Where Does The 2014 Team Rank in Saints History Suckage?

Danno · 12-28-2014, 09:19 AM

Originally Posted by SaintsBro

I feel like some people are acting like this year was some kind of strange new thing or a freak deviation for the Saints.... But if you honestly look at 2012 to now? Other than a brief win streak in early 2013 where the Saints got hot for a handful of games, this club has been playing .500-ish ball straight through from 2012 right to now. The only difference between 2014 and the abysmal year of 2012, was that this year you didn't have the lack of Sean Payton on the sidelines to be the excuse for it. (Which turned out to maybe not be as much of a difference maker as we all thought? But that's probably a topic for another thread.)

But from the eyeball test, hey, it's basically the same exact team, folks, that sucked in 2012 and then struggled and dropped a bunch of games later in 2013 after the bye; it's all the same as this year, too. Other than that short win streak in early 2012 when Payton was hot, and a very good game in Philly in the playoffs last year, it all looks exactly the same to me. More often than not, during the past three years the Saints are playing .500 ball, on a typical normal day at the office.

And one of the common denominators is the decline of the interior line. I don't think its a coincidence at all.

Grubbs was OK, but he was no Carl Nicks. Nicks at that time the best OG in the NFL. Evans' game started declining about 2 or 3 years ago. He was still good but he's gotten worse every year since 2011.

We've had mediocre Centers ever since Goodwin left, and now he's a shadow of his former self.

I think the key to fixing the problems on offense are simple. Add an above average Center and Guard and the offense will be fine even without any skill position upgrades. Probably right back to elite.

The defense on the other hand, it needs several upgrades. Most are obtainable though. That #2 CB spot, a DT that can collapse the pocket and some more speed at a couple of LB spots and it should at least be competitive.

12-28-2014, 09:19 AM	#30
Danno Truth Addict Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Spanish Fort, AL (via NO and B/R) Posts: 24,757	Re: Where Does The 2014 Team Rank in Saints History Suckage? Originally Posted by SaintsBro I feel like some people are acting like this year was some kind of strange new thing or a freak deviation for the Saints.... But if you honestly look at 2012 to now? Other than a brief win streak in early 2013 where the Saints got hot for a handful of games, this club has been playing .500-ish ball straight through from 2012 right to now. The only difference between 2014 and the abysmal year of 2012, was that this year you didn't have the lack of Sean Payton on the sidelines to be the excuse for it. (Which turned out to maybe not be as much of a difference maker as we all thought? But that's probably a topic for another thread.) But from the eyeball test, hey, it's basically the same exact team, folks, that sucked in 2012 and then struggled and dropped a bunch of games later in 2013 after the bye; it's all the same as this year, too. Other than that short win streak in early 2012 when Payton was hot, and a very good game in Philly in the playoffs last year, it all looks exactly the same to me. More often than not, during the past three years the Saints are playing .500 ball, on a typical normal day at the office. And one of the common denominators is the decline of the interior line. I don't think its a coincidence at all. Grubbs was OK, but he was no Carl Nicks. Nicks at that time the best OG in the NFL. Evans' game started declining about 2 or 3 years ago. He was still good but he's gotten worse every year since 2011. We've had mediocre Centers ever since Goodwin left, and now he's a shadow of his former self. I think the key to fixing the problems on offense are simple. Add an above average Center and Guard and the offense will be fine even without any skill position upgrades. Probably right back to elite. The defense on the other hand, it needs several upgrades. Most are obtainable though. That #2 CB spot, a DT that can collapse the pocket and some more speed at a couple of LB spots and it should at least be competitive.

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