BakoSaint

Michael Thomas being hurt is a great excuse for Michael Thomas not showing up in this game. But it does not change the fact that generally dedicating franchise player level money to a WR is not a formula for championship success in this league. I also have a concern that having a dominant #1 WR stunts the development of a young QB as instead of learning to go through their progressions they take the easy route of letting their star WR carry them and can look like a pretty good top 10 QB and get their big contract and settle in but never reach the next level. I think its better for a young QB to have an ensemble cast of skilled receivers with different tools but no dominant beast #1.

I would not write off the entire New England system for 20 years because it didn't work with a new QB who was too old and got covid in a year with an abridged training camp. The Patriots went 11-5 with Matt Cassell. We have seen what teams like the Lions, Falcons, Texans, etc do with much more able QBs than 2020 Cam Newton or Matt Cassell. The Saints do need to find a better QB than 2020 Newton or Cassell, but even with just an above average QB you can win championships with the right system and avoiding the mistakes many teams make.