Highlights and lowlights from the 2023 Saints season

A look back at New Orleans’ 2023 season.

The New Orleans Saints won four of their final five games as the regular season came to an end. The Saints missed the playoffs for the third straight year in a season when New Orleans was picked to win the NFC South despite having the easiest schedule in the league.

Up: Emerging Artistry

The lack of young talent for the Saints is one of their main weaknesses heading into the 2023–2024 season. Older veterans who are about to retire make up a large portion of their top skills. The young players who will be the team’s future leaders made a big step up in the 2023 season.

To begin the season, the Saints signed defensive end Carl Granderson, a former undrafted free agent, to an agreement right away. Granderson would lead the squad in sacks at the conclusion of the season. Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, two second-year wide receivers, improved on their rookie campaigns and had good seasons overall. Paulson Adebo, a third-year cornerback, had a spectacular season and appears ready to take over as the Saints’ starting CB1 if necessary.

Early in the season, there wasn’t much action for the Saints 2023 NFL draft class. Bryan Bresee, a first-round choice, made an early impression and showed promise. Bresee concluded the season with 4.5 sacks despite sometimes facing double teams. a pick in the second round Isaiah Foskey struggled with injuries throughout his debut season, seeing little action on the field and spending most of his eligible weeks as a healthy scratch. Despite battling injuries all season, running back Kendre Miller had a lot of promise in the games he played in. When Miller ran for 73 yards at an average of 5.6 yards per carry in the season’s final game, he demonstrated his lightning-fast speed and elite balance. It was wide receiver A.T. Perry’s opportunity.

The biggest steal of the draft for New Orleans looks to be Safety Jordan Howden who the Saints drafted in the 5th round. Howden took over for Marcus Maye during Week three when it was announced Maye would be suspended. Howden played at a high level as a first-time starter and looks to be the future for the Saints at safety.

Up: Combat

Many times, throughout the season the Saints felt like they were out of it. Many times, it felt like the team was too far away from where they needed to be, and it was too late to fix. Many games felt the Saints lost in the first half and they should just pull starters to protect health. Through all the games that felt like the team already lost, they fought back. Often falling short, but fought back nonetheless.

The Saints made significant progress in their major areas of weakness over the season, winning four of their final five games. The team’s greatest victory occurred in the season’s penultimate game, while playoff contention was still a possibility. The players battled for the meager possibility of moving on to the following round. They battled through it all to finish above, even in the face of hostility throughout the season and constant doubts about the team’s commitment to the game and locker room health.500 and a postseason opportunity.

Jordan Cameron is down.

seasoned defensive end After his poorest professional season since his rookie year, Cameron Jordan is back. Jordan only had two quarterback sacks. Before the season began to take shape, the 13-year veteran inked a contract extension with the Saints; he will conclude his career in New Orleans. Jordan has significantly declined since his heyday and will reach 35 before the 2024 season begins.

The Saints’ inability to apply pressure or sacks to quarterbacks throughout the 2023 season was one of their main criticisms. The Saints secondary performed admirably all game long, but the pass rushers frequently let up in their attempts to bring down the quarterback, which resulted to plays being broken.

Down: Staff Coaches

After the offensive problems that surfaced during the 2022 season, a lot of people outside the building were taken aback when the Saints decided to stick with offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael. The major problems the offensive had in 2023 were related to these similar problems. Play calling by Carmichael has been incredibly dull and formulaic. For most of the season, the Saints were last in both play-action and motion before the snap. Not until the Saints’ last games were these ideas given more prominence.

Dennis Allen, the head coach, had the worst conceivable way to close the season. Despite having the easiest schedule in the league and finishing with a 9-8 record, the Saints were unable to qualify for the postseason. The New Orleans Saints defeated the Atlanta Falcons 48–17 in the season’s last game, but Allen’s press conference following the game overshadowed the decisive victory.

With one minute left in the fourth quarter and the team leading 41-17, backup quarterback Jameis Winston came up to quarterback Allen with a question. The offensive team, led by quarterback Winston, desired to run one more play to score the season’s first touchdown to running back s. The offense would audible from the victory configuration and run a play even though Allen turned down the player’s request, which led to Williams’ touchdown. Allen would apologize to the Falcons and their former head coach Arthur Smith at the news conference following the game. It’s acceptable; as head coach, you should always choose the noble path. Allen’s subsequent remarks were what turned the matter complicated. Allen freely acknowledged that the players had gone against his instructions and nevertheless ran the play. Following.

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