Rod Walker: Dear Santa, here’s this year’s Christmas wish list from sports fans in New Orleans
“You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout …” no matter how often the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans and Tulane Green Wave make you want to.
Why?
Because Santa Claus is coming to town, which means it’s time for my annual Christmas wish list on behalf of New Orleans sports fans.
Dear Santa,
I’ll be honest with you.
This letter is probably a little longer than it needs to be. For many Saints fans — at least the ones on social media — all they want for Christmas is a new coach and quarterback.
Before I dive into this year’s list, let’s take a look back at the wish list from last year just to see if this whole letter writing thing actually works.
This time a year ago, I asked that you deliver a coaching job to Sean Payton so the Saints could get a draft pick or two. You came through and Payton landed a job in Denver.
I asked you to give Tulane a victory in the Cotton Bowl over college football aristocrat Southern Cal. Oh, man, did you come through on that one, giving Tulane the biggest and most thrilling moment in the school’s football history. Green Wave 46, Trojans 45.
And since it was clear this time a year ago that Dennis Allen wasn’t confident in Jameis Winston to lead the team at quarterback, I asked you to send the Saints a new one. You sent Derek Carr, a gift that so far hasn’t quite lived up to the expectations that come with such a lofty contract. Many of the Saints fans I’m writing on behalf of have asked about your return policy, but we all know Santa doesn’t have one.
So the first thing on this year’s wish list is that Carr’s 2024 season is better than the up-and-down one he’s had in 2023. The blame isn’t all on him, though. The offensive line has struggled. The run game has been subpar. The pass rush has been largely ineffective. So has stopping the run. Inevitably, all of that falls on coaching.
So if it’s cold when you’re delivering gifts in Metairie, feel free to take a seat in Dennis Allen or Pete Carmichael’s office. Their seats are probably a little hotter than they were last year.
But 2023 isn’t over, so let’s not close the book on it just yet. Although many fans already have.
There are still two games left, and maybe more. The Saints’ chances of earning a wild-card spot all but vanished Thursday night in Inglewood, California, when they lost to the Los Angeles Rams and fell to 7-8.
The Saints can still win the NFC South, as absurd as it may sound. It’s you who needs to assist them, though. The Saints trail the Tampa Bay Buccaneers by one game in the division standings, while the Bucs have the advantage in the tiebreaker. Therefore, the Saints need someone else to defeat them in addition to having to defeat Tampa Bay on New Year’s Eve.
When Tampa Bay faces Jacksonville on Sunday, there’s the best likelihood of that happening. It would require something greater than any Christmas miracle ever accomplished if it doesn’t happen on Sunday. In the final regular-season game, the Saints would need to defeat the Bucs via the Carolina Panthers.
Here are a few more for the Saints’ wish list.
• A quality win for Allen. He doesn’t really have any. The Saints’ only win over a team that currently has a winning record is the victory against the Indianapolis Colts (8-6). The Colts were 3-5 after that game.
• Some sticky notes around Carmichael’s office to remind him that Jimmy Graham and Taysom Hill are on the team. They haven’t been used nearly enough.
While you’re out there on Airline Drive, don’t forget to stop by the Pelicans’ facility.
The song says you know when people have been bad or good. Well, the Pelicans have been a little bit of both. They were good enough to reach the semifinals of the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament. And bad enough to stink it up once they got to Vegas to play the Lakers.
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