It was and is coaching. Some talent issues here and there, but mostly coaching. I liked the hiring of Mike Nolan, and liked bringing back Curtis Johnson. I don't know anything about the defensive line coach they brought in, so that one didn't move me one way or the other.

But I have never been an advocate of Dennis Allen as DC. I don't see anything schematically that is overwhelming, and I surely don't see any discipline. The discipline problem is team wide, which means the head coach isn't getting his message across. Why, I don't know... there clearly seems to be a disconnect, but who knows how that came to be. I have a bunch of theories, but there's no point in getting into that.

Offensively, we have gotten behind the times. It goes to show how quickly things can change in the NFL. Payton thinks he can do the same things he did a few years ago, but people adjust eventually. Great coaches adapt to changing times. Coaches with fancy schemes and no backup plan tend to fade out just like any other trendy thing in life. Remember "the greatest show on turf"? Those Rams offenses were like man landing on Mars; it was so advanced, and it just seemed like no one would ever stop that team. And yet, it was over relatively quickly, and Mike Martz moved on to a couple of different places, but his offense never succeeded again.

This seems to be the track Sean Payton is on. I don't know if he has a second wind in him, but right now it looks like he isn't the type of coach who is ever going to adapt to the ever changing league. I hope I'm wrong for his sake and ours, but if I happen to be right, I would rather this not drag on longer than it needs to.