The New Orleans Saints are a weird team. They are the definition of a team that needed to blow it up, but due to cap reasons and keeping Dennis Allen as the coach for some reason, the Saints’ goal was playoffs. It was realistic as the NFC South is one of the worst divisions in the NFL. However, the Saints failed to make the NFL playoffs this year. There are many reasons why, but from the bunch, there are three that stood out.
I said it before and I will say it again, Dennis Allen should have been fired last year. After the Week 18 fiasco last year where the entire team rather followed and listened to Jameis Winston (the backup QB), instead of the head coach. That was the moment the Saints should have realized Allen shouldn’t be the head coach. However, they decided not to, and keeping Allen killed the Saints’ chances of making the playoffs. This isn’t the NBA, coaching matters in this league and the Saints didn’t have a good head coach.
Coming into the season the Saints were hyped up as a boom team with the addition of Derek Carr. After all on paper, he was the best QB that team had since Drew Brees. Keep in mind the words on paper as with Carr this season he showed signs of a decline. Along with multiple injuries this year, Carr’s first season in New Orleans was very lackluster. Who else was lackluster is the rest of the QBs on the roster. Spencer Rattler wasn’t great in his first year either and Jake Haener stinks. The Saints need to hope the QB play is better next year because no offense can succeed without it.
This entire defense as a whole was terrible and they are currently ranked 30th in the league. The worst part is easily the run defense where they are also ranked the 30th worst in the league. It has been so bad that last week against the Raiders, Ameer Abdullah ran for 115 yards in 2024. I couldn’t remember that Abdullah was still in the NFL and thought he had retired. It’s not just him but so many running backs ran all over the Saints this season. If the Saints want to focus on improving the defense, they need to invest in run-stoppers.
It’s so hard coming up with a bright spot as so much went wrong for the Saints. Out of the players, I have to give the bright spot to Alvin Kamara. With how quickly running backs depreciate in the NFL, many believed Kamara wouldn’t play well as he was entering the NFL at the age of 29.
Well, Kamara showed he still has plenty left in the tank. He currently has rushed for 950 yards and six touchdowns. Kamara is also the leading receiver on the team right now with 68 receptions for 543 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns. Sadly, Kamara is the only player on the team to have over 500 receiving yards and the Saints are entering Week 18 of the NFL. While the entire receiving room hasn’t impressed, Kamara continues to and hopefully, he will play well next year.
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