New Orleans Saints Forums - blackandgold.com - NewOrleansSaints.com Joe Vitt 2012 Season Recap

Opening Statement: “I don’t feel any differently today than I did last night after the game. When you go back over it and take a look at what we identified that we had to do to win the game and we didn’t get that done at any level. We lost six keys to victory, we’re going to get what we deserve. It’s really been what has happened this season. It’s been inconsistent play for us, we’re up and down, we put a couple of games together and then we don’t adhere to what wins in the National Football League and two what wins for us and at the end of the day, you get what you deserve. With that, we just had our final team meeting. The players are involved right now in their exit meetings with their position coaches. I’ll talk to as many guys as I can this afternoon. Tomorrow morning our coaches will go in to meetings. We’ll go through scheme evaluations and player evaluations and start getting ready for our offseason.”

Is it a weird feeling to be done this early?
“It’s not good. I think anybody who coaches at this level or plays at this level, you live to be invited to a single-elimination tournament. Nothing gets you going like that does. This time of the season coaches get bone-tired, the players are tired, but when you have a playoff week to start your preparation there is a second wind that’s unbelievable. We’re used to experiencing that around here, we haven’t done it this year. That has left a taste in our core players’ mouths (that) there is still that burning desire to get back. We’ll prepare for a great offseason.”

Personally, was this season more taxing than some of the others because you had a larger role handling a lot of Sean Paytons duties?
“I had seven weeks (away from team at start of season). I don’t feel like Thanksgiving has come yet. No. It is not.”

When you go back and look at what got you to this point, what are some of the key points that got you to 7-9 and out of the playoffs?
“I’ve said this to you guys before, (that) every year takes on a life of its own. The keys to a team’s success change on a yearly basis. This year, for us, it was the ability to run the ball, stop the run, and then third down conversions. When we did those things, we played pretty good football. You group into that the ability to protect the quarterback, pressure the opposing quarterback and then big plays. When we adhere to those things we’ve been competitive and able to win. When we break those laws, we lose games. It’s been the inconsistent play of adhering to those things. I didn’t do a good enough job of getting the point across. Off the top of my head that’s what I would say they were.”

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