Saints bounty questions

Published: Friday, April 20, 2012 at 10:05 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, April 20, 2012 at 10:05 a.m.

Since all of the Saints bounty stuff and the suspension of their coach Sean Payton for a year came down, people have asked for my take on it all, and until now, I really haven’t said much.

My approach in life is to deal with things as they come and control the things I can control.

Right or wrong, the Saints can’t control the punishment they received. All they can do is go forward and try to win as many football games as they can this season.

So with most of the Saints penalties finalized and some sort of a plan in place, I came up with four questions that I think will be key in whether or not this team can be successful.

1. Will the players HOLD THEMSELVES to the same standard?

We have all been in classrooms where the substitute teacher sits in, and we all know not nearly as much learning went on.

In Payton’s absence, will the players hold themselves to the same standard as if he were there? I understand they are all professionals, but they are humans as well, and the natural human response would be to take a few mental reps off without the head coach looking or get to that meeting a few minutes late or things like that.

I know Drew Brees, the other coaches and other leaders on the team will do their best to police that kind of stuff, but it may be hard to duplicate Payton’s presence in that regard.

2. Will the Saints be treated differently by officials?

You would hope the answer is no, and that the Saints will be treated the exact same way as every other team, but it is hard to believe they will.

Again it goes back to human nature. The officials have seen all the same coverage of the bounty scandal that we have, and when it comes down to those super close hits and split-second decisions, I just have a feeling the yellow flag is going to come out more for the Saints this season than other teams.

3. Will the offense be as good without Payton calling plays?

This may be the biggest question of all. I know “offensive coordinator” Pete Carmichael Jr. is a bright guy and is well-respected in NFL circles, but it’s hard to imagine the Saints can be just as good as they have been with anyone other than Payton calling the plays.

I guess the good news is the Saints don’t have to be as good as they were with Payton. If they get help from the revamped defense under new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, the Saints offense and Brees are good enough to take a couple steps back, maybe play a little more conservative and the team can still make the playoffs.

4. How will the team deal with further adversity?

As if losing your head coach for a season, your interim coach for six games and possibly some key defensives players for a prolonged period of time wasn’t enough, all teams have certain things they must deal with through the course of the NFL schedule.

It will be interesting to see how the Saints respond when things become kind of normal and then something bad like a losing streak, a key injury or something else happens to negatively affect the team, and Payton is not there to act as that calming force.

I know Brees and the Saints have thrived on overcoming adversity in the past few years, but they must handle every negative situation that arises going forward, even the smallest ones, to near perfection or risk it leading to a season to forget.



▲ Return to Top