I'm actually okay with personnel and this would be my choice as well. I find that the players are there... they just need to play up to their potential.

I can agree with this as well. Ya'll might think I am crazy but there seems to be no motivation. The year we won the SB, coach's were doing all kinds of crazy things to motivate the players. Drew Brees had several different pregame chants. Have you heard his motivation in the huddle now? Its boring!! What happened to all the great tag lines: Finish strong, Smell greatness and so on.
Somebody needs to light a fire under there butts.

I agree with this. How do you stop probably 2 of the best DEs in the game one week then let 2 underacheivers blow you up the next week. Our guys need to bring the same fire and desire to win every game. The one thing that stands out in all 3 loses is turnovers. The loses to Tampa and St. Louis fall on the lack of protection for Brees and lack of running game and he tried to force throws resulting in ints. This was the fault of the OL. But with that said our DBs need to figure out how to catch the damn ball. I know that's why they're DBs and not WRs because they don't have as good of hands but still you should be able to catch a few of them.

I think a big part of our struggles in the running game is problems with the o-line. I also think play calling is an issue.

It's got to be the O-line. We fix that and the run game immediately improves and we prolong Brees career just a little bit longer.

After fixing the O-line, we still have to get Payton or whoever, to call running plays.
There is no commitment to the run from the top-down. Payton is throw 1st then run.
That mind-set will never get these guys into a "this line is mine" mode of operation.
They will always be on their heels and not on their toes on the offensive side of our ball.

I voted D-line.
Those guys, as a group, are not holding their own.
One of two guys may have a decent day, either Smith or Jordan, and never both, and the rest have 1-Z's on their scorecard.
Their lack of contribution in run stuff, pass rush, and containment, overloads the LB's and DB's.
The front 4, along with their replacements, are ALWAYS at the bottom of the tackle/playmaking chart.
The only way we've been able to get pressure is to send help, 6 or 7, and that leaves us wide open.
If we miss and the QB finds his safety valve, we get burned.
D-line needs to step it up! Own it up front!
Free up the back 7 to be able to run around and make plays.
We figure out how to hold teams under 20 and we are 8-0.

While I'm not overly crazy about our tackles, I've seen them play decently enough that the offense is clicking. So it really depends on what you mean by fix. If our O-line plays horribly I think the repercussions are probably much greater for this team than if the D-line plays horribly. That being said, I think the O-Line is probably more serviceable than the D-line. So it really depends on what you mean by fix. Our O-line needs a defibrillator to get some momentum back, while the D-line needs something like open heart surgery.

Too many to choose from, but I chose the running game, because I truly believe that when the O is firing on all cylinders - the weaknesses on the D side of the ball get downgraded in a hurry. Also, with an effective running game the weaknesses in pass protection get reduced quite a lot and consequently Brees will have more options off the play action and he'll stay upright on more plays.

The problems with the running game can be traced in a big way back to the O-line personnel and their performances, but I think that darstep had a really good point about the mentality side of the running game, which is something they lack - whether its because of SP's play calling bias towards the passes or if it is because no one in that line has taken up a leadership position. I would also like to see more effective run play design with more kick outs or cut blocking or whatever is needed in order to get it working - more imagination.

Maybe that's what was wrong with Nicks...he was mad because we didnt run the ball...O-lineman luv to run block..its how they get even..

As much as I would like to fix the D. I think improving the O-line is a must, remember what the hogs did for the redskins.