The New Orleans Saints are a good football team. Full stop.
Just wanted to get that out of the way early so there is no question moving forward. But what it takes in the year 2021 to be a happy Saints fan, in my humble opinion, is patience and a short memory.
This is a good football team, but it is not the team the black and gold faithful have been cheering for and depending upon for many years. It just isn’t. It’s just different. But it’s important to remember: Different doesn’t always mean bad.
The hard part, as fans, is trying to start fresh with the 2021 roster with our new thoughts and opinions about this team, and not let the dominant group of the last several years tint the windows. The 2021 team is a work in progress, and a 2-2 start is probably about right — or at least close — to what should’ve been expected. This is a banged-up group without several of its best players on the field. There are several new faces on both sides of the ball. Patience is the right approach.
However, we also feel in our hearts the Saints should be 3-1. They should have spent the early part of last week celebrating a victory over the Giants. That’s where the short memory comes into play. Based on history alone, the Saints of recent years would not have driven into the opponent’s territory seven straight times to begin a game and have the result still be in question. We’d be doing the Wobble under the Claiborne overpass.
The Saints teams of recent years would have found a way on defense to make the stops needed to end the Giants’ rally, and if not, the offense would have come in and driven down for a convincing or clinching score. That’s not what I believe. That’s what happened.
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But we have to let that go and focus on the present. One that began in September of 2021. Easier said than done, right? All of the numbers, records and comebacks of yesteryear were not this team. Even bringing them into the conversation raises our expectations because that’s what we know. It’s a classic comparison of apples and oranges, or whatever fruit makes the most sense to you.
Right now, we should have high expectations, because this is a talented football team that can play with anyone. Should we expect this team is to reel off seven or eight wins in a row? No, I don’t think so.
I think the orange (as compared to apple) Saints team is more likely to be one that regularly takes two steps forward and one back. The end goal doesn’t change, though. It’s just how we get there that could look different.
I’m not saying to let the past go. Those memories are a part of us and our history. We just can’t bring them with us into the game. Have we forgotten the last four gut wrenching offseasons and how we got there? We can let this different team grow throughout the long season before we find out how the story ends.
I know asking Saints fans to have patience AND a short memory is like asking us to have King Cake only on odd calendar days. That’s not going to happen, but it might be best for our long-term psyche.
Eat all the King Cake you want.
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