Undisciplined

David Rainey • October 3, 2022

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       Let me be as blunt as I possibly can.  Right now, the New Orleans Saints are a BAD football team.  Not an alright football team.  Not an average football team.  A straight up, bottom-tier football team.  To be honest, at first glance it doesn’t make sense.  This is and has been one of the most loaded rosters in the NFL for years.  Of course, the weakest position group on the team is the most important, quarterback. But all we need from the position is average quarterback play, and this roster should be able to win 8 or 9 games just based off talent. 


However, to this point, we’ve struggled to even get average quarterback play.  On top of that, we’ve dealt with injuries to key players like Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, Marcus Maye, Paulson Adebo, Adrus Peat, and Jameis Winston.  While I think the struggles at quarterback and injuries have contributed to the 1-3 start, they aren’t the biggest issues, in my opinion.  What’s the biggest issue then?  Well, the Saints are a poorly coached football team.

You might place the blame on bad quarterback play or lack of pass rush or some other lacking area, but from my perspective, poor coaching in the biggest issue for this team.  From the head coach to the offensive coordinator, to special team’s coaches, we’ve seen a poorly coached team all around.  Week after week, we see the Saints shoot themselves in the foot with stupid penalties, untimely fumbles, or an awful mental lapse. It seems like every time we get momentum, we find a way to cause another self-inflicted wound. For example, we’re driving down the field against the Bucs and Mark Ingram fumbles in the red zone.  Or, how about the seemingly countless false starts to put ourselves in 2nd or 3rd and long situations?  Or, how about today against the Vikings when the defense makes a stop, but special teams allow the Vikings to convert a fake punt?  Again, just poor coaching all around.

The most concerning area to me are the penalties.  It’s hard to get the offense going, regardless of who is at quarterback, when you’re constantly playing behind the sticks.  You can’t get in a rhythm with your play calling when you’re consistently in those positions.  An undisciplined team is a direct result of a poorly run program by the head coach.  Why are the penalties the most concerning to me over all other areas? Because undisciplined teams are a pattern with Dennis Allen run football teams. 

As everyone knows, Dennis Allen had a previous head coaching stint with the Raiders from 2012-2014 that didn’t go so well.  As it stands right now, the Saints are the 2nd most penalized team on a per game basis with 8 per game through 4 weeks.  What is concerning to me, is that I don’t know that the issue will ever get fixed under Dennis Allen, because teams under his leadership have always been undisciplined.

In 2012, the Raiders were the 6th most penalized team with 6.8 penalties per game.  2013 was even worse with the Raiders ending the season as the 4th most penalized team with 7.3 penalties per game.  They again had 7.3 penalties per game in Dennis Allen’s final season as head coach in 2014 and finished as the 9thmost penalized team.  So, when we look at those numbers, it’s reasonable to be concerned that we won’t see improvement this year or maybe even any year in the future. 

I want to be clear; I’m not calling for Dennis Allen to be fired already or anything like that.  However, if he can’t run a disciplined program in his second attempt as a head coach, then he shouldn’t be a head coach for long.  And, if he doesn’t get this team to stop hurting themselves immediately, the season will be over quickly. 

I’m not completely giving up hope on the season yet, because as I mentioned earlier, this roster is incredibly talented.  They very well could turn things around and go on a run.  Dennis Allen has at least kept his defense on par with previous seasons, and we at least saw improvements from the pass rush and the offense today.  So, maybe there’s still some reason for hope.  But Dennis Allen and the rest of his staff need to get it together quickly, because they are running out time.

*All stats courtesy of teamrankings.com*



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New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons 2025 Week 18 Recap

By Greyson Jenkins • January 4, 2026
New Orleans Saints 17 - 19 Atlanta Falcons The Saints' season is officially over. As sad as it is to say that, this season ended on a much more positive note than I expected, and has me actually looking forward to the offseason, not dreading it. The defense finished on a positive note, Tyler Shough is definitely the guy for at least the next few seasons, and Kellen Moore improved over the second half of the year. If the season finished how we expected prior to Shough saving the team, this offseason would be much more bleak in appearance. This is supposed to be a week 18 recap, but why recap a game no one really had any expectations for or cared about? No one, not even us Saints fans or analysts, really expected Shough to be able to do much with this offensive group, and he couldn’t really. Sure, he made a few really good plays, but you could tell Kellen Moore was struggling to find plays that he felt confident running with the receivers, and I don’t view that as a negative, just a bad scenario for everyone. Because of this, I am not going to write this really as a week 18 recap, but more as a short preview of this offseason. Chase Young Chase Young has made it clear that he is the best young player on this Saints team. Maybe you could swap him out with Chris Olave, but I struggle to overlook his incredible performances and constant clutch play in big moments to close out the year. He finished this game with one and a half sacks and three tackles for losses, but should have even had one more sack and a forced fumble on his stat sheet. Mickey Loomis seemingly has gotten away with the deal of a lifetime, sorry Loomis haters, by signing Young to a three-year deal for only $17 million per year on average. That is more than $10 million less than what the top 10 defensive end salaries are on a per-year basis, and Young has 10 sacks in 12 games played. While watching this one, I texted my buddies and said that Young is a top 10 EDGE in the league at this point, but they disagree. Although he may not be right now, Chase Young is quickly improving and becoming what everyone expected him to be when he came into the league. If he continues down this path, it would be extremely reasonable for him to try and get a pay raise after next season. Going into this offseason, the Saints must add at least one other piece to the defensive end rotation, so teams are forced to take their focus off of Young and open up the opportunity for even more plays by him. Tyler Shough Tyler Shough did not by any means have a perfect game; he finished 23 of 39 for 259 yards and a touchdown and an interception. However, as I said earlier, I don’t think anyone expected him to with the weapons at his disposal. He led the team down the field multiple times, and a Charlie Smyth missed field goal, and Dante Pettis offensive pass interference made this game appear worse offensively than it was. He made some throws and plays out of scheme that once again added to the current mindset that he is the team’s future, so I am not worried about the interception that came late in the fourth quarter on the tenth or so double slant pattern of the game. However, I will say that Shough’s ability to make things work at times with this battered of a weapon room is impressive in itself, and means that if the team decides to go and get him weapons in the draft or free agency, he can be even more successful. I’d really like the Saints to leave the draft with one of the following: Jeremiyah Love, Jordyn Tyson, Makai Lemon, or Elijah Sarratt. If they do that, I think this offense alongside Shough would be extremely fun to watch next season. The Defense The Saints' defense finished the season without allowing a fourth-quarter touchdown since Week 11 against the Falcons. Yes, week 11. Although I felt the defense started off pretty rough, the second half of the season was a true testament to Brandon Staley’s abilities as a defensive coordinator. The Saints' defense improved this season in both total scoring and yardage allowed in comparison to last season, at 17th and 9th, respectively, before this game. They played another great game here with what should have been two turnovers if it weren’t for a bad call by the refs on the Chase Young strip-sack. Quincy Riley and Jonas Sanker both have been massive additions to this side of the ball, and Danny Stutsman appears to have the potential to be good whenever Werner or Davis leave. If the Saints decide to run it back with this same defense and bring back the vets, it would not be the worst thing in the world, but I would still like to see them bring in more young talent. Closing Time This season was my first writing for the team, and I really enjoyed recapping all of the highs and lows of the season and trying to let you guys know exactly how I felt about the team week in, week out. As much as I hate this team missing the playoffs and the season ending today, I’m happy I had this opportunity and look forward to doing the same next season. I may write a few offseason articles, but if not, I will definitely have a few Saints-focused episodes on my YouTube channel, Jenks Island. Until next time, Who Dat!! Offensive MVP: Tyler Shough Defensive MVP: Chase Young Special Teams MVP: NONE (Please fire Phil Galiano)

New Orleans Saints vs Atlanta Falcons 2025 Week 18 Preview

By Caleb Yaccarino • January 3, 2026
The final game of the season is here!
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