dizzle88

Sean Payton is the best thing to happen to the Saints but we are not contenders year in and year out.

We seem to follow decent seasons with mediocre and there's always something that is a glaring weakness that has not been addressed that causes our down fall.

2009 - SB win
2010 - Made the playoffs and lost to the first 7-9 team ever in the playoffs
2011 - Great season ended abruptly to a pretty average 49ers team.
2012 - Payton suspension
2013 - Great season, we went down fighting in Seattle - I was proud of our toughness
2014 - They thought a 37 year old CB would win a starting job and we had to settle for Corey white as a starter and we couldnt close out any close games.

It's certainly getting warm, anything but a playoff berth this season is not acceptable and some questions should start getting asked about SP.

Your bonehead creator picked a fine chapter to omit from your memory bank....let me ask you, does a machine like yourself ever experience fear? - Vegeta, DBZ

WillSaints81

Its because the division has gotten closer. In 2010 we went 4-2. In 2013 we went 5-1. Not only that, here's who we beat in 2010 that were contenders that year at the time we played them......

NFC West-0 contenders
Minnesota-non-contender
@Dallas-non-contender
AFC North-2 contenders, we beat one of them.
Division(not including us)-2 contenders
4 contenders in 2011. Three of them at home. Only one out of division and it was a team who did not match up to us the way SF did eventually.

Now 2011
NFC North-3 contenders(2 wins, both at home)
NYG-contender(another win at home)
@StL-non-contender(we lost anyway)
AFC South-2 contenders(can we really call Tennessee one though? and we beat Houston in a shootout which was at home)
Division-2 contenders at the time we played them, and 4 games.
8 contenders this season but the contender were not matched up well against our O(pass rush, suffocating secondary) and bears, lions, giants, falcons, bucs, texans were all at home. The four road contenders GB, Ten, Atl, and Tb which we split.

2012
NFC East-3 contenders(1 at home)
SF-contender(big time)
@GB-contender(big time)
AFC West-2 contenders
Division-3 contenders(yes all 3 at the time we played them were contending)
10 contenders!
We played home games against the teams that is Brees' achilles heel-Was, SF, SD(those three had top pass rushers) along with Atl and TB(Car was last game). Road games were at NYG, Dallas, GB, Den, Car, Atl, and TB where we won only two of those.

2013
NFC West-3 contenders
Dallas-contender
@Chi-contender
AFC East-3 contenders
Division-3 contenders(at the time Atl week 1 and TB week 2 were contenders)
9 contenders. Home games against SF(which we barely beat in a rally), Arizona, Dallas, Miami, Atlanta, Carolina. Road games at Seattle, Chicago, NE, NYJ, Car, and TB where we only won two of those.

2014
NFC North-2 contenders
SF-contender(at the time)
@Dal-contender(big time)
AFC North-4 contenders(at the time, Cleveland gave Indy problems like us had we gotten them at that time we could have won because they were already out)
Division-2 contenders
10 contenders!
Home games against GB, SF, Cin, Bal, Car, and Atl and only winning ONE of those. Road games at Pittsburgh, Dallas, Detroit, Carolina, and Atlanta, winning only two of those.

We have faced more competition. In 2010 it was NFC South and NFC North that could put in two playoff teams and NFC East was right there. In 2014 three divisions can do it. Our didn't. NFC West replaced us, and NFC East was right there again. In 2014 all four divisions have at least two contenders. The more contenders, the more chances of playing one.