Whose fault was it? Everyone near the Saints is the best answer

I left that life more than five years ago, the world of journalism, the world of sports journalism. Rarely have I stuck a toe back in those waters. But since this is the last time this year I look at anything from that world (I've certainly remained a fan), I thought I must offer a few thoughts, opinions, facts.

The New Orleans Saints' season for all intents came to a halt yesterday. There is one game left, but they have nothing to play for, having been eliminated from playoff contention by losing to hated rival Atlanta.

This season began with a lost to the Falcons and, again, for all intents ended with a loss to them. The Saints haven't been swept by the Falcons since 2005, the Katrina season that brought on Sean Payton and Drew Brees.

Reading social media after Sunday's home loss, the fifth such in a row for the Saints, people want to get rid of Payton and Brees. Those thoughts are ridiculous, though clearly Brees didn't play as consistently well this season as in season's past. However, if one were to replace him, one must have an idea about who would do such a thing and there is no one out there with his ability (even at age 36. As far as Payton is concerned, the very idea is laughable and shows how fandom is a short-sighted being.

Some say they knew something was wrong with this team from the beginning. No, they didn't.
Some say the younger players are the problem, and there are not enough leaders. Maybe and maybe again, but outside of the locker room, no one knows those answers.
Some say the problem is Brees' and Jimmy Graham's large contracts. Those ideas are without merit, as well. It is conceivable that both will restructure their contracts this offseason as neither want to go through this kind of a season if they can help it.
Some say training came held in a resort was the problem. If that were the case, every team that had a hard camp would win their division. They don't.
Some say it was Rob Ryan (although one upset Facebook person said the Saints should fire Rex, and the Jets get to do that as that's who he works for).
And some in the media say this was the most talented team in the history of the Saints, and that talent is evident.

Let's address it all this way: The media was wrong. Seriously wrong. When the media, which included New Orleans Saints legend Archie Manning who said it was the most talented Saints team, says with certainty that such and such is talented, then when things go South and the losses pile up, the media will never fall on the sword by saying something as simple as "we were wrong." Nah. Won't happen.

But I suggest this: the Saints weren't that talented. Tell me this: whose wide receivers would you rather have, Atlanta or New Orleans? Whose running backs? (Here's the hurtful one) Whose quarterback, especially considering the ages of the two QBS?

Ask yourself this: Was this year the defensive aberration or was last year? And if the Saints front office is so good at drafting players, why then was the return game so terrible until they picked up a player from a practice squad?

The best player on the team, frankly, is its punter. That never is a good thing I would think.

The biggest problem is the contract situation, but the Saints have done such incredible work the past three years in getting under the cap while getting players they wanted, I suspect they will do it again. Nah, the bigger problem is the players they get. I suspect Jarius Byrd will come back and play much better than he did before his injury. I suspect Rafael Bush will be a contributor next year. But I further suspect that their linebackers are not capable in pass coverage, and I think the defensive line never contributed in the way the media said it should. That's as much a product of being over-rated as it is anything else. They simply weren't that good. Should they have been? That's highly debatable. It might be they are what we saw them being on Sunday.

What to do?

All good things come to an end. It might be the time to blow this up and start over, as has my professional baseball team, the Atlanta Braves. But it is much, much harder to do in baseball because of guaranteed contracts.

The Saints will almost surely lose running back Mark Ingram, will probably need to redo the contracts of its guards who are among the highest paid in the league but who never played that way this season, and must look at longtime wide receiver Marcus Colston. They might say goodbye to him, seeing that as one position that they can use a cheaper alternative.

Big decisions are looming. None of those decisions are at coach or quarterback, though. Brees won't play 10 more seasons as he very infamously said in preseason, but he's not ready to be thrown on the garbage dump either. There was plenty wrong with the Saints this season, and Brees was a contributor. But there are plenty of positions that were much worse. It's just that the last meaningful play of the season was another Brees mistake, and that's how he and the season will be remembered.

I suspect Ryan will be gone. I suspect major revamping will be done to the team. I suspect one or two more years of Brees-Payton will exist. And I suspect that we will fondly remember the most productive seasons in Saints history when that pairing leaves.

It's just not that time yet.