re: I really need to vent about some of our ‘fans’ right now

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This Saints team, as they are currently configured with the injuries suffered, is not a competitive team. They have zero chance of winning any games. They’re not even the wacky fun kind of bad. They’re just a sad, lifeless, hopeless team right now with very little opportunity to change that this season with the current roster.

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Solid post bob..


I wouldn’t argue any of what you said here, but this goes along with what I was saying about expectations as far as fans are concerned


You can’t be calling for peoples heads right now or acting like your favorite player off the bench or out of free agency is going to turn the tables and if not CSP and Loomis suck and Dennis Allen needs to be fired, etc…


frick, I don’t even think you can give accurate player evals after a season like this




For those of y’all who disagree with me, I’ll throw y’all a bone… everyone gets a pass this year except trautman lol… he’s got to go

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Having a year when players weren’t developed as might have been expected (McCoy

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McCoy has been fine and played well overall. Ruiz has struggled and Calloway should be a #3 WR. I agree Payton messed up this past off-season not getting a playmaker or 2 but no cap money. Draft they typically go BPA.

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This is a different thread for a different time but we as Louisiana football fans have been spoiled for soooo long after being terrible for so long.. this was bound to happen

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I don’t disagree but I think that’s just how football fans in the south are. There was lots of die hard Saints and LSU fans even in the 90s when both sucked. I had a coworker that hated Saban even after him winning a championship at LSU, dude couldn’t enjoy it. There’s just so many here like that it’s weird.

Belechick would make something shake. frick that lol. Dudes professionals out here getting they shite pushed in on live tv. Like this is a rape...on national tv. Charges need to be filed!

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You can’t be calling for peoples heads right now or acting like your favorite player off the bench or out of free agency is going to turn the tables and if not CSP and Loomis suck and Dennis Allen needs to be fired, etc…

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I don't think any coaches deserve to be fired. They have earned their long leash through past success.

With that said, there are two possible responses (from a coaching standpoint) to fielding a team like this one. You can tank or you can gimmick.

In a tank, you start a game manager who will limit turnovers and you run the ball as much as possible with the hope of limiting the number of possessions and shortening games. If your defense is playing well, this can keep the margins of defeats low and possibly even allow you to steal a win here or there with a pick 6, scoop and score, or special teams TD. The purpose is mostly to limit further injuries. Losses improve draft position, reduced injuries preserve key contributors for next season when you hope to be able to field a more competitive roster. This is the managerial equivalent of punting on third down. You're not even trying to be competitive, you're just trying to make the defeats hurt less. These kinds of games are completely uninteresting to fans, and they will stop watching as soon as they figure out the tank is on (see 2021/2022 Pelicans).

The other option is to get gimmicky. Since the dawn of competitive sports, there have always been teams that simply don't have the jimmies and joes to win competitions in a fair fight against their opposition. So, what can they do? Stop fighting fair. They start using gimmicks. This can be trick plays, unorthodox formations, lining up players at unusual positions, calling plays at unusual times. Basically, the idea is to break conventional thinking in order to be impossible for the defense to predict. That way, you can create mismatches that your offense can exploit where otherwise, the defense would have the advantage. Now, gimmicks don't work long term. The NFL will figure it out and shut it down, but it could work for a week, a month, or even a season. In addition, gimmick football is really fun to watch, so audiences are often more tolerant of teams losing if they're doing so in an interesting or entertaining fashion (see Point Zion Pelicans).

Even if a team employing both strategies gets the same W/L result, fans will likely be more entertained by the gimmick team than by the tank team because the gimmick team appears to be trying to win while the tank team gives the appearance of having completely giving up on trying to win. Fans don't expect to win every game, or even have a plus .500 record every season. However, they expect their teams to try, and when things aren't working, make adjustments to get them working. Often, a real fix is less necessary than the appearance of making repairs.

If The Saints continue to start Simien, it only shows that they have no intention to try to fix what's wrong, thus there is zero belief that the team can win, thus there is zero suspense regarding the result of the game, and there is zero chance for any real entertainment value that can be mined for my time investment in watching the team play.

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TheRouxGuru

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Just out of curiosity. Do you wear flat bills? Have pencil thin side burns? Wear throwback jerseys that are a size too large? Smoke cigarettes? Cuz if you are like you post, you do all the above.

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There is no other viable option, despite what the internet says

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I would honestly rather see them bring in a washed up QB out of retirement off the street than watch Simien start another game. The end result may be the same, but at least it would be different. Different brings some hope. The same brings only despair. Simien may realistically be the best option at this point, but when your best is a hopeless situation, you have to get wacky to generate hope, even if it's false hope, it's better than doing nothing at all.

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Just out of curiosity. Do you wear flat bills? Have pencil thin side burns? Wear throwback jerseys that are a size too large? Smoke cigarettes? Cuz if you are like you post, you do all the above.

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I’ve already disclosed my age in this thread, and I fail to see how my posting style dictates how I wear my hats


I bet you are one of those madden GMs that got your feelings hurt in the first or second post I made


What’s your record in maddens franchise mode?? 184-0?!

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Damn I’d hate to see us underperform.

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You obviously are not old enough to remember Aaron Brooks