3 New Orleans Saints improvements needed to win again

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Nov 8, 2015; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints free safety Jairus Byrd (31) and cornerback Keenan Lewis (21) collide the ball would be caught by Tennessee Titans tight end Delanie Walker (82) and run in for a touchdown during the first quarter of a game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

1: Build trust

There were multiple reports last year of the locker room being much improved off the cesspool of the year before, and I believe those reports. The New Orleans Saints worked hard to accentuate players who both love football and believe that working hard is the only way. The character in the locker room only got better with draft picks Sheldon Rankins and Michael Thomas, and free agent acquisition James Laurinaitis.

Character is just one of the necessary ingredients for trust though, and it isn’t something that can just be between the players. The players need to trust the coaches, they need to trust each other to be where they are supposed to be when they are supposed to be there, and they need to trust the scheme. Trust is the first and most important ingredient to a good football team, or any team for that matter. You have to trust in the product if you are to truly give your all, and you have to trust your teammates and your coaches to have your back, as they must trust you to have theirs.

You think this is one of those ‘platitudes’ that gets thrown around in sports like ‘they just played harder’, or something like that. I’m not talking about some abstract concept of trust in this case, but real, tangible trust. I’m talking about Kenny Vaccaro staying in his zone and not wandering because he trusts that Vonn Bell is where he is supposed to be. I’m talking about Jairus Byrd attacking the ball in flight because he trusts that Delvin Breaux and Keenan Lewis are equal to the task. I’m talking about the pass rushers pinning their ears back and going full throttle because they trust that the linebackers will buy them another second to get there. Most of all though we need ALL of the players to trust in Dennis Allen and for him to reward that trust by creating a scheme that accentuates their strengths and helps them build an IDENTITY that unites them and propels them forward.

Next: Develop Competence