By Charles Hanagriff
In the annals of the New Orleans Saints, it’s a little tricky to decide where to put this season.
From the dream 2009 Super Bowl season to the 1980 bagheads, there is a lot of ground to cover in Saints history. I’ve seen almost all of it.
Almost.
That is the word that comes to mind, and with more than just a touch of frustration.
The Saints got off to a great start, going 2-0 with Klint Kubiak looking like a modern-day Bill Walsh. Then the first, and probably the most damaging, of a long string of injuries hit. Center Erik McCoy went down for two months, and the offense went to pieces.
It wasn’t just McCoy. Derek Carr, Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Taysom Hill, Cesar Ruiz and Nick Saldiveri would all miss significant time, some with season ending injuries.
Bad luck or bad planning? A little of both.
Bad luck can’t be controlled. Losing a player like Shadeed in a routine game could happen to anybody. Same with McCoy. Ryan Ramczyk, lost to a potential career ending injury at age 29, was a devastating blow that could not have been foreseen.
What can be controlled is how you build depth. In the last six drafts, New Orleans has made their full complement of picks in rounds 1-4 only twice. That’s at least six players that would be on either rookie or second contracts, from approximately the Top 150 in each draft, under the age of 28, that in theory would provide some protection from a rash of injuries. The Saints have squandered too many of those picks.
Even with the injuries starting to pile up, the Saints almost beat the Eagles, one of the best teams in the league. They almost beat the Falcons, in what would have been a huge road win in the division.
Almost.
Then came the decision to fire Dennis Allen. Given his overall record, it would not have been a major surprise if this move had come earlier. However, GM Mickey Loomis preferred to keep Allen until seasons end, and that almost happened, until ownership stepped in and made the move.
Given a spark, partly from interim coach Darren Rizzi, and partly from a schedule that included the sliding Falcons, hapless Browns and even worse Giants, the Saints have now won three of the last four.
It’s the game they lost that brings us back to that word–almost. A 14-14 tie in the fourth quarter against the contending Rams in the Superdome produced another one score loss. One score losses account for half of the Saints eight defeats.
Had they won that game, Rizzi would be undefeated heading into two games against likely playoff teams in Washington and Green Bay. A win or two there and you would almost have to go with Rizzi as the prime candidate to become the permanent head coach.
Almost.
Because here sit the Saints, only two games out of first, but in the worst division in football. Winners of three out of four, but without a victory all season against a team with a winning record.
Almost in the top quarter of the NFL Draft next spring. Almost in playoff contention. Almost with a coach.
Almost.
Truth is, the Saints are in the middle of no man’s land. Too good to be really bad, and too bad to be really good. Not Mike Ditka’s Saints, but not Sean Payton’s either.
The good news is that things can change very quickly in the NFL. The Vikings are supposed to have the 49ers record right now, and vice versa. Same thing with the Cowboys and Commanders. Or the Bengals and Broncos.
With the existing uncertainty at quarterback, the Saints will likely struggle home in the last four games, but they don’t have to limp into the offseason. Find a new coach, quit trading away draft picks, and stop the seemingly endless contract extensions that keep the team in a perpetual salary cap abyss.
That might be almost enough to start turning things around.
