New Orleans Saints player surveys created this report card for the team, ultimately ranking 10th out of the 32 clubs around the league. Pretty cool initiative from the NFLPA. https://t.co/rANwcz3ZQ7 pic.twitter.com/a22fDflOZS
— John Sigler (@john_siglerr) March 1, 2023
This is cool: the NFL Players Association released its first-ever report cards assembled from player surveys for their current teams. And for the most part, the New Orleans Saints drew rave reviews. They’re ranked 10th out of the league’s 32 teams.
Saints players graded the team with an A-minus or better in the weight room, strength coaches, training staff, locker room, and team travel (which got an A-plus, tied for first place around the league). They also awarded New Orleans with grades of B or better in its training room and treatment of players’ families. It’s a little odd to see the training staff and trainers’ room graded so highly in the wake of last year’s injury bug, but players have only spoken glowingly of sports science director Matt Rhea, strength and conditioning coach Matt Clapp, and their assistants after the Saints hired them. If the players are frustrated, they aren’t taking it out on their trainers.
But there’s one area in which the Saints were found lacking, and it’s shocking: food service and nutrition, which got a rare F-minus. From the NFLPA report card: “The most common concern for Saints players is the cafeteria, as they are only one of three teams in the NFL that do not provide three meals per day to their players, and the food is rated as the 4th worst in the NFL.”
Now, how is the NFL’s team based in the greatest food city in the country going to rank among the worst in the league for its team cafeteria and pro nutrition program? There are award-winning gas station deli counters a stone’s throw from Airline Drive, for goodness’ sake. And it’s inexcusable that a billion-dollar operation like the Saints can’t find room to offer its players three nutritionist-approved meals a day.
So it’s a good thing they know where they need to improve. And this problem could get addressed quickly. The NFLPA report added that, “93% of the players believe that owner Gayle Benson is willing to spend money to upgrade the facility and improve things, ranking them 16th overall in this category.” Benson hasn’t been shy about spending on upgrades in the past, and making improvements to the team cafeteria and nutrition program to at least match league-averages could get the Saints ranked among the best operations in the NFL.
