The New Orleans Saints are entering a key season for future of the franchise. After the disappointing 2022 season, everyone can be looked at as on the hot seat. They made some big moves, such as adding Derek Carr, but after going all-in again they must be competitive this season.
Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski shared this sentiment after naming the Saints as one of the teams that can’t afford to miss the playoffs. Here is his reasoning:
Carr was their guy. He signed with the team prior to the start of the new league year. The NFC South is also a down division, with no clear top quarterback after Tom Brady’s retirement.
Failure to make a run to the postseason and possibly even capture a division title with the likes of Cameron Jordan, Demario Davis and Tyrann Mathieu on the roster should be considered unacceptable.
With the outlook of the division, it really does give the Saints no excuses if they miss the playoffs. It’s by far the best roster in the division, not to mention they’re the only team with a proven veteran quarterback. Because of this, they’re also facing one of the easiest overall schedules in the league.
There is one positive that would come from missing the playoffs this season, in a roundabout way. It would give a clear answer on whether or not this is the staff to bring this team into the future. If Dennis Allen and Pete Carmichael can’t win the division with this discrepancy, the team will have have to moved on. But that’s a conversation for another day.
The pressure is clearly building for the Saints, but another way to look at it is that opportunity to win over the fanbase with a good season is also there for the taking.
