TALK ON THE STREET
September 23, 2015
Cut Off man’s work ethic, dedication the foundation for his success
September 23, 2015
For the second-straight season, the New Orleans Saints are 0-2.
Local fans aren’t happy about it and aren’t afraid to voice their disgruntled opinions.
Sunday afternoon’s 26-19 home loss to the lowly Tampa Bay Buccaneers marked a low-point in Sean Payton’s tenure – one of only two times in the coach’s career that the team was a 10-plus point favorite and lost.
On the surface, the Saints look like a mess. New Orleans is struggling offensively. They’re short-handed defensively, and fans are wondering whether or not we’re seeing the beginning of the end of the Drew Brees Era in the Crescent City.
“It’s pitiful,” Houma native and lifelong fan Buddy Adams said. “People want to say, ‘Oh my God, it’s Week 2. Don’t panic, Buddy.’ But when is enough going to be enough? I’ve seen this team lose their first two games. I’ve seen this team lose all four preseason games and I’ve seen this team lose five out of their final eight to end last season. That’s 11 losses in 14 games. They’re done. It’s not getting better.”
The fans questioned were really worried about Brees’ performance and future.
The Times interviewed six Saints fans at Southland Mall on Monday morning – still less than 24 hours after Sunday’s debacle in the
Dome.
All six fans – four males and two females – said that they think Brees is past his prime and will never again be an elite quarterback in the NFL. The common opinion isn’t necessarily that Brees is washed up, but it’s more-so concern for the quarterback because of what’s around him. A pulse of the fanbase didn’t show much confidence in the team’s playmakers.
“Drew doesn’t have a chance,” Thibodaux native Tommy Rose said. “He doesn’t have time to throw the ball and even if he does, no one is open, because all of his weapons are playing on other teams.”
“We miss Jimmy Graham,” Houma native Karen Williams added. “He and Drew had such good chemistry. They say we traded him to get better on the offensive line. Does it look like we’re better on the offensive line? We can’t run the ball and we can’t protect Drew.”
The answer on offense, fans think, is to run the football more – something that Saints coach Sean Payton said in the offseason that they’d do, but haven’t yet done in the 2015 season.
Mark Ingram didn’t receive high marks, but the consensus is that Khiry Robinson and C.J. Spiller can do their fair share if called upon.
“The team used a First-Round pick on an offensive tackle and traded Jimmy Graham for an offensive lineman,” Raceland native Mareisha Triggs said. “But we don’t use them. We throw the ball as much as we did before even without our best receivers.”
“The year we won the Super Bowl, we had one of the best running games in the NFL,” Rose added. “They don’t try anymore to make that happen again.”
Defensively, fans don’t seem to care about injuries.
The Who Dat Nation wants Rob Ryan gone.
Everyone questioned said that they think Ryan is a bad fit for the team’s defense, most pointing to his unsuccessful career in Dallas as a reason why his career in New Orleans is sliding downhill, as well.
Triggs said she stops watching games when opponents have the ball, because “I just know the other team is going to score.”
“He is on the sidelines with his big, fat belly, but he’s all talk,” Triggs said. “They don’t have any fire. They don’t have any intensity.”
Houma native Dylan Crosby said he thinks that Payton and General Manager Mickey Loomis should pull the plug right now and fire Ryan. Once they do, they should hand the defensive coordinator position to Dennis Allen, Crosby said.
“It’s not a secret that Allen was brought in so they had a replacement when they fired Ryan this offseason,” Crosby said. “Why wait? Why not get it out of the way now and move on?”
As for the topic of if this is a lost season already? The audience is mixed. Some think that the Saints still have a chance to make the playoffs because of a weak NFC South Division that was won by a 7-9 team last season.
But others point to Atlanta and Carolina both being 2-0 and think that being down two full games with 14 to play is too much to overcome.
“8-8 and we win the division,” Adams said. “We get beat in the playoffs, but we win the division.”
“No way,” Williams added. “We can’t beat Tampa Bay.
How can we beat anybody if we can’t beat Tampa Bay?”
‘Now is not the time to panic.’
Sean Payton
New Orleans Saints head football coach
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees drops back to pass the football during a game last season. Local fans polled on Monday morning are concerned that the Saints’ quarterback doesn’t have enough weapons to succeed.
