At least last season we knew to keep our expectations low after an 0-4 start. If you read my post right before the Carolina game, you already knew what to expect in today’s Falcons game. The title of that post implied that the game would be an indicator for how the rest of the season would go. It was.

The Saints’ only success this season has been against inept teams at the bottom of the NFL food chain. What the Carolina, Redskins, and Falcons games have proved, is that our beloved Saints are no match when put up against the decent teams in the league. Why? Don’t they have talented players? Yes.

It all boils down to a few reasons the Saints fall limp when up against a strong oponent. 

#1 - Coaching - The team is inadequately prepared for what they will face on Sunday. They repeatedly state that they “had a great week of practice” to get ready for the game, when in actuality, their preparation is falling short in every game against a tough opponent.

#2 - The Mental Aspect of the Game - Never have I seen a team that takes failure as bad as the Saints do. A good sport psychologist could do wonders for this team. Time after time they shoot themselves in the foot to make games unwinnable. When up against competitive opponents, it’s almost like the will to win is completely lost, there is a glaring lack of effort, foolish mistakes, and as today showed, injuries as well. This all goes back to #1 (coaching), but it’s a process that takes place with every team player over the course of each game.

The players recognize it, they know it’s there, but they don’t know what to do about it. Eventually the frustration that each player feels will get displaced and turn into blaming other players (like we saw today and heard in post-game interviews), and blaming the coaching staff for making their games impossible to win. It can only get worse, unless the team’s leadership can have a meeting of the minds and come up with a different strategy. Like I said before, a good sport psychologist would help (hint hint, Sean). Sigmund Freud would say, “it’s no accident that players are getting injured and dropping like flies (to get off the team).” “The subconscious is a powerful thing.”