That era is gone. That era worked because of Payton and Brees. Both of them are gone. And they are never ever coming back.

It's rare when an organization loses their Hall of Fame quality people and keep rolling at the same level with a new group of people. Maybe the 49ers in the 80's? Look at what happened to the Cowgirls since Aikman, Smith, and Irvin moved on. They haven't sniffed anything close to a championship. People like that just don't fall off the turnip truck.

It's about YOU because YOU constantly scream about how YOU don't have that anymore. But YOU don't even want to talk about how do you get the next Payton or Brees and get the qualities that you describe above. YOU just want it magically done so that you can recapture that feeling that you used to have.

That's not real life. Especially in the NFL. Ask the Lions. Or the Browns. If may be 50 years before the Saints recapture that.

My fear is that you are going to scream each and every one of those 50 years. That you cannot find anything at all about the current organization that's worth talking about. And even worse you try at every turn to prevent anyone else from doing it either.

So, again, keep listening, this is about YOU. YOU cannot get over the post Brees/Payton hangover. You don't want to talk about how we can possibly get past where we are. You don't want to have any discussion about the current organization. And again for some inexplicable reason you feel compelled to spew that trash here where very few people want to hear it on a daily basis.

Allen was not fired in January. Kubiak was hired in January. The organization for 2024 is set. And no amount of your screaming is going to change that. So, frankly, I don't want to hear it anymore. I want to be able to talk about training camp, and preseason games, and how the Saints are going to come out 2-2 or better in games 2-5 in the regular season.

You don't want to talk about any of that. But for certain you are going to dump load on anyone that does.

Just write everything you're going to write here and send it to Mickey. He's the one who actually has the power to make the changes you want. He should hear about that from you. We don't need to.

SFIAH

Derek Carr’s bad habit of throwing short of the sticks has drawn criticism from Saints fans and mockery from his opponents, and the numbers bear it out. Pro Football Reference measures success rate as the percent of plays which gain at least 40% of yards needed on first down, 60% on second down, and 100% on third or fourth down. Carr’s current success rate as a passer is just 43.6%, which ranks 20th among the NFL’s 32 starting quarterbacks.

Look at more comprehensive metrics like quarterback rating (where Carr’s 82.8 grade ranks 20th) or PFR’s adjusted net yards per pass attempt (which has Carr at 23rd, with a 5.2 ANY/A) and you’ll see more of the same: he’s on the wrong end of the spectrum in terms of NFL quarterback play.

It wouldn’t be as big an issue if Carr were playing on the modest contract the Saints signed Jameis Winston to; his last two-year, $28 million deal would be more in line with someone performing at Carr’s level. That Carr is instead being paid to play like a fringe top-10 quarterback (his $37.5 million average per-year salary clocks in at 13th) makes it a problem when he’s closer to a bottom-10 passer (his success rate, again, is 20th). If Carr can’t pick it up and meet the expectations set for him, he and his contract are quickly going to become an albatross holding this team back.

It not about ME. This is a SAINTS FORUM. It’s about the SAINTS.

Mickey Loomis is quoted as saying, “I think sometimes the easy thing to do, the lazy thing to do is look at the results of the season and say ‘ah it’s the coach’s fault, it’s the quarterback’s fault.’ I think sometimes you have to look beyond that,” Loomis said, pointing to the records each of those coaches achieved in their first two years on the job. Walsh went 8-24 in his first two years with the San Francisco 49ers. Noll was 6-22 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Belichick had a 13-19 showing after his first two years with the Cleveland Browns. Payton went 7-9 and 8-8 in his second and third years on the job.

But it’s a bogus comparison. Allen may be 16-18 after two seasons with the Saints, but you can’t compare these situations the way Loomis is trying to. It isn’t like Allen is new to the responsibilities of being a head coach. He had three years to figure these things out a decade ago with the Raiders. Walsh, Noll, Belichick, and Payton were all first-timers. Allen has been here before but he doesn’t have the results to show for it.

To be clear, Loomis should believe in Allen seeing that he brought the coach back for a third year at the helm. Loomis, however, doesn’t need to make ridiculous comparisons to attempt to defend his guy. The comparisons are meant to express things haven’t gone well but can get better, and Dennis Allen’s record isn’t a full reflection of his ability Comparing Allen to Payton and Belichick, and multiple Hall of Famers, dilutes the point.

And Payton, specifically, accomplished much more than Allen had to this point in his career. Has Loomis forgotten that he led the Saints to the NFC championship game in his first season with New Orleans? That he won more games in his first year as a head coach than Allen has ever managed in five? Allen can’t even win the weakest division in pro football two years running.

But Loomis hired Allen, and he’s going to keep making excuses for Allen’s shortcomings until things change. And hopefully they will. There’s enough talent on this roster to get into the playoffs. Maybe the Saints can make enough changes to the coaching staff this offseason to get over that hump. Maybe not… But they can do that without having their general manager embarrass himself whenever he gets in front of a microphone, and making a mockery of our loyalty as fans.

I don’t do “woulda shoulda coulda”… AND AGAIN, THIS IS NOT ABOUT ME.

THIS IS A SAINTS FORUM.

Woulda coulda shoulda is how things get better. The Saints woulda coulda should not hired Allen 3 years ago and would coulda shoulda fired him since then.

Though unlikely you may get another shot at the end of this season. Who's on your watch list? Who should the Saints Woulda Coulda Shoulda hire in January 2025?

You don't want to talk about the Saints except to dump on them. So, you and I are going keep talking about why you do that because that's about you, not the Saints.

SFIAH

You can keep talking about ME all you like, I am here to talk about my Saints!

No you're not. You here to dump on the Saints. You are worse than the worst FailClown fans that I have ever encountered, and I've lived here in Atlanta for more than 40 years.

Fine. If you want to "talk about your Saints." then name exactly one positive thing that you see in the 2024 squad. Just one single encouraging thing that may pan out this year.

You've already posted about how Carr underachieves, and how Allen is an absolutely horrible coach. And that's in the last 1/2 hour.

Can you see even a glimmer of hope in the 2024 squad? If not, how can you really call yourself a fan? Because you fanatically only want an exciting team that wins championships?

I await this one with baited breath.

SFIAH

Please… UN-BAIT your breath. I don’t want you to hurt yourself.

You might have forgotten that the New Orleans Saints finished last season with a winning record. They were 9-8.

It would have been more fitting if they found a way to finish 8-8-1 because since the end of the Sean Payton/Drew Brees era the Saints have settled into boring mediocrity with no end in sight.

They're 25-26 the past three seasons. They have a quarterback in Derek Carr who is 33 years old and has a $150 million contract, but Saints fans never seemed to embrace him during his first underwhelming season in New Orleans. They have a head coach in Dennis Allen who seems likely to be on the hot seat at the end of each season, only to survive to the chagrin of the fans. The Saints' top two highest-paid players for most of the offseason, in terms of salary-cap hits, were running back Alvin Kamara and tight end Taysom Hill before Hill restructured in late spring. Kamara's best days seem behind him and he plays a devalued position, and Hill will be 34 and is the pet project of a former head coach who hasn't been on the Saints' sideline since the end of the 2021 season. Hill's restructure in mid-June cleared up salary-cap space and pushed a larger cap hit to the future. That's what the Saints do.

Nope. I knew you couldn't do it. This is just wrapping up your complaints with damningly faint praise. So faint that you need a microscope to even catch a whiff of it.

I guess my breath will continue to be baited.

Do you think the 2024 Saints will also have a winning record? Let's try there.

SFIAH