Dennis Allen, the coach of the Saints, anticipates keeping his position after New Orleans improved by two wins, concluded with a winning record, and narrowly missed the playoffs.

But after his second season taking over for Sean Payton ended up being New Orleans’ third consecutive season without making the playoffs, he is not looking for kudos.

“I was pleased with the manner our soldiers persisted in their combat. Although Allen expressed pride in the way the team concluded the season on Monday, he also stated, “It’s not good enough when you look at where we’ve been the last three years — 9-8, 7-10, and 9-8.

Allen went on, “Everyone in the building is partially responsible for that.” Thus, we must consider what has to be changed.

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The Saints served as an exemplar of incoherence.

Following a 2-0 start, they faltered and lost seven of their next ten games. During that run, the team’s high-profile offseason signing, quarterback Derek Carr, was heckled and abused. However, the Saints bounced back, winning four of their next five games, including Sunday’s 48-17 triumph over Atlanta, a bitter foe.

The Saints’ final record was identical to that of Green Bay and Tampa Bay, two postseason clubs. The Packers secured the final NFC wild-card spot, while the Buccaneers were victorious in the NFC South due to tiebreakers.

Six of the Saints’ losses this season have been by eight points or less, and only one has been by more than nine.

In many of the defeats, “it comes down to basically one play,” according to seasoned defensive end Cameron Jordan. “We need to figure out how to win that one play.”

Jordan stated that players “had to be the reason we’re winning” and that such defeats are more the result of players’ performance at pivotal moments than of coaching.

tense conclusion The Saints, according to Foster Moreau, are “well-coached,” “enough talented,” and “plenty disciplined,” but they lack a “winning culture,” which they must begin fostering this offseason.

Moreau declared, “We ought to win a lot more games.” “Yet a miscalculation or a squandered chance, a misplay here or there, those things win out and you’re 9–8, which is smack-dab average.”

CARR’S END

As his rapport with rookie receivers Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and A.T. Perry developed, Carr completed 74% of his throws and threw for 14 touchdowns with just two interceptions during New Orleans’ final five games.

The Saints signed the former Raiders quarterback to a four-year, $150 million contract with the intention of getting him to produce results similar to that.

The man who worked so hard to get Carr, Allen, stated he didn’t think it was fair for fans and commentators to criticize his quarterback in the middle of the season.

Allen stated, “He’s one component of the eleven guys that are out there on the field.” “Derek Carr had a strong season this year, and I felt he played some of his finest football over the stretch run, when we needed it to give ourselves a shot.” Therefore, I’m thrilled that Derek will start at quarterback for us.

PERSONAL HARM ISSUES

The impressive final stretch for New Orleans occurred when a number of important players were either injured or limited.

Both starting receiver Michael Thomas (knee) and cornerback Marshon Lattimore (ankle) missed the final seven games.

Running back Alvin Kamara (ankle) missed the entire season-ending victory over Atlanta as well as the second half of New Orleans’ 23-13 triumph at Tampa Bay.

Ryan Ramczyk (knee) is a right lineman who has missed the last four games. Jordan ended with two sacks, his fewest since his rookie season in 2011, despite being sidelined for the final seven games due to ankle and neck issues.

Differential point

With 23.6 points per game, the Saints were eighth in the NFL. They were sixth with 19.2 points allowed per game.

New Orleans’ point differential was plus-75. That placed eighth in the NFL, outperforming seven playoff teams and outperforming Jacksonville, the next-best non-playoff team, by a wide margin (plus-6).

Despite having a strong ranking in that category, Allen remarked that the team’s eight-game losing streak and lack of postseason participation “would tell me that there’s ability there, but it was as consistent as it needed to be.”