New Orleans Saints: Cracks starting to appear in Black and Gold locker room
Until the Saints’ collapse in a loss to the Detroit Lions, one thing you could say about this young team was that it seemed everybody had each others’ backs. Player comments recently have shown some strain in the chemistry.
NEW ORLEANS, LA – DECEMBER 04: Golden Tate
It wasn’t one or two plays against the Lions. Last Sunday the entire team seemed to collapse. To all present and watching on TV the team appeared listless and uninspired. To add to the fan misery following the game, a few Saints players made comments to the media which don’t bode well for the locker room going forward.
In a recent article by Saints beat writer Joel Erickson run in the New Orleans Advocate Black and Gold cornerback Sterling Moore is quoted as saying:
It definitely hurt. I thought that was when we were going to rise to the occasion, and I think we got two guys to the quarterback on that play. We’ve just got to lock in and do our jobs and our jobs only. I think there are times we get out there and try to cover up for other people
Specifically Moore refered to a 4th quarter play that killed a possible Saints comeback. Under heavy pressure, Lions QB Matthew Stafford threw a pass off his back foot to a wide open Golden Tate that ended in a touchdown. It was 3rd and 10 and the Who Dat defense could have come up big to keep the team in the game.
NEW ORLEANS, LA – DECEMBER 04: Golden Tate
Tate, inexplicably, was about as wide open as you can get between cornerback B.W. Webb and safety Vonn Bell. Following the catch it seemed neither defender was sure how to run after the bolting receiver to stop a touchdown.
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It’s unclear if Moore was referring to one or both of the defenders in question or if he was speaking of a general issue on the defense. “Cover up for other people” implies others on the defensive side of the ball either lack the talent or desire to play up to NFL standards.
Moore’s comments didn’t come in a vacuum either.
Standout cornerback Delvin Breaux said in an interview on Monday:
There was no energy, everything felt dead, then as the game was being played, I didn’t see the energy on the sideline, either. So, when you get that and things aren’t going your way, nine times out of ten you get a loss. That’s what I felt happened yesterday.
It’s unclear if Breaux’s comments regarding the sideline were limited to players or included coaching staff as well.
Asked if he though the energy level was an issue, Saints fullback John Kuhn said, “No, I did not.” He went on to say:
I was excited for the game; personally I felt like the team was ready for the game. If other guys felt a lack of energy then that’s disappointing to hear. Maybe we can learn from it and next time be a little vocal about it. We got meetings here. We’ll figure something out for the lack of energy.
That’s short for saying don’t talk to the media. Talking about the lack of energy should happen during that game. We’ll address it in team meetings and not with the press.
Add on top of this series the whole drama over Brandin Cooks trade talks. Things are looking cloudy with few silver lining takeaways for the 2016 Saints. But finger pointing and taking your negative feelings to Twitter are easy ways to kill a team.