The New Orleans Saints have two division games left, but a road to the playoffs that requires a lot of help to pan out.
No one in the organization is happy about it, as Mickey Loomis explained on WWL this week, but all the team can do is go to battle with Tampa this weekend and see where the chips fall.
Listen to the full, exclusive interview with Saints GM Mickey Loomis in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
"It starts with this week and it starts with Tampa. Look, I don’t like that they won two divisions in a row and then on the verge of another one. They’ve got a chance to do that," Loomis told Mike Hoss and Bobby Hebert. "I don’t like it. None of us like it here. None of us, and certainly none of our fans like it, but, you know, we’ve got a chance to do something about it this weekend, so we’ll see what happens.”
The Bucs at 8-7 have won four straight games and now own control of the NFC South, with the Falcons looking up at 7-8 and on the wrong side of tiebreaker scenarios. A Saints win in Week 17 would tie the teams on the standings line, but the Saints would need to beat the Falcons in Week 18 and hope that the 2-13 Panthers can beat Tampa in their regular season finale.
The Saints also have a chance at the wild card, but will also need considerable help with one of the Seahawks or Rams finishing 0-2, and each of the Packers and Vikings to finish 1-1 or worse.
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On the other side, the Bucs have an opportunity to clinch their third consecutive NFC South title with a win behind QB Baker Mayfield who has played well above expectations on a 1-year deal this season.
"You look at the opponents and oftentimes it’s when you play somebody as opposed to who you play, and look, [Tampa is] playing well right now so we’re going to have to bring our best game," Loomis said. "They’ve got a lot on the line. So do we, so it should be a playoffs-type game for both of us and that’s the atmosphere that we expect.”
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MORE FROM MICKEY LOOMIS
On Carl Granderson/development of young players
“There are some bright spots. It’s hard to shine a light on those bright spots after a game like Thursday night, but, you know, Carl had 8 tackles in the game. He had a sack. He’s played hard. He’s developed and grown, I think, a lot this year. I think the last half of last season and this season he’s made some really good strides and he needs to continue to do that," Loomis said. "He hasn’t arrived yet, and yet there’s some good things. I think we’ve got a number of young players that I’m excited about their future. You mentioned one, Paulson Adebo, and look, Alontae Taylor is developing and he’s had some bumps along the way, but he’s also done some good things. You know, some of the younger players that we have, Erik McCoy, I think, has had a good season.
"But those things get lost, and rightfully so, because this is a team sport and it’s the best team that wins. It’s not the best roster, and so even though you have individuals that may be playing well, it’s really the combination of the group that makes for a successful season, and so we’ve got to focus on just being a better team as opposed to being better individuals.”
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Would you consider drafting a QB this offseason?
“You’re asking me to speculate about the future and we’re in the middle of the season," Loomis said. I’m not gonna do that. That’s a silly what-if exercise, so I’m not even going to go down that path.”
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On Foster Moreau winning the Ed Block Courage award
“It doesn’t get enough publicity, because look, it’s very meaningful. You know this sport is about overcoming adversity, all kinds of adversity, Bobby, it’s a tough man’s sport. It just is," Loomis said. "And there’s so many stories every year. There’s so many guys that overcome adversity and there could be five or six or seven guys each year that deserve the award, and so when you get selected above all those others, that’s meaningful and in Foster’s case, man, he overcame something that boy, could just tear you up mentally. You know, what a surprise to discover that you’ve got Hodgkins Lymphoma. It’s the last thing on earth that he would’ve expected coming here getting a physical. He comes here. He’s excited about coming back to his hometown and having an opportunity to get a physical and maybe sign a contract and boy, you get that news, and look, I sat with him when he got it, and that was a tough, tough deal, and for him to overcome that mentally, overcome it physically and play this season is just really remarkable and he deserves that award, absolutely deserves it. And we’ve got a number of other guys that overcame adversity and would be deserving recipients as well, but I’m glad you mentioned that, Bobby, that was — it’s a great award to win.”