What the Lions loss means
 

From Tripplette.

What it means: Somehow the Saints (2-4) managed to come up with their ugliest, most painful loss yet in a season filled with them. They blew a 23-10 lead with less than four minutes remaining, thanks to huge breakdowns by the defense and quarterback Drew Brees.

The defense allowed a 73-yard TD pass to Golden Tate and a 5-yard TD pass to Corey Fuller in the final minutes, and Brees threw an interception inside his own territory as the lead -- and possibly the season -- rapidly disintegrated.

The only saving grace for New Orleans is that the entire NFC South is in turmoil, with no teams over .500. And the Saints still have six home games remaining. But they can’t expect to win anything if they can’t close out games.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

Looking forward to next sunday, what do we have to do to beat the Packers? Both the Panthers and the Falcons have tough matchups and we face the Panthers the week after.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

What the loss means

The team sucks
Brees sucks
Coaching staff are a joke
Defense was content at their first half performance, they forgot to show up for the second half.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

The loss actually means nothing because our division sucks. We are still in the hunt for the playoffs.

That doesn't change how bad this team is though, and folks, let me say this is a very bad team that can't win a game if their lives depended on it. We may lose the next 5 in a row looking at our schedule.

Edit:
I see us winning 2 more games this season... 4-12 here we come.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

A few bad games and you are writing off a Hall of Fame QB and the best coach in our teams history. Gotcha.

Do agree with the defensive comment though.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

C'mon dizzle, you know that's not true. We may a couple sucky plays that let to a loss.

Questionable calls helped - on both sides.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

It was just a matter of time for the Lions to figure out our D, it took longer in the game for them than I thought. We can't close this season for some reason. Although for some crazy way we could win the division, even if it was a losing record I'll take it, we need all the help we can get.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

When a trend starts to emerge its tough to believe in your team every week, we almost blew a 17 point lead vs bucs

We successfully blew a 14 point lead with 5 mins to go in the game, when your HOF QB is throwing more backbreaking picks than game winning TD's, something is wrong

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

hall of fame? Sure.

Elite? No.

Great QBs don't go 0-10 with an INT when the game is on the line.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

This means I'm totally disgusted with this season. It is unfortunate that I am coming from Denver to attend the Packers game. I'm also bringing a paper bag. In the last 3 years we have had only one winning season. I'm aware one of those years is without Coach. However we are heading in the wrong direction at a rapid pace. What is so wrong with us?

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

If this season continues on track, we actually did better without Sean Payton than we have this season with him.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

Paper bag? lol

And the madness begins.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

I watched the last 5 minutes in complete disbelief... Funny because I asked for the check at applebees right before White and the secondary gave up the big play/touchdown to Tate. The drive before was frustrating at 20-10 on that drive as Brees had the delay of game called against him, and then on third down, he seemed to be complaining about something on the lineup of scrimmage and threw a pass straight into the ground. We settled for the field goal yet I thought we should have produced an extra first down to run more of the clock. Fast forward to the int... yet again, poor pass protection leads to Brees throwing another interception. It all goes hand-in-hand. Hell, eat the yardage and just take the sack. I guess I'm still myth-ed and scratching my head after this one.

I hate to say it, but I'll take a different approach on Brees and this situation. Every now and then you can see the window closing. Forget last season, and how close we were at the end of the regular season. Forget the off-season which I think every Saint fan felt as if we were ready to march into the post season. But watching this team makes me wonder where is that killer instinct? The swagger that I think we are all used to seeing. Brees is still a highly effective quarter back in the league. However, he is making the type of mistakes that an "elite" qb just can't make. Part of it is his lack of a pre-season... ineffective pass protection... and to be honest a receiving core that is still young and at times ineffective in creating separation. Watching him throw the deep to intermediate ball today I thought he looked good. So I don't think it has anything to do with arm strength. I think the bottom line is they are now feeling what good teams go through when they are up against the cap.

Thanks for letting me ramble. Still in disbelief...

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

I think people need to understand Brees limitations as a savior are over. His timing has been slowy off sense 2011. Brees is still a great QB and can carry the team, but he needs to see this. He lost 2 games this season. Brees needs to get hes not elite anymore and manage the game. Then we could sournd him with a good ol and wr, but hes been in decline sense 2011. Maybe its being a dad and more important things, but weve all seen it.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

Try telling a guy that has built his whole career on proving people wrong, to just accept he's not elite anymore

Whilst we can all see Brees is not the player he used to be, the defense is doing their best to play worse than him.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

It means we need to win a WHOLE bunch of games to climb out of this 2-4 hole.

It means we need a rookie(s) to step up and make this team better. I honestly don't recall the last pass over 20 yards intended for Cooks. Isn't this dude one of the fastest in the NFL? Did he all of a sudden lose his speed? Get his butt down the field.

Couldn't Sunseri offer a spark in the secondary? He is a smart, physical, sure-tackling, fast play-maker...I like smart and sure-tackling. Our secondary is too dumb and too lost more than it needs to be (see 73 yard Taterhead Tate TD w/less than 4 minutes in the game).

We can't buy a pass rush to close out a game, or get to the QB with just 4 without blitzing. Get Powell in there, and tell him to get to the QB.

We need a spark. Get Cooks vertical, get Sunseri back there to make this dumb secondary smarter, and get Powell in there to get to the freakin QB. Something.

Ideas that could work, but could also blow up in our face. But isn't a 2-4 record replicate a Wile E. Coyote series of events? Tired of seeing this team s--t the bed with underachieving morons.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

The team is what it is. It's certainly not what we all wanted and expected it to be. Now that we have proper expectations after a 2-4 start, we can temper our enthusiasm to pre-SP years, kinda like Slo-Mo has been doing with the Lions.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

So, we all should just "Curb Our Enthusiasm"?

Hard to getting happy, happy being 2-4. It does kinda remind me of Saints years of the long, long ago.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

The two teams we beat have 3 wins betweens them, and they were both home games. And is it was, we nearly blew the Bucs game and we got luck and help from the refs in the Vikings game.

We are actually worse than our 2-4 record. If the NFL published BCS computer rankings it would be apparent.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

We owned the top defense for most of the game. Two breakdowns cost us the game.

1-1 in the worst division in football. The season is far from over

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

It is so sad for just how true that really is.

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Sad or not, its reality. Today I thought we were ready to take the division

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Yeah, it is reality. It's a sad reality of how bad the NFC South is, and I think we are still ready to win this division. ATL, CAR, & TB are terrible. We are terrible.

It's gonna be up to which of these 4 suck-bag teams sucks the least from here until after Week 17. We just might have the edge, believe it or not.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

The way we played today, I was proud of the defense and the offense.

Two critical mistakes turned that game into a loss. Ok, questionable calls also.

Hope we can build on this.

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I'm done....if they continue to keep garbage DB's at the #2 corner we're gonna continue having problems

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

We could make the playoffs like Seattle did and go 7-9...

At this point I dont see us going better than 4-12, we have a very tough schedule from here on. This is coming from someone who put money on us to win the superbowl...

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

If Greer doesn't break his leg off last year we likely have two solid CBs starting this year.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

Oh the irony lol

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going to be hard dizzle, but the tape does not lie. I want Brees as our QB, but he has to get hes not as good as he was 2006-2010, and his timing is off when throwing to rw's. Hes costing games and becoming a liability by trying to think hes still elite. He will cost more games until he decides to grow up and know hes not as good as he was in those years. How many games does the Defence have to deal with Brees blowing it trying to be what he was? Brees needs to just grow up and well be fine. Hes a great QB.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

What does it mean?
It means a report on NFL Net about Saints not winnin away from Dome home. Listen to that as their lead in for every game.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

I sat there having flash backs to saints teams of old. Amazing myself at what creative way will we lose this one.

BUT unlike saints teams of the past this is a good team shooting themselves in the foot time and time again.

What this means is some where in the near future the Saints will blow there feet off so they have nothing left to shoot and this ship will right itself and the wins will come.

So the goal #1 is the same today as it was at the beginning of the season. Win the South! that is still in our reach even if we limp into it.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

7-9 could actually win this division. And you know what a division winner gets? A first round home game. Could history repeat itself? It does happen.

We are due to get hot. I'd much rather get hot around the half-way point than starting off a season. We were 2 or so plays away from winning easily on the road.

But the question is: What is this a sign of? A team getting close to hitting a great stride, or a team expecting to choke away ballgames with 2 or so plays a game?

Let's hope it's the first one...

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

To me it doesn't really mean squat. The team I saw today can beat any other crappy team in our division and that's all that really counts.
We can get a home playoff game and start clicking when we need to. Every year a team gets hot at the right time. Hell the Giants did it and win 2 Super Bowls.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

I said that after we kicked the FG to go up 23-10 with 5 minutes left...you could just feel it. A TD to make it 27-10 with 5 minutes left would have been the nail in the coffin that our 13-3 or 11-5 teams made.

We can't afford to keep depending on ATL & CAR losing constantly; we have to start taking this division on our own. It starts next Sunday.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

Im not counting this team out.... we had this game until 4 minutes left and played good football against the #1 Defense in the NFL... I had a bad feeling as soon as Tate ran that TD.... refs didnt help anything ... Its not over

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

Well on a positive note, Shane Graham is 9 for 10 on field goals! Hot damn boys, we finally got us a consistent kicker!!

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I like the optimism but you could say the same tjing about all of our loses aside from Dal. We have been a few plays away from being 5-1. We deserve our record because we can't close games out and we refuse to not make stupid mistakes.

I wish the team would just tank already so I could lose all hope. Then I wouldn't care about losing and could focus on the draft.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

Receivers are not getting open, they aren't making the difficult catches. Brees is making mental errors, defense is good for most of the game and then they take a nap, the team is not hungry anymore, some key players got the big bucks and the desire is not there anymore.

Still way better than the 30 early years I watched when a victory over the Falcons made the season. Expectations were way HIGH so the fall is a long drop.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

Brees threw for 350yds and had TWO 100+yd receivers yesterday. I wouldn't pin this on receivers.

Defense broke down late.
O line broke down late.
Brees broke down late.
Coaches broke down late.

ANOTHER late loss by the entire team.

Re: What the Lions loss means
 

This team just doesn't know how to be consistently good. They have moments of greatness throughout the game but never get that killer instinct. In 3 of our losses this year we could have won just by being consistent.