Officially time for Saints to take long look in the mirror as a franchise

If this wasn't a wake-up call from top to bottom for the New Orleans Saints, then it should have been. It's time for the Saints to figure out their direction.

There really isn't any way to sugarcoat it, that was ugly, with a capital U. In a rivalry that's ramped up the intensity more and more with each passing year (both on the field and on social media), the New Orleans Saints were embarrassed against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It's as simple as that. As a result, the Saints need to really take a step back and figure out the direction they want to go as a franchise. The sky isn't falling, nor is it time to fold the season, however something needs to be adjusted and changed.

While the defense of the Saints' streak of consecutive games without surrendering 20 points came to an end in the 26-9 drubbing, they were far from the problem. We have to look at the offense. The defense has been getting left out to dry, and while it's also true that Alvin Kamara just got back and Derek Carr and the offensive line are banged up, this is emblematic of a larger issue.

The Saints have never been a team to rebuild. They prefer to patch things up with band-aids and retool. That's been the approach ever since Drew Brees retired, and even before that since he himself was a free agent signing (and probably the greatest ever). The Saints haven't used as first-round pick on a quarterback since they drafted a kid named Manning, as in Archie Manning, way back in 1971. With each quarterback class looking like it'll be stronger and stronger, this is something to think about.

As for the coaching, Dennis Allen has done a pretty good job all things considered. This isn't a knock on him. It is however, a knock on the Saints willingness to hang on to the Sean Payton era by keeping some of that staff around. As an aside, just look how the Denver Broncos are faring.

Again, this isn't a knock on Carr or Allen. It's just a harsh truth that maybe this team should look to go younger in the most important positions and jobs. Sometimes you need a kick in the behind to re-evaluate things, and for the New Orleans Saints, this certainly should have been it.