Six reasons the Saints did not make the 2023 playoffs
For the third consecutive year, the New Orleans Saints were not included in the postseason. Fingers can point in a variety of places, and that’s precisely what we’re supposed to do. This year, neither party kept up their end of the agreement.
The defense proved it couldn’t carry the squad, and the offense didn’t really come together until the end of the season. You shouldn’t rely on them to do that any longer. The Saints failed to make the playoffs for the following six reasons.
defensive line play
This season, the defensive line is something the New Orleans Saints need to work on. Bryan Bresee and Carl Granderson had good seasons, but almost everyone else needed to improve. This is especially true for the team’s edge defenders. Granderson was the next in line for sacks this season, followed by a linebacker and two defensive tackles. Tanoh Kpassagnon and Cameron Jordan teamed for a meager 5.5 sacks. It is in the lower half of the league in almost every defensive line category.
2 Intense discrepancy
This season’s biggest concern has been the offense’s inconsistent play. Sometimes the switch would come on in the middle of a drive, and other times the team would alternate between looking incredibly fantastic and really horrible during numerous games. Six games saw Derek Carr pass for more over 300 yards, equal to the number of games in which he passed for less than 200 yards. Kamara used it in a variety of ways. At times, it seemed as though the club was unsure of its offensive strategy. It’s difficult to win football games when your offense doesn’t consistently appear proficient.
3 Lines of offensiveness
Whatever you call it—run blocking, pass blocking, or health—the offensive line struggled with it this season. This season, Carr under constant pressure, and the run game received very little support. The Saints had the second-fewest yards per attempt on the ground at the end of the season. In addition to Trevor Penning’s complete lack of fitness, Ryan Ramczyk’s knee appears to be on the verge of collapse. This offseason, the Saints will have to start over and improve the line.
4 Red zone effectiveness
There’s a compelling case to be made that the Saints would be in the playoffs in 2023 if this issue were resolved alone. It seems like a stronger red zone showing would have helped New Orleans defeat the Texans. Although they were able to score touchdowns at home, their road offense ranked sixth worst when it came to scoring in the red zone. The Saints struggled with this problem early in the season until they made the decision to deploy Jimmy Graham. The New Orleans offense will take a different turn next season due to decisions like not employing Graham.
5 Slow defensive openings
Since the defense is the team’s strongest point, their first-half troubles inevitably caused the team to collapse. Too many times in the first half, New Orleans got themselves into a hole too big to escape from without flawless second-half play. Between Week 7 and Week 13, this issue was most noticeable, with games against the Texans, Jaguars, Vikings, and Lions providing the best illustrations of the problem. For the most part of the season, the Saints’ offense was lacking, and their defense let them down far too often.
Six Rude playcalling
The Saints offensive seemed to be boom or bust at times. The fascination with the big play permeated the entire field, despite the red zone’s acknowledged lack of efficiency. The Saints deliberately targeted deep passes on several third downs rather than going for the first down marker. The Saints simply didn’t use their players well when they were inside the 20. Graham, Taysom, and Kamara collaborated too much for me to ignore the fact that it should have been completed sooner.
