Fans express doubt about the Saints

The NFL season is still young, and there’s no telling what the future might hold.

But local fans of the New Orleans Saints have a lot in common: Most aren’t optimistic about the team’s chances for success in 2016-17.

Expectations are low for the Saints, according to 10 fans The Times surveyed at random locations throughout Lafourche and Terrebonne parishes.

During the interviews, eight Saints fans said they’d “be surprised” if the team made the playoffs. The other two said the team could get there, but isn’t among the upper echelon in the NFL pecking order.

“I just don’t see it,” Houma native Aric Moss said. “We were 7-9 the last few years, so I will ask you the question – what is different? To me, nothing. We can score, but we can’t stop the opponent from scoring. When you are that one-dimensional, you have a ceiling, and I think 8-8 or maybe 9-7 is as good as this team can be.”

“It’s abysmal,” Thibodaux native Ross Billiot added. “In literally every other profession, you have to fix your shortcomings or you’re fired. But with the Saints, they have the same, exact problems every year. It’s either bad coaching or bad personnel. So the ax should fall on Mickey Loomis or Sean Payton. We’ve seen this go on for a while now.”

Fans agree that the Saints’ defensive woes are unacceptable, but folks seem to disagree about where exactly to place the blame.

Some fans blame coach Sean Payton, citing that anything that happens under the team’s watch is his responsibility.

Raceland native Rebecca Jones said she thinks Payton is too worried about the offense, which puts the defense on the backburner.

Galliano native Bob Toups agreed, adding that he believes the team too heavily emphasizes its offense.

“It can’t always be the coordinator’s fault,” Toups said. “It can’t always be the player’s fault. Two times in the last five years, we’ve had one of the worst defenses in NFL history. To be that level of bad two times in five years, you’re doing something wrong in your game planning and in your system. You’re not doing something right and you’re focusing on the wrong things. I think there’s too much focus on scoring and not enough from stopping the other team from scoring.”

But others don’t think the blame for the defensive woes fall at Payton’s feet.

Billiot said he thinks the problem is owner Tom Benson’s. He said he believes the Saints need to blow up their roster and start over, but Benson refuses to do so because of his age.

“I think Tom is trying to push every, single chip he has onto the table, because when you’re that age, what do you have to lose?” Billiot said. “If I were in his shoes, I’d maybe be doing the same thing, but as an outsider looking in, I think I can say that it’s probably not the best way to do business.”

Defensive issues aside, just about everyone agrees that New Orleans has a championship offense – one that would win at an elite level if the defense supported it.

Gray native Murphy Lowe said he thinks the Saints’ offense is as good as it’s been in the Payton/Drew Brees Era. He said upgrades to the wide receiver positon in the offseason and NFL Draft have made the team an offensive force.

Houma native Charlie Pierce agreed and said Drew Brees is silencing his critics.

“He’s worth the money,” Pierce said. “So many people questioned his team and this and that, but come on. That’s Drew Brees. You can’t willingly choose to not have Drew Brees on your team. That’s insane. He has to be someone that you keep around for as long as he’s willing to play and is healthy.”

But even with the optimism about the offense, expectations for the team remain low.

Lowe said he can’t see the Saints winning more than six games.

Toups said he thinks the Saints are a .500 team – if they’re lucky.

Houma native Betsy Adams said she thinks the Saints could make the playoffs, but then added a quick caveat to her opinion, which shows that even her expectations aren’t that high.

“I think they can make it – I definitely think they can,” she said. “But do I think they can win anything once they’re there? … It would take a miracle. It would take an absolute miracle. I think we just don’t have it this year.” •

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