There is nowhere to go but up… right?

There are so many different ways I could look at Sundays performance and so many feelings, opinions, and revelations about this year’s team that I could cover. I heavily considered dedicating a large portion of this piece to attacking Junior Gallete for backing up the gaping maw that is his mouth with a pathetic inconsequential performance. I am not going to and only because by doing so I would become Junior, and unlike him I am an adult (that will be the only shot I fire at him and is mainly out of well deserved angst). I could rant, I could rave, I could bemoan all the wasted potential of this season, and as a fan I would have every right to do so. Instead I am going to look first at what we know about this team and then second what I would like to see from this point going forward.

What we know:

– Our offensive line is a major weakness
– Our defensive line is a bigger one
– The Saints have one linebacker who isn’t a total disaster. Yes, that means the David Hawthorne experiment is over.
– Kenny Vaccaro is going through growing pains
– This team is too young to contend and lacks the leaders to compensate for it.
– The Saints are beat up, and I mean that in every possible way. Mentally, physically, emotionally, this is a battered, bruised and probably broken team.
– Patrick Robinson can be a contributor on a quality team, but most likely as the slot corner.
– Corey White cannot. He has the physical tools, but at this point he simply is not making the leap he needs to… not even close.
– We have a quality fullback, his name is Austin Johnson.
– Cam Jordan is a VERY good player… he isn’t a game changer.
– Baring Injury Drew has a good 3 years left in the tank before he will need to be replaced.
– Colston MAYBE has one. That doesn’t mean you cut him necessarily (although it also doesn’t mean you don’t) but it does mean that his role on this team as a major cog needs to come to an end.
– Two Coaches MUST be fired in the offseason or at minimum reassigned. Joe Vitt may very well be a great asset to Sean Payton on the staff, but what he isn’t is a quality linebackers coach. During the near decade he has been there the number of competent linebackers produced by the Saints is the same number of NFL games I have played in… 0! The other coach who needs to go is our special teams coach and there is no lee way with him. Our special teams have been awful for years and it’s his job description to prevent that.

Things I would like to see:

– Don’t tank, but focus on playing the younger unproven guys more. That means Sentavious Jones maybe gets some snaps, I would love to see if Nick Toon can continue to be productive and build on his promise. Kyle Knox (if healthy) needs to play and I think Brian Dixon needs to see a TON of snaps because he has been our second best corner all year (sad). I would also like to see Ronald Powell get rotated in some more just to get his ears wet and to see what he has because at this point it can’t hurt.
– Tim Lelito needs to start. It isn’t a shot at Goody in anyway, but he is most likely the future at the position and if he is we need to get him as many reps as possible. Goodwin is done after this year one way or another and its time to pass the torch.
– I am going to repeat myself here; Dixon needs to start. He needs snaps and he is the closest thing we have to a corner with actual cover skills not named Keenan. The only way we will know if we got a steal is if he gets enough opportunities to prove it.
– Andrew hit the nail on the head on the podcast: bench Jimmy. It isn’t that he can’t be productive or isn’t tough enough, it’s the opposite. At this point he is going to do more harm than good and could cause lasting damage or suffer additional injury because he is banged up. The long term repercussions of keeping him out there are too big of a risk in my opinion.

Bottom line:

The Saints season isn’t over, and due to the utter ineptitude of the NFC South neither is their hope for the playoffs. But, I find myself of two minds in that regard. On the one hand I will never root for the team to lose and I want them to win and go to the playoffs, but on the other I also care about the long term success of the team. I don’t want us to throw away the future by focusing too much on a miniscule gain in the present. The fact is that if we DON’T make the playoffs we could be as many as 10 draft slots better next year. While there is no guaruntee of getting a better player higher… there is a much stronger chance. More than the draft though the important thing to me is that we try to win and play the right way, but do so using the younger guys I have mentioned above in order to see what they are made of. That would be my preferred choice, but I am naught but a humble (cough) blogger and would not deign to understand the labyrinthine corridors of the mind of Sean Payton.