Saints explain why they think this 7-9 finish was different from past two
 

For the third straight season, the New Orleans Saints failed to eclipse the .500 mark at any point in the season, something they have in common with only the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The players and coaches think the 2016 team was different than the previous two squads that finished with the same 7-9 record, but heading into the offseason, the Saints face the same questions they've been unable to answer the past couple years.

Head coach Sean Payton said Monday night on WWL-AM 870 he plans to return for 2017, which should put to rest rumors regarding his future, and Saints players think winning next year is the best way to prevent similar reports from starting during the season.

Meanwhile, a return will make Payton the only active coach in the league to sustain three straight losing seasons with his current team. To a man, the players think wholesale changes aren't necessary because of the young core in place -- the 2016 draft class being a key reason -- and the growth in some areas this past season. The locker room didn't splinter during a trying year, and the Saints like the change in culture from previous seasons.

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But, the team -- and in particular quarterback Drew Brees -- realizes it can't keep saying next year if it wasn't to avoid what punter Thomas Morstead described as an "empty feeling" walking off the field in Week 17.

"At some point you got to get tired of losing, you know what I'm saying?" linebacker Dannell Ellerbe said. "Nobody likes losing. If leadership needs to step up and demand more, it's been two years for me being 7-9. That's not what I'm about. We're going to have to do what we have to do to get better on defense."

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Re: Saints explain why they think this 7-9 finish was different from past two
 

Well, Ellerbe is in a position to lead on D. Just do it.

Re: Saints explain why they think this 7-9 finish was different from past two
 

Mumbo jumbo.
Look, I'm a big Saints fan. But there's no excuse for going 7-9 three seasons in a row.

The Saints need to just suck it up and beg the fans to buy tickets.
If they let Sean Payton go, so be it. But that won't happen because there's no leadership at the very top - and that's Benson, who is disengaged.

Sean Payton is the only coach who went 7-9 two years in a row and scored a 5 year extension for the highest paid NFL coach in the NFL.

I'm disappointed in SP because he has arguably the best QB in the NFL, probably one of the greatest of all time, and in all the years here he has NEVER been able to assemble a defense worth bragging about. He's making 2009-10 look like a fluke.

That said I hope he proves me wrong and we go all the way next year. I'm more than happy to eat my words. From a business perspective, I don't know how SP survives other then the org is running on automatic.

Re: Saints explain why they think this 7-9 finish was different from past two
 

Sho you right Ray Ray. Yep, fair and accurate analysis. I always enjoy being wrong, especially when it involves the Saints doing well, but I don't think we are as close as I previously thought. We have a lot of missing parts. Now maybe the guys that are injured come back and we are world beaters, but many of these guys are consistently injured, so what gives anyone the false sense that won't continue. I hope it doesn't I am just not banking on it.

We have 30 mil in cap space, awesome we are finally out of hell, but is Mick going to start ****ting pots of gold all over FA and get us back in trouble? Is Fairley going to be signed to some big contract and then poop the bed and we are left with another guy we cut that earns money? Something has to give or Low Energy is just going to continue churning that 7-9 butter

Re: Saints explain why they think this 7-9 finish was different from past two
 

too be honest I was expecting the season to be with each passing week as the IR list kept getting longer and longer. The secondary especially took a pounding all season long.

I am actually pretty amazed by DA job on the whole. I may not like the results in the end but I will find a silver lining in the end. This silver lining is not so hard to see for me.

So the bent and broke just a little to much. Yet they kept opponents within Drews reach in all but 2 games. 7 games by a point spread of 7 or less is not such a stinky turd to handle.

If Rob was at the helm of this IR ship he would have landed us in the top 5 of the draft and still the a defense that would be the laughing stock of the NFL. The previous two years I put squarely on the front and SP for hiring Rob.

It is still a turd I know but as far as turds go, its not the worse turd one can end up with. .

Now if I was a Panthers fan I would not be so happy. The reality that Cam probably had the season of his career is a bitter pill to swallow. The rest was a melt down all together. They really have no excuses to hang their hat on. They have the talent. They were basically healthy. Yet they still stunk up the place.

Panthers have the real stinky gagging turd to handle.

Re: Saints explain why they think this 7-9 finish was different from past two
 

There is a reason and it is usually on the defensive side of the football...

http://cdn.someecards.com/someecards...09_1641347.png

Re: Saints explain why they think this 7-9 finish was different from past two
 

So what excuse is that?
SP is head coach and has his finger on player personnel decisions with Mickey Loomis. It's not like some idiot like Matt Millen is in the front office drafting players without consulting the head coach.

7-9 + 7-9 = BIGGEST COACHING CONTRACT IN NFL + 5 YEAR EXTENSION

The result... 7-9 in 2016 and missed playoffs third year in a row.

If defense is the problem, it's SP's job to FIX IT! :dunce:

Re: Saints explain why they think this 7-9 finish was different from past two
 

I thought I made my point clear... they suck worse than a hooker with emphysema. :doh:

Re: Saints explain why they think this 7-9 finish was different from past two
 

... different toilet ...

Re: Saints explain why they think this 7-9 finish was different from past two
 

Personally I feel Payton is fixing it. That's why he got rid of Ryan. Dennis Allen did a very respectable job improving a defense that was arguably the worst in the league the previous two season into one several notches better with patchwork players that will not be anywhere near good enough to make next season's roster with all of the defensive starters that left with injury.

I am seeing growth and improvement. Yes, the record was the same 7-9, but it was a far better team on the field than the previous two seasons.