Mistakes and Pathetic Special Teams May Have Killed Saints Season
By Bob Rose
Nov 17, 2016; Charlotte, NC, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton and quarterback Drew Brees (9) on the sidelines in the third quarter at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
The New Orleans Saints lost to the rival Carolina Panthers last night in Charlotte, North Carolina by a score of 23-20; in what was a huge game for both NFC South teams’ playoff aspirations.
It was yet another crushing defeat for the Saints in a 2016 season full of “near misses”. This time, the defense played arguably their best game of the year, particularly the front seven.
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But someone forgot to tell the offense what time this match-up actually started, and the words to describe the alleged Saints “special teams” this year are ones that we are not allowed to use in a family-oriented publication.
The loss drops New Orleans to a record of (4-6), but it’s much worse than just that.
In a span of just five days, the Saints have gone from controlling every bit of their playoff destiny, to now almost certainly needing to win out, and worse yet depending on help from others.
Let’s take a closer look at how the Saints in a span of only two weeks time, went from the cusp of contention for a Wild Card Playoff spot in the NFC, to now facing elimination from Playoff contention altogether.
Starting first with the Saints defensive side of the ball….