What The New Orleans Saints Can Take Away From Another Lost Season

Not everything has been horrible for the Saints this season. Here's some positives and lessons learned.

Nov 10, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) is announced as the breaking the franchise record for rushing yards while on the sideline against the Atlanta Falcons during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images / Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images

The Saints went back to work on Thursday after having Christmas off. With two games left in their season, it can't end soon enough. The problem is with it ending is that the future is very uncertain for New Orleans. There's plenty of questions that are in front of the team, but the answers to those questions aren't remotely clear.

We previously looked at what the Saints should take away from another lost season, and now we look at a more positive spin. Here's some of the good things and lessons learned from this year, even if there wasn't a ton.

What The Saints CAN Take Away From Another Losing Season

Dec 1, 2024; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara (41) runs in for a touchdown against the Los Angeles Rams but it is called back for man downfield during the first half at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-Imagn Images / Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Alvin Kamara Can Still Be Very Effective

Rewarding Alvin Kamara's wishes to stay with the Saints and commit more to him was a smart decision for New Orleans. He was going to be a big focal point of the new-look Klint Kubiak offense when they installed things, and he ended up playing some of his best football in 2024. Statistically speaking, Kamara might have had his best season since 2020. He's still effective is the main takeaway, and hopefully it stays that way for the foreseeable future.

Trevor Penning Wasn't A Liability

Remember when Trevor Penning was the biggest issue that the Saints had to deal with? He's had some moments, but overall has been pretty good this season and now doesn't look to be a liability for the offense. He and Taliese Fuaga make a good tackle tandem, and if New Orleans can figure out their interior a little more than it could go a long way.

They Have Some Pretty Good Youth Pieces

For a team that needs to focus on an overhaul, rebuild or retooling (whatever you want to call it), there are some good building blocks the Saints have. Now, they need the right leaders to develop that talent and they also need to be honest with those young players that aren't cutting the mustard as well.

I think the biggest questions going forward center around the young pieces on defense. Can a Kool-Aid McKinstry and Alontae Taylor duo at corner be the right answer and what do they do at the safety position? They're going to need major growth from their rookies next season. Chris Olave, Kendre Miller, Bryan Bresee, Rashid Shaheed and Pete Werner are several players who have four seasons of experience or less.

They Finally Embraced Change

Even if it didn't work out, embracing change was something the Saints did in the offseason. It started with the offensive staff overhaul and then in the season New Orleans did the unthinkable by moving on from Dennis Allen.

While getting rid of Allen clearly wasn't the most popular move in the front office, it was a necessary one. It could have done more harm than good keeping things together for the sake of pride or whatever reasoning could have been produced. The players had a very positive response to it and if he was still in place, what could have been the long-term impact?

Doing something different over the keep doing what you're doing mantra may not have led to completely turning the season around, but making a change was a baby step in the rigth direction.