This bye week for the New Orleans Saints is the most important one in the current era of the franchise.
At a time when this team entered the season with so much hope and promise, built on how last season ended, the trust of the fan base is beginning to wane.
The team showed flashes of a promising future: a young head coach with previous success as an offensive coordinator, a rookie quarterback who appeared to be a budding superstar, two solid young offensive tackles who looked to be the bookends of what
should have been a competent offensive line, and a front office that finally seemed to be turning the page and getting its act together.
After the first half of the season, all of that appears to have been misjudged.
Now, this team sits with only two wins, the offense that seems lost, and two recent draft classes that are beginning to look like major whiffs. The head coach can’t seem to put together an offensive game plan that allows the team to start games effectively and sustain success for an entire contest.
So, this bye week means a lot.
As things currently stand, the Saints are still on the cusp of competing for a very weak division. However, if they come out of this bye week with the same offensive issues, an inability to run the football, a team that has managed to score no more than six total first-quarter points all season, and consistent problems with blocking up front, then the statement made by the owner two weeks ago, which still looms over this team like a cloud, will only ring hollow in the ears of the Who Dat Nation faithful.
If the Saints come out of this bye week without making changes to the coaching staff, they will absolutely have to demonstrate meaningful changes on the field.
And if they don’t, trust will be broken, and apathy will begin to set in.
The last thing any professional sports franchise should want is for its fan base to become apathetic toward the team.
At least frustration stems from passion, and that passion can drive change and progress. Apathy, on the other hand, only leads to the team being ignored and fans finding better ways to spend their time and, most importantly, their money.
This upcoming week will be incredibly important, and the results of the work, sacrifice, and development of this roster and coaching staff will be evident from the opening moments of the next game.
Hope is gone. Faith is low. Trust is slipping away.
The Saints must approach this bye week with a sense of urgency and make the necessary changes to restore confidence in this team and organization.
