich the long time specialty pass rusher for the Patriots. Did you know he was a Saint? Akiem Hicks just signed a four year deal with the Chicago Bears and was giving the Atlanta Falcons' O-line fits on Sunday. Signing Coby Fleener when they had just let Cameron Brate walk to the Tampa Bay Bucs from the practice squad, with Willie Snead out it would be nice to have a player like Kenny Stills or even Brandin Cooks. Both traded for picks used on players that have done nothing. Yet. Time will tell. Then the Jimmy Graham trade. Yes he caught the injury bug but when healthy he was an unstoppable redzone force they could've used last night. And had they not blown several drafts in a row they would have better depth on the line and not have to make trades to acquire them. Also, if they hadn't mismanaged the budget by over paying injury riddled free agents they'd had the money to keep their offensive line together.

It simply comes down to talent or lack thereof. New Orleans struck gold with Brees. Then adding guys to the defense like Jonathon Vilma and Darren Sharper seemed to awaken the vets on the defensive line like Charles Grant and Will Smith. Luckily those two were already in place. They had decent corners in Porter and Greer but they couldn't stay healthy. Then as soon as we loss our pass rush they were exposed. Just like the defensive backs there today. There has only been maybe a handful of trades or free agent signings that have panned out. Vilma, Sharper, Jabari Greer, Keenan Lewis, Jeremy Shockey, and I'm probably missing a couple. But not many. That's over 11 years. Same for the draft. Its what is killing them today. The inability to evaluate talent, realize talent when you have it, know how to utilize it, and not pay big bucks to players that are either already injured or have a long history of injuries. The evidence is in a simple google search. Go draft by draft, year by year, and roster by roster. Then tell me they're doing a great job while using a straight face. Then remind yourself of the only Super Bowl in New Orleans history is slightly tainted by Bounty Gate. Don't forget the prescription drug investigation either.

Right now I think the biggest thing keeping the Payton Era going is Tom Benson and the fans. They are to blame. Heck, I'm a fan. I'm just one that's had enough. Its hard for an owner and fans that have suffered for years to finally get what they always wanted. A Super Bowl. And who gets the credit? Coach Payton. So people stick with him hoping he can bring them back down that road, even as he's getting further away and Drew Brees is getting older with absolutely no quarterback of the future waiting in the wing. With all the holes still on defense, do you think Drew Brees should get a new contract near $30 million next year? I don't. Its time to clean house and start over. I'll give Payton eight games. If he's .500 or less then cut him and Loomis loose. Keep Pete Carmichael and let Dennis Allen run the team the rest of the way.

This FanPost was written by a reader and member of Canal Street Chronicles. It does not necessarily reflect the views of CSC and its staff or editors.