New Orleans Saints Frustrate Fans To No End

Disappointing. Tantalizing. Agonizing. Frustrating.

Words can only begin to describe the emotions Saints' fans have experienced the past two seasons. Only a decades-long Saints' fan can completely understand the torture.

After a magical 2006 season which brought hope to a fan base, the Saints are 13-15 since the start of 2007.

With many additions to the defense during the offseason, many felt that the Saints would bounce back from a 7-9 season. 

Instead, Saints' fans have endured an injury-riddled, play-call-questioning, who's-our-kicker-now, how-many-times-have-they-signed-Joey-Harrington-type of season.

While not mathematically eliminated from the playoffs, the 6-6 Saints have no realistic shot at playing in January. They are in last place in the division and are currently 11th in the NFC playoff hunt.

While many die-hards, including myself, will cling to an ounce of hope until the end of the season, I want to look with an eye towards next season. 

While I do not pretend to be an NFL GM, I have a couple suggestions for improvement:

Develop and Commit to a Consistent Run Game

Contrary to what many network announcers will have you believe, swing passes to Reggie Bush are not just as good as and are not an extension of a running game. 

A true running game wears out a defense and sets up play-action passes. A true running game forces defenses to play one-on-one coverage on your wide receivers and  keeps a defensive coordinator guessing. 

When you can run the football with authority, you can convert short-yardage situations.  I cannot begin to count how many times the Saints have faltered on 3rd-and-1 and on the goal line.

The Saints' troubles running the ball lie with both play-calling and personnel. 

Only two teams, Cincinnati and Detroit, run the ball less often than the Saints. 

While the Bengals and Lions pass so much because they are often playing from behind, the Saints have led or have been tied in the fourth quarter in three of their six losses.  Couple that with their six wins, and the Saints have had the lead or have been tied in the fourth quarter in nine of their twelve games.

Because the Saints only run the ball 38 percent of the time, they lack the ability to chew up the clock and finish games. 

Model Yourself After a Powerhouse

While I don't expect the Saints to turn into that of the Giants, Titans, or Panthers, they have the ability to turn into the 2006 Colts. 

The 2008 Saints and 2006 Colts have many similarities. Both have quarterbacks that are smart and possess strong arms. They are the unquestioned leaders of their teams.

Both offenses have very good wide receivers and a tight end who can stretch a defense. The Saints and 2006 Colts have a running back that averages over 4.5 yards per carry. 

That's where the similarities end.

As a team the Colts averaged 4.0 yards per carry.  The Saints average a paltry 3.6 yards per carry. The Colts had a backup running back, a former 1,000 yard rusher, carry the ball nearly 200 times. The Saints have no one near that pace. 

The Colts' offensive line was one of the best in the league with Pro Bowl-ers LT Tarik Glenn and C Jeff Saturday. 

New Orleans' C Goodwin has the potential to be a high-caliber player and the Saints seem to be improving at guard with Jahri Evans and rookie Cark Nicks. 

Tackles Jammal Brown and Jon Stinchcomb have been sore spots on the line. Jammal Brown has seen his stock drop significantly since a Pro Bowl year in 2006. Perhaps, Brown should move back to right tackle.

I am hoping that the Saints acquire another running back to run between the tackles to complement Pierre Thomas. I like Thomas as a guy who gets 15-20 carries per game. 

Find a Smart, Hard-Hitting Safety

This is something the Colts had and the Saints need. The Colts call him Bob Sanders. 

The Saints need someone who can make interceptions, but can also make opposing receivers think twice before coming across the middle of the field. 

The current safety situation is nightmarish. The Saints' trio of Roman Harper, Josh Bullocks, and Kevin Kaesviharn seem to routinely be out of position and rarely make a jarring hit that forces an incompletion. 

Outlook

As frustrating as they may be, the Saints aren't very far from contending again. They just need a few adjustments here and there. The Saints have a franchise quarterback and many teams can't make that claim. 

Defensively, the Saints do have some pieces. When they are all healthy, the collection of cornerbacks is adequate. Surprisingly, Jason David seems to have learned some pass coverage technique. 

DT Sedrick Ellis and LB Jonathan Vilma are good pieces to build a defense around.

The negative about next season is that they may not be able to rely on a possible wild card berth next season. The NFC South will play eight of its games against the NFC East and AFC East. 

A few internal improvements may result in an improvement in record. Or maybe we'll get teased again.

Only time will tell.