Saints News Network

Saints Running Out of Time to Fix Season

The Saints are broken, and they're running out of time to fix things.

John Hendrix

In this story:

GLENDALE -- The Saints are running out of time and chances to fix their season. At 2-5, this wasn't the start anyone had hoped for or expected, but it's where they are. Odds of making the playoffs hover around 12 percent for the rest of the season, and 9-8 may just get you a wild card spot this season or possibly take down the lackluster NFC South. However, that means New Orleans can only lose three out of their final ten games. That certainly feels like a taller order compared to the past several years.

It's disappointing, and there's no other way to put it. We're seeing bad football. We're seeing self-inflicted wounds continue week after week. We're seeing inconsistencies at just about every position. Things are not right, and it's going to take something big to change the outlook of the season.

Cam Jordan said after the game, “If you’re looking for excuses, we have tons of those. We’re not looking for excuses. We’re looking for solutions.”

Alvin Kamara addressed the team in the locker room after the game, simply preaching that they're not playing 'Saints football' right now. Things haven't escalated out of control for the team, and it doesn't appear that's happening any time soon. That's the good news, because if things did boil over, that would only magnify a bigger problem in New Orleans.

The belief is there that the team can turn things around, especially getting some key players back in the lineup with this 'mini-bye' upon them. However, there's just more issues than solutions right now for the way things are going. There are tons of questions to answer, and those don't seem to be clear right now.

  1. At what point does a player get held accountable and ride the bench for making the same mistakes? 
  2. Will the play calling get better or continue to be maddening to see each week with the usage? 
  3. Which quarterback will help provide the best stability moving forward? 
  4. How did this defense go from being so good to so bad?
  5. Can this team crawl out of the deep hole they've dug themselves into?

There are some winnable games on the schedule going forward, and this team could get there. However, they have to start with a win when they go back in action on Oct. 30 against the Raiders at home. We'll see if things hit home with the team, or that this season will continue to drift away and leave everyone wondering 'what if'. The bottom line is that the Saints are running out of time to make things right.

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John Hendrix
JOHN HENDRIX

I officially started covering the New Orleans Saints & other NFL topics in 2011. My work has been featured on various outlets over the years. I worked closely with Skyhorse Publishing in Fall 2018 to update the book, Tales From the New Orleans Saints Sidelines, which filled in all Saints material from the 2013-2017 seasons. Prior to joining Saints News Network, I served as the Managing Editor of SB Nation's Canal Street Chronicles for 3.5 years, and before that with FanSided's Who Dat Dish as the Managing Editor for several years. I have also had experiences of being a freelance Saints reporter for The Sun Herald in Biloxi, MS and a contributing writer for WDSU, a local NBC TV station in New Orleans. I have appeared on a vast amount of TV and Radio shows, both nationally and locally. For tips, comments, or suggestions, please contact me at johnhendrix@saintsnews.net