Saints: Pulling positives from the negatives in Week 15

Silver linings

Again, the proof is in the numbers. Michael Thomas has been slowed considerably in the last few weeks. However, his 109 catches are 73 catches more than the next Saints WR. That’s insanity. You’ll hear me speak about this again I’m certain when the season ends and we begin speaking of needs.

So, I need to spin positive out of this to finish up. Last year, the same thing happened to the Saints. After our eight-game winning streak, we kind of wandered into the playoffs over the last five weeks. We were good, but deficient. We won at home, then lost on the road in the playoffs. This team is remarkably similar offensively to last year’s team. Same issues, similar results (except for more wins). We’ve accomplished more early, which is excellent. And playing at home in front of the dome crowd would be to our benefit.

I don’t believe Sean Payton has emptied the trick bag either. I don’t mean in terms of trick plays, I just mean we have more offense to explore. And we’ll need it come playoff time.

Despite our shortcomings, we are 12-2 and headed to the playoffs. We are still a force to be reckoned with. And now that force extends beyond our normal potent offense. We have the number 11 squad in total defense/yards per game, and still boast the number one rushing defense.

Currently, this is a one game season. We need to beat Pittsburgh this week. Sure, it would be nice to set a new franchise record for single season wins, but I’d rather see a healthy offensive line going into the divisional round. One week at a time.