Forget the record of 3-4 after seven games. Drop the preseason hype of the 2023 New Orleans Saints from July. For God’s sake, let Who Dat Nation express the truth of the state of the black and gold. Drew Brees is not walking through the door. Sean Payton left the building and has his own issues. Accept the truth — this team is not good.
The Truth Hurts: The Saints Are Not Good
And just to be clear, the faster Saints fans accept the truth — the better the rest of the season will be. This is based on lackluster statistics going into the middle of the season.
First, the red zone numbers are close to the bottom at 37.5% versus 52% in 2022. The Saints can move the ball but getting into the end zone means points. This leads to another issue. Scoring remains near the bottom at 19 points a game. Scoring under 20 points a game leaves a lot of games up for grabs at best. Also, kicker Blake Grupe has missed a few field goals. Still, it’s not his fault the Saints are sitting at 3-4.
Derek Carr shouldn’t worry or pout anymore. Carr isn’t going anywhere soon. But again why get angry? This is the truth.
Keep showing up. Fans, keep showing up with all the bells and whistles — all the face painting, costumes, and the usual Who Dat chants. The advice to Saints fans is to keep going. Keep gathering to root on this lousy team. Saints fans have seen worse. A 3-4 record back in the 80’s would’ve been a treasure. Expectations are higher than a .500 record. Just in case, if the Saints are pushing your blood pressure up — here’s a few tips.
Enjoy your family, because the product on the field won’t help the Monday after. Acceptance is freedom. That to-do list from August — go ahead and get a move on it. It’s okay to miss a quarter or two to feel productive. Go to church on Sunday and stay a while. Or don’t go to church and go to the Rouses afternoon.
Accept the Saints For Who They Are
This pessimism is based on evidence. Teams with a 3-4 record make the playoffs 29% of the time. If the Saints drop another on Sunday — the odds drop to 18%. The NFC South winner in 2022 ended with an 8-9 record. The odds of another 8-9 record winning the division looks unlikely. And even if it does, The Saints will have to win those division matchups.
Inconsistency Leads to a Mess
The Saints want to win. Players are working their tails off every week. Unfortunately, the mojo to make a run to the Super Bowl is a pipe dream. Truth be told, thousands of stories will be written about this team from November to January. What went wrong, to this team has potential. Even Bobby Hebert might have something positive to add during this mini bye week.
Perhaps the tone here is pessimistic. Some may see this totally different. Nine games are left in the season — who’s to say the Saints run off nine straight? Don’t go there. The state of the 2023 Saints is chaos. The Saints are as good as a puppy. Some days are good and another the pup is chewing your shoes up. Some days the Saints look to be contenders. Other days, well, puppies do make mistakes. Be that as it may, the mess will eventually get cleaned up. But this mess is going to take awhile.
Main Photo: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
