If you could fix one thing with our team ..what would it be?
 

Just pick one....trying to see what everyone thinks the main problem is..

The O-line #1, D-line #2, Run game/LB's #3 can't decide which is worse.

The O had one bad game

The D had at least 8-9 bad games in a row.

Coach needs to be with the Players. Petty squables go away. Things in general are addressed immediately.

I have to vote D line, but it's not an easy choice.
What it comes down to, in my opinion at least, is that even when we're putting up 30+ points on offense, the D is still allowing too many points (except in the Indy game, of course).

The O's ability to put up lots of points week after week has helped hide the fact that our D needs lots of help.
In a week where the O struggles, it's very evident that the D can't hold up their end of the bargain.

DESIRE!!!!!!!!

Great question if you really sit and think about it.
I went with O-line. My reasoning is, this is a QB driven league. We don't need to have a shut down D to win. We won the SB with practically the same D we have now.

On Offense you HAVE to have some balance. We need to be able to run the ball effectively. This O line this year has been up and down. One week they play good, next game they act like its there first time playing with each other.

We solve our O line issues and everything will fall back in place. Do we need help on D, of course we do but we can win with what we have.

LOL...i was going to say... Record...

I voted O-Line...i think its the heart of the team..and right now..its in need of a defibrillator.

...even better! :)

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.

Not to mention it protects our best player..man if we had the Hogs..lol

Sean Paytons leg

First Round Picks Need to Play like First Round Picks...

I think the best way to a good offense is to have a good defense, the offense gets the ball more to try to score more + time of possession, take the ball out of the opponents hands the better your chances. Call it crazy, just my thought.

^ Without that O-Line though, just means Drew is lying on the ground more...

O line:

Four man rush sacking Brees should never happen.
Brees needs time. Not a lot, but more.

Followed closely by D line:

Bring 4, bring 6, bring 8... same results.
Can't stop a solid run attack.
QB's have all day to pick apart our small db's.

D line, with the lb's on their back. Both are equal to me.

Their propensity to waste a lot of useless energy and time pregame by repeating schoolgirl chants.

I have noticed that ever since people have picked-up on them and started repeating them on things like commercials, we have hinted at returning to the Saints of old.

I know it's a lot of bull...but have I ever told you that I hate the chants?

The O-Line

We have spent the better part of 3 years drafting defensive linemen with early round picks. Either we suck at figuring out whether a d-lineman will work out, or that the linebackers are so bad we can't let the linemen take many risks.

I have to believe that the defensive scheme is to minimize the exposure of the weakest part of the defense, the LB's. Get an upgrade in talent/speed, you'd see better performance out of the d-line.

If you cant see the team going down the drain after coach Payton was not on the sideline anymore, you can have my glasses ... But its not the only thing that needs changed for the team to improve : we could use less injuries and better coaching for defense,and ofc more heart from everybody,play it like you mean it !

Shanle..... That is all.....

LB as much as i can go on about the OTs i figure i would let the dead dog be for some peopl here. :)

right now wlb and Smith are getting the job done at a level to make a difference. a solid wlb in the off season will make a big difference.

I agree with this 1000% This guy makes we want to puke every time he misses a tackle, takes a bad angle or causes a penalty because he got beat by a receiver again.

I just find it unimaginable that we don't have a LB that could take his place. I think this is more of like a Kreutz thing, " we know you are sucking and a practice squad player is out playing you but we gonna start you because of your reputation".

It has to be deeper than that..lol...this has been going on for years...sad thing this year is he not much worse than anybody else..:(

I don't know about that Strat.... lmao

Yeah im pretty sure...the D overall resembles the Keystone Cops..and im really scratching my head to figure out why..:confused:

Linebackers for me, in a close one. Why?

Well, releative to the NFL, we sure ain't got a problem scoring points. 1st in NFL and even 7th if we ignore the massive Indy scoreline. Passing yards inevitably is best, and the rushing yards could / should be better = 11th best.

Defensively we have a different ballgame. 28th best on points conceded (or 15th if I ignore the largest score against). We are 24th in allowing rushing yards and not "elite" with our 11th best passing yards. But we get burned too many times on rushing. Conceding an average of 5.5 yards a carry that includes 9 rushes of 20 yards +. If we could get just that extra pressure when we play defence then we force our opponents into more mistakes.

Quarterback is most important to the team and protecting him has to be a priority; also he has more INT when he's rushed throwing the ball...