The Minnesota Vikings beat the Saints for the second time in the last three years and ended the Saints chance at a Super Bowl run once again. The Saints were the favorite going into the game with home field advantage but the Vikings defense knew how to play defense against the Saints offense. They were not about to let the Saints run loose like so many other teams did during the regular season and were ready to rumble.
The Saints are not accustomed to facing tight defenses because there are so many poorly coached teams in the NFL, but you will never hear the New Orleans sports writers or TV sports hosts say that and be objective in their reporting. All fans read about or heard about the last two weeks were Brees' personal records like that was enough to win.
The Saints won 13 games during the regular season but beat only 4 teams with a winning record. Sports writers lack objectivity in their evaluation of the Saints when they brag about Payton and Brees offensive genius. The Vikings demonstrated with their defensive play that Payton and Brees were no more than average on Sunday.
Three years in a row the Saints have been eliminated from the playoffs and have only four winning seasons in the last eight years. So why should expectations be so high every year about going to the Super Bowl? Cliches and hype in reporting instead of an objective evaluation are one of the main reasons this writer believes.
And this writer still believes Payton should put down the cheat sheet and let his offensive coordinator call the plays so Payton can pay attention to what is taking place on the field. Forget about all the sports talk about his offensive genius, it does not exist. The most successful coaches in the NFL and college football never called the plays. They simply make their offensive intentions known so they can track and pay attention what is taking place on the field.
Apple polishing stories by sports writers concerning Brees and Payton is just that and have no objectivity to properly evaluate the Saints. In fact they never saw or understood how "bountygate" damaged the team. It is now time to ask the question: HAS PAYTON AND BREES SEEN THEIR BEST YEARS IN A SAINTS UNIFORM? History will be the judge.
This commentary written by Joe Lorio
