I just went to the kitchen to get a fork; no, I'm not hungry. It will be used to stick in the Saints; their 2012 season is done. The Saints have rolled over in these last three weeks more easily than a fat man with sleep apnea(any resemblence to the author is vehemently denied). Hehe!
Right now I don't care about bounty gate. I don't care about the penalties metted out by the NFL and the gestapo like tactics of Roger Godell. I don't care that Sean Payton gets a year off. I don't care because at the end of the day it's what happens betwwen the lines. What has happened at this point of the season is 5 wins(yes it is December) and 8 losses. Since winning the Super Bowl, this is the worst Saints performance and tonight was the cherry on top of worst performances. How did this team become so bad? Why is this team so bad? And make no mistake, right now, this is a bad team.
Not too many people like to go where I choose to start: Drew Brees. Yes, he is STILL the answer. Short of the Saints finding the next RG3 or Andrew Luck in the draft, Brees is STILL the man we have to go with. The Saints did way right by him. He has the most lucrative pro football contract in like forever. Yep, really, he does. He got the contract remarkably front loaded; making $ 40 million dollars for this year; one of his worst years as a Saint. Every game week, stinking it up or not, he cashes a check for $ 2.5 million. For this 2012 season, Drew Brees, more than anyone else, knew he needed to carry this team on his shoulders. He doesn't need a Deacon and a banker telling him about the realities of this season. But because of the overabundance of blind faith apologists someone has to say it: Drew Brees has been part of the problem in 2012. 16 interceptions and when they seem to happen have been devastating. Some have been pick 6 returns by the opponents. Yes, not every INT is his fault, but many of them have been. Not to mention, if you truly watch the game with equal part head and heart, you know he has misfired all year. Drew has been off target often, throwing to the wrong side of the receiver and even with wide open end-zone streaking receivers, often they must sit and wait on the ball. Troubling. His leadership is still important to this team and belief in him paramount. The good news here is that I don't believe anyone, anyone on this team has lost belief in him. Hopefully, his 2012 performance, like that of many of his teammates will be an anomaly. Drew Brees should still be the QB answer for the Saints for years to come. Let's hope he recommits himself in 2013 because any repeat of 2012 will be a death blow for these Saints.
Since we are on offense, we still know Colston is a killer player, solid receiver. Henderson seems to have lost a step and I'm concerned about his star power going forward. Moore is dependable and Morgan is getting better and better but is not quite yet enough of a replacement for Meachem, one of our departed ex-Saints, I believe in part, a victim of the Brees contract. Graham at TE should still be the answer but he has had more ups and downs instead of 2011 spectacular than I expected. Can't put my finger on that one. The running game only got better when Ivory ran loose. For some reason this team just does not have confidence in him for a whole year. He does fumble and appears fragile sometimes, but when healthy is a beast. Thomas is dependable and solid. Sproles is still quick and elusive. Ingram: BUST. I have nothing for Mark Ingram. For how we moved up to get him where we did; Ingram is a BUST. He acts like he does not want to be here. The O-line is ok but Strief has been blown up a few times and his injury did not help. The Saints lost their best O-line guy when we could not franchise tag Carl Nicks because of the Brees contract. His replacement has been ok but is no Carl Nicks.
We could change the whole D-line and I would be ok with that. Perhaps the draft pick, Hicks, is worth hanging on to but I don't know if loosing the whole bunch, Smith and Jordan really matter. Vilma played better than Lofton all year and the LB corps, promised to be better, was remarkably not. The DB's are horrible. I think we could replace them all. For sure, none of these guys like a ball hitting them in their hands.
The 5-8 Saints will now limp through these last 3 games, no longer a chance at all for playoff glory; they must fight to avoid one of the WORST records in the NFC. Time will tell but I see 6-10 for his final record.
Will Sean Payton come back in 2013? That still is a legitimate question. And if he does, will he turn around a bad team with just his presence and adjustments. After all, they are supposed to be running his same playbook. Really?
Will the Saints give Spags, the defensive coordinator, another year? Probably so. Help us all:(
So here is my fork;I just stuck it in the 2012 edition of my New Orleans Saints. What a difference 3 years and 1 year make; how very sad. But yes, they still are MY New Orleans Saints!
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