The official ***** and moan thread

[The Dude]

Is that every game we lost we lost because of stupid mistakes. Problems like bad coaching, lack of personnel, injuries, etch are hard to fix during the course of the season but mistakes are fixable and we didn't do that.
Too many turnovers, penalties, dropped balls. We had the pieces to win it all this year. I don't remember one game where a better team beat us. I remember us beating ourselves. If we had gone out and played good mistake free football and gotten beat by a better team it wouldn't be so bad but we lost because of dumb mistakes.

Brees may had an off year but its hard n ot to throw interceptions when you are running for your life. A younger Brees may have been able to scramble a bit more but he needs a solid line now more than ever. I think we need to replace DLP, brown, and maybe even Strief if we have the money. Brees will come off his contract because he knows that if he doesn't get protection he won't have many years left to cash in on that contract.

Jimmy Graham has been catching a lot of flack lately, but he balled early in the season before the injury. I was at Sal and Judys today and got into a conversation with a guy who is a podiatrist. He said it is very painful to run with that injury but the big problem is pushing off. Its hard to plant your feet which is why he was having problems getting separation and getting handled on the line. Its hard to push past the defender at the line if you can't plant your feet. Lucky for us I think this will hurt his price tag in our favor and will come back next year better than ever.
Brees is still the man and I think he can play at an elite level for 3 more years behind a solid line. I do however think that we need to draft a legit QB in NEXT years draft. A first rounder that will fit into the trends of todays and tomorrows NFL. He can learn behind Brees a couple years like Rodgers and learn from the best.

Anyway if we get a couple of good lineman and some help at safety and corner we will be fine for the next few years. Easier said than done I know. Jenkins and Harper should walk so we have to upgrade there. Hopefully Greer is not done and we can have him for a couple more years with a young stud behind him getting ready to take over.
Hats off to Rob Ryan has to be the biggest turn around ever. Can't wait to see what his D looks like with all the pieces he brings in healthy.
Hey at least the offseason will be one week shorter!!!!

[WHODATINCA]

Originally Posted by Halo

So defense showed up in '13..... and the offense SUCKED wind! .... Collectively as Saints fans, we do not have the palette to appreciate a defense.

Now we're trained for the opposite and we don't appreciate what our defense accomplished this season.

I have the palette. Our defense MADE THE SEASON FOR US. The offense? They showed up in the dome.

[Utah_Saint]

Originally Posted by Halo

I think this was the root of frustration with the fan base. Defense did what so many, myself included, asked - deliver a top 10.... to 15 (at least) defense. I long said if we had a defense ranked 15 or above overall we would march to the super bowl. 2009 was similar with extremely high take-aways.

So defense showed up in '13..... and the offense SUCKED wind! Saints fans are trained to expect a shoot-out on offense and hope the defense can slow the opponent down. Exactly what happened in '09-10 superbowl season. Collectively as Saints fans, we do not have the palette to appreciate a defense. We wait for the offense to come onto the field of play, so the frustrations run with our offense.

Our defense was stingy, even after losing greer and vaccarro. Or d-line started to get nasty. Best top 4 defense to never get "named" in the NFL. We just don't know how to take it with an impotent offense. Dome Patrol era, the offense was a wet rag - everyone waited for the defense to come on the field. People would go get beers or nachos when the offense was on the field. Now we're trained for the opposite and we don't appreciate what our defense accomplished this season.

Number 4 in total offensive yards and number 10 in points scored = "Sucked Wind" and "impotent"?

That's a pretty high standard.

[darksoul35]

Graham has been hurt all year and he didn't hold a gun to Seans head and tell him to run 95 percent of the first half. He is by far the best TE in the N.F.L and its not even close.

[halloween 65]

3rd and long killed us against good teams this year. I truely believe in a good run game, it gives you the option on 3rd and short,you can run or pass but a 3rd and 10 everyone in the nation knew what we were going to do, most of the time on 3rd and 1 we used the pass. That is no trust in an O-line at all. Sure was a lot of 3 and out with no one stepping up to be the man. All I can say is we have next season and hope for better results. Still not a bad year, at least we got into the dance.

[W. Kovacs]

Originally Posted by halloween 65

3rd and long killed us against good teams this year. I truely believe in a good run game, it gives you the option on 3rd and short,you can run or pass but a 3rd and 10 everyone in the nation knew what we were going to do, most of the time on 3rd and 1 we used the pass. That is no trust in an O-line at all. Sure was a lot of 3 and out with no one stepping up to be the man. All I can say is we have next season and hope for better results. Still not a bad year, at least we got into the dance.

I was screaming a shorter, more expletive-filled version of this at my TV yesterday.

I don't understand why we completely abandoned the run at key moments; especially in the fourth quarter.

The reason Peyton had such success tonight was the fact that the Chargers couldn't just drop everyone into coverage, sit on routes and screw up the passing game for the Broncos. I can't count how many times defenses did that to our offense this year and the 'Hawks did the same thing yesterday once we stopped running.

The biggest hope I have for next year is that the coaching staff has faith in the run game and we find some balance. Maybe Drew will be able to break 5,000 yards on 1/2 as many passes and actually be able to play a few more years.

[SaintsBro]

I held off from venting, but I think this is kinda the moment we get the verdict on the Payton/Brees era. It is what it is. Eight years in, we can take an inventory and see what we really have.

The Saints are what? 1-4 in playoffs on the road under Payton?
Drew Brees is 6-19 on the road, against teams with WINNING RECORDS. He wins 1 in 3.

That's where Rodgers and Brady totally pass Brees up -- not sure of their #'s but I know it's better, esp. Rodgers is lights out against good teams on the road.

This is obviously a big hurdle to get over, and as much as we all love #9, it's starting to look like there IS a ceiling to this era of the team. Maybe there is a top end on what they can reasonably be expected to do. Coach, QB, GM, all of them.

No doubt they're a good team, but how many chances did they have to run the table this year, and frittered them away in poor showings on the road, again and again and again?

To put it simple, they are not built to win on the road -- they don't have the personel or the coach or the QB or the gameplan or the temperament for it. They are great at finesse football, piling up yards and points in the Dome, they're awesome....but the minute they step out of the bubble, they are vulnerable and ordinary, and have long droughts of not scoring ANY points. No one is afraid of an offense that doesn't score points.

So what does this mean, for Brees and Payton and the Saints, in the future? What do we have to look forward to? If they go undefeated at home, and pick off two or three road wins against weak teams, that gets them to ten wins. Ten wins is not really enough anymore to guarantee a playoff spot. They need to pick up more road wins, to run the table, or else it's just not going to work for them. That's the Catch 22.

Despite the drinking of considerable amounts of Kool Aid around these parts, it's clear to me that the ONLY way for them to do it again, is to do exactly what they did in '09 --pile up wins in the beginning of the year, get the #1 seed and home field all the way, and rest their players, while being in that ridiculous position of being #1 seed and also an underdog. Anything else, is not going to get it done -- because statistically speaking, historically they only win one out of every three games on the road against winning teams. They've had several different paths and several different seeds under Sean Payton over the years, and the ONLY one that has worked for them, has been home field all the way.

In hindsight the idea of them suddenly flipping a switch and winning 3 in a row on the road as a wildcard, seems really far-fetched now, doesn't it? They're not cut out for it. They're not built for it.

[foreverfan]

Originally Posted by Seahawks12th

Avatar bet?? That being said, I am very glad we don't play the Saints next year. If we have to play you guys, I hope it is in the playoffs...

I'd put my Avatar up against anybody.

[Halo]

Originally Posted by darksoul35

Graham has been hurt all year and he didn't hold a gun to Seans head and tell him to run 95 percent of the first half. He is by far the best TE in the N.F.L and its not even close.

I would say Graham is one of the best receivers in the NFL.
As a tight end, Graham is a very poor blocker.
Let's not forget that tight end is a blocking end position too.

[Srgt. Hulka]

Originally Posted by foreverfan

I'd put my Avatar up against anybody.

I think anybody would like to be up against your avatar.