If not for the dreadful condition of the NFC South this year, the New Orleans Saints would have been forgotten by the NFL world back in October. Instead, fans have been, err, subjected to one of the most head-shaking playoff campaigns in recent memory. That spark of hope was distinguished in Sunday's 30-14 home loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
More important than the team's struggles this year are potential fixes for next season. I sincerely doubt quarterback Drew Brees wishes to spend the twilight of his career underachieving.
"We learned a lot about the Saints this season. But most of all we learned this is a team in full-blown transition," wrote Jeff Duncan of the Times-Picayune. "The days of breaking records and destroying the wills of opponents are over. The Saints are squarely in the middle of the pack, every bit as close to pretenders as contenders.
"Moreover, their fearless leader, Drew Brees, who threw two interceptions and fumbled twice, will turn 36 next month."
Putting Brees back on the football pedestal will require drastic improvements along the offensive line. Like Duncan wrote, the man is 36 after all.
"For the record, Brees hasn't played poorly this season," ESPN's Neil Hornsby wrote. "In pure numerical terms he's our second-rated quarterback at Pro Football Focus. But he has made crucial errors at very inopportune times this season. ... Every player makes mistakes, but these types of errors have been rare throughout Brees' career. The likely cause of them this year has been that he's been under pressure often. ... His NFL passer rating (perhaps a better measure of offenses than individual players, but still indicative) drops from 116.0 when kept clean to 62.2 when under duress, a change of 53.8. By way of comparison, Aaron Rodgers drops just 27 points under the same circumstances. Now consider this: The Saints' pass protection ranks 25th in the league (dropping from ninth last season), and to make matters worse, most of that pressure is coming from right up the gut -- which has an even greater impact on a QB's ability to be effective. ... If I were the Saints I'd go straight back to Brian de la Puente (who signed only a one-year deal with the Bears) and expect to see a marked improvement almost immediately."
In addition to their usual offensive production, the Saints were hoping splashy free agent acquisition Jairus Byrd would pair with youngster Kenny Vaccaro to lead one of the most dangerous secondaries in the NFL. Byrd went down with a season-ending injury in the first half of the season, while the Saints currently sit as the second-worst defense in the league.
Overall, New Orleans is still far away from contention and Brees' window is starting to close.
