The Lions roared in the Dome on Monday night, got down to business quickly and sent the Saints down with their ninth loss of the season. The Saints will now end the regular season with a losing record, their second year in a row and 3rd. in the last 4 years. It was another defeat at home to an opponent that entered the game with a worse won-loss record than the Saints.
Payton, some team players and some New Orleans sports writers were beginning to talk positive about the Saints defense under Allen but Detroit proved one should not jump to conclusions until a record is established. The Lions scored 5 touchdowns even though they ran 20 less plays than the Saints.
The scars of "bounty gate" are still noticeable and the talk of playing for "pride" has become a fairy tale. No Saint coach or player are earning their salary. Brees continues to break records while Tom Brady and other quarter backs continue to do more for their team than Brees does for his team. Payton has lost control of his team and whats expected from a head coach. The latest example happened at the end of the second quarter on Monday night's game when the Saints completely lost it and came away with 0 points after having first and goal from the Lions one yard line
Continuity, togetherness, the team concept, the swagger, confidence, professionalism, all that ended with "bounty gate" season of 2012 as explained here in "PolitiDose" at the time. Those qualities are still lost and will not return to the Saints under Sean Payton's leadership.
Management needs to make a change at the end of the season.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
