The season ends today with this one final formality game. The difference between 6-10 and 7-9 means little to nothing, so many of you are rightfully rooting for a Saints loss as it would mean higher draft picks and likely an easier schedule next season. I’m not sure I’m ready to go that far, this is a divisional rival and as a general rule I have a really hard time actively hoping that the team I root for loses. The embarrassment of losing to the worst team in the NFL is another factor in considering where you stand. The rooting for a higher pick at the expense of a meaningless win is a common concept, though, and you certainly can’t be faulted for embracing it. Ultimately whether short term or long term, we all want what’s better for the Saints. The challenge here is the Bucs can secure the 1st overall pick with a loss, so if anyone’s tanking in this game it’s probably Tampa. Here’s five things I’m looking for:
1. Is the effort there?
Expanding further on the previous comment, you have two teams eliminated from the playoffs. If you believe Sean Payton we won’t see many young players getting opportunities, either. I for one would love to get an extended look at Stanley Jean-Baptiste because there are no real stakes in this game, but again if seems unlikely he’d play. But when you’ve got two teams that stand to gain little from a win, and a better draft pick/easier 2015 schedule with a loss, you have to wonder how hard these teams will be trying. We’ve all heard the “we’re professionals” routine, but will that really ring true? Are players really risking serious injury for four quarters with no playoffs on the line? So I’m curious if we’ll see anything that can be characterized as tanking.
2. Do we get a look at players for 2015 roster?
I just mentioned SJB, but there’s other guys I’m curious about for 2015. Tyrunn Walker will play a lot with Bunkley/Jenkins/Hicks on IR. Other guys I’d love to see play are Ryan Griffin (won’t happen), Lelito, Brian Dixon, Senio Kelemete, Terrence Frederick, Kasim Edebali, Ronald Powell, Jamarca Sanford, Marcus Ball, Bryce Harris, Nick Toon, Jalen Saunders, Josh Hill, Seantavius Jones, Brandon Coleman. Even in a loss, extended looks at these guys over veterans who we know well would serve the Saints better down the road in evaluating their roster.
3. Stat padding
Galette is 3 sacks away from a big bonus. He stands at 9 and needs 12 to hit his incentive clause. Other notable stats include Mark Ingram needing 93 yards to reach 1,000 yard rushing, Brees needing 329 yards passing to hit 5,000, and Graham/Stills/Colston all needing ~150 yards receiving to reach 1,000. Curtis Lofton needs 13 tackles to best a career high. Seeing any of these benchmarks achieved would be pretty cool.
4. Last chance to enjoy some veterans
I’m not going to assume anything about any one player but there’s been discussion about a lot of veterans on the team and their place on the roster moving forward. I hope this isn’t the case but this could easily be the last time we see any of the following guys in a Saints uniform: Mark Ingram, Marques Colston, Ben Grubbs, Jahri Evans, Zach Strief, Jonathan Goodwin, David Hawthorne, Robert Meachem… that’s just to name a few. Many of them have been really great at times in their career in black and gold. So I’m going to enjoy watching them play because it might be the last time we see them. My guess is at least four of the names I just listed will be gone in 2015.
5. Ball security
One thing I’d really like to see from the offense is no turnovers. That’s plagued them all year and the last time they faced Tampa Brees threw 3 interceptions. If there’s one thing I’d love to see them take into 2015 it’s one consecutive game with no turnovers. It’s just hard to win when you’re in the negative and the Saints somehow pulled off a crazy overtime win over the Bucs in the Superdome this year despite being -2 in that category. Speaking of taking things into 2015, the Saints are riding a 3 game road winning streak which is just insane. Making that 4 would be pretty special when everyone said they can’t win on the road. Now, I’d love to see them also win at home ASAP.
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