GumboBC

I suppose fans aren't going to agree on what the major problems are for the Saints.

But here's some of my observations.

Mike McCarthy -- I saw nothing dreadfully wrong with his scheme. But there was something missing, IMO.

a. It was mainly either run Deuce or throw down the field to one of the WR.

I feel there needed to be more options. Especially to compensate for the poor blocking by the O-line. We really need to develop a screen-pass that is effective. I believe that needs to be a staple of ANY offense. The screen pass keeps a defense off balance more than any other play, IMO.

b. We need to get the TE more involved!!

With the new rule about not coming in contact with a receiver after 5-yards, tightends have a huge advantage. Unfortunately, we didn't utilize our TE. Who's fault that is, I hae no idea. But, we need to correct that problem.

c. We need a dominant LT and we need to replace Riley at LT.

The speed rushers are absolutely killing us. Any QB needs time to throw and teams must have OT's who can keep the rushers off the QB. If not, then almost any QB will struggle.

While I'm not sure if McCarthy needs to go, I'm excited about getting someone in here who will address these problems. However, it could be a mistake letting McCarthy go as I see no defenitive proof he was the problem. It's popular to blame the OC when things aren't going well but many times it's not his fault. Time will tell.

Receivers -- Horn is a very good receiver. Now, I don't feel he's in the "elite" catorgory like a Harrison, Moss, or Owens, but he's definately a number 1 receiver.

I'd love to have someone who is an elite receiver but I can live with Horn. What I'd really like to see is us get a tall, "rangy" receiver. Someone like a Wille Jackson type.

As much as I love Stallworth, I simply can't count of him on a consistent basis. When the ball is throw is Stallworth's direction, I hold my breath and pray he catches. When Horn is thrown the ball I'm very confident he will come down with the catch.

We need more consistency at the WR position. I think Pathon is fine at the #3 spot.

Aaron Brooks -- He needs to be more consistent also. He throws some passes that are high and some that are low. However, no mattter what some people say, he didn't have a lot of time to throw the ball this year. I'm not ready to give up on Brooks. Only time will tell with Brooks. I definately feel he is not a major problem.

Benson and management -- If you ask me this is the BIGGEST problem of all. I don't know exactly what's going on there but I'm beginning to wonder if we'll ever do anything as long as Benson is the onwer.

Micky Loomis would never be a GM for any other team. He really needs to go. GMs are responsible for getting players who fit the coaches scheme. The GM/coach relationship is very important and it seems there's a rift with ours.

The Big Finish:

The good news is we have enough talent on this team to be good. Not great, but good. We're not on the talent level of some of the elite teams. And talent is still the biggest problem, IMO.

Some holes were filled this year. Some weren't.

The area that we've really fell short in is free-agency. We simply haven't competed like we should have the last few years. It's imparitive we compete in free-agency this year and use the draft to help shore up other less glaring needs. I don't like depending on rookies at critical spots. There's always a learning curve for any rookie.