The mask is off, and we know who the New Orleans Saints are: a bad football team whose deficiencies were covered up by their too-good-to-be-true spot on top of the NFC South standings. They lost to the Atlanta Falcons 24-15 and fell to second place in the division.
Dennis Allen can’t point to the NFC South standings anymore as a reason for optimism. That became a favorite tactic of his and the diehards still supporting him as issues piled up for the Saints. Between Pete Carmichael’s predictable play calling and Derek Carr’s consistently poor execution, there were plenty of dirty hands on offense — and flaws were exposed defensively and in the special teams units. But time and again Allen and his camp could say, hey, this is still a first-place football team.
And now that excuse is gone. And it was always fake. The Saints haven’t beaten a team worth bragging about all season. So where will Allen turn now? He got his quarterback, he was given the easiest schedule in the NFL, and for the first ten weeks he had the healthiest roster in pro football. And he has nothing to show for it. The Saints gambled big and they’re losing badly.
They’re left in shambles after this loss to the Falcons. Multiple starters left with injuries like wide receivers Chris Olave (concussion) and Rashid Shaheed (thigh) while offensive linemen Erik McCoy and Ryan Ramczyk were also banged up. Now they have a losing record, a devastating loss to their biggest rival, and a lame duck coach and quarterback. There’s six games left to turn it around, but this group has their work cut out for them in winning back fans’ trust.
