Saints realize their problems, they just can’t fix them

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— NFL (@NFL) October 21, 2022

The New Orleans Saints know why they’re losing.

They just don’t know how to fix it.

They know they can’t be the worst team in the NFL at balancing takeaways and giveaways.

They knew it when they gave the football away just once and took it away twice in a 27-26 victory against Atlanta to start the season.

They knew it when they gave it away five times and took it away just once in a 20-10 loss to Tampa Bay a week later.

They knew it as they settled into last place in the NFL in turnover margin (minus-7) going into their game at Arizona on Thursday night.

And they know it as clearly as ever after their 42-34 loss to the Cardinals.

Andy Dalton threw two interceptions that were returned for touchdowns that turned the game into the Cardinals favor late in the second quarter. Earlier he threw an interception in the end zone, denying the Saints a likely three points while they were holding a 7-3 lead.

The first pick six was more the fault of Marquez Callaway, who could have caught the pass as it deflected to the defense, but the others were Dalton’s responsibility.

But the Saints’ problems can’t be blamed on one or two individuals.

In the end those three turnovers were the only ones that the Saints committed a week after having their first turnover-free game. But three is way too many.

The Saints started re-emphasizing takeaways on defense and ball security on offense in practice weeks ago.

It hasn’t fixed the problem.

It hasn’t stopped them from losing four of five games. It hasn’t stopped them from falling to 2-5 on the season. It hasn’t stopped them from looking like a team that’s incapable of competing for first place in a division that is led by a pair of .500 teams (the Buccaneers and Falcons).

Yes the Saints have been hampered by a series of injuries to important players.

Yes it’s easy to say that many of the critical issues – turnovers, penalties, missed tackles, etc. – are fixable.

But they haven’t fixed them.

Yes the return of Jameis Winston, which could come as soon as the next game against Las Vegas on October 30 in the Caesars Superdome, could bring a big-play element to the passing game.

Yes the eventual return of Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry will also give a boost to the passing game.

Yes the return of Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo (who was sidelined Thursday) and Bradley Roby (who was lost to injury during the latest loss) will improve the pass defense, but there’s no indication that their presence will eliminate the missed tackles and allowance of explosive plays that have contributed to this defense failing to perform to the level of its talent and its recent track record.

The Cardinals were a lot like the Saints coming into the game. Both teams were 2-4 and performing well below their pretty lofty expectations entering the season.

They also had some key absences, they also had a talent level that exceeded their performance level, they also had a coaching staff that had demonstrated an ability to get their team to perform to expectations.

Both teams were badly in need of a win – in order to make their record more respectable, in order to build some confidence, in order to establish some credibility as they try to gain a foot-hold in divisional and wild-card races in a conference comprised mostly of mediocre teams.

The 2-4 Cardinals responded to the challenge.

The 2-4 Saints couldn’t handle the challenge.

The NFL is comprised of mostly average teams. A few teams are exceptional and a few are exceptionally bad.

The rest are essentially equally average.

The average teams that evolve into better-than-average teams do so partly by taking advantage of average opponents that don’t evolve.

That’s what the Cardinals did against the Saints on Thursday.

The average teams that devolve into below-average teams do so by failing to fix their most serious problems – even when they’re easily identifiable.

That’s the New Orleans Saints.

They have been an average team. They have identified their problems and proven incapable of fixing them over an extended period of time.

The players and the coaches have both failed.

But there’s still time to fix this.

The problem is there’s no reason to believe that’s likely.