Like the punch line of the age old elevator attendant joke, the 2016 season for the New Orleans Saints ‘has its ups and downs’. The Saints have seen their offense going down while the defense goes up. The kicking game has gone down while the punting game has gone up. The coaching, as a whole, has changed elevation from game to game, and sometimes more frequently than that. The overall result this year has been a team that hasn’t moved in the direction of its potential.
2016 Is Not Over for the New Orleans Saints
Many Saints fans have already begun looking to the 2016 off-season, trying to figure out what the next move is. Do they change parts of the coaching staff? Should they make a blockbuster trade? Or, do they trade up for a “can’t miss” college standout? With three more games to go, there is still more to play for in 2016. Besides, fans have all spring and summer to dissect the off-season.
First, as a team, the Saints are still chasing progress. With a result of 7-9 in three of their past four seasons, the Saints are eager to finish a season without a losing record. While it’s not a playoff push, the psyche of the coaches, players, and fans alike could all use the 8-8 record as motivation to keep things moving in the right direction.
Individually, there are several stories worth watching as we near the end of the 2016 season.
Milestones to Watch Out For
Offensively, quarterback Drew Brees is steadily approaching another 5,000-yard passing season. Brees is looking to accomplish this for the fifth time (no other quarterback in NFL history has done it twice).
Also, running back Mark Ingram looks to have his first career 1,000-yard rushing season. His recent toe injury has slowed his progress, but at 772 yard thus far, Ingram would have to average 76 yards per contest the rest of the way out to hit the prestigious 1,000-yard mark.
The very young wide receiving corp has three receivers within striking distance of that 1,000-yard mark as well. Second year starter Willie Snead is at 716 yards, rookie phenom Michael Thomas is at 831 yards, and third year man Brandin Cooks currently tops the team at 870 yards. In the usually high-powered passing offense of the New Orleans Saints, all three have the potential to hit that personal milestone.
Defensively, it would take a couple of monster games for either Cameron Jordan or Nick Fairley to reach double-digit sacks. Jordan and Fairley both currently sit at 5.5 sacks on the year. This week, against a very stationary quarterback in Carson Palmer, will go a long way in seeing if 10 sacks is a possibility for either Saints pass-rusher.
As far as tackles, the surprise story has been Craig Robertson, who has already hit the 100-tackle mark. Robertson has been far more productive than anticipated this year and taken on more of a leadership role than could have been predicted.
Week 15: The Saints Take on the Cardinals
Keeping all those reasons to stay tuned in our minds, the Saints travel to University of Phoenix Stadium this Sunday to take on the Arizona Cardinals.
For the Saints, this Cardinals team is like looking in a mirror in many ways. The Cardinals have a 5-7-1 record while the Saints sit at 5-8. Both lost three out of four to start the season. Also, teams had higher expectations at the beginning of the year and have seen some real heart breakers in 2016. Finally, both have an accomplished older quarterback that have looked great at times and seemed to have lost their way at others.
The proverbial elevator has three more stops. If the New Orleans Saints are to avoid a losing season in 2016, they must win out. Next stop, sixth floor.
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