Transcription

• Speaker #0

  who that to the who that nation welcome to the who that say podcast here on the kb radio network this is the podcast for your new orleans saints the new orleans saints have wrapped up the 2025 26 nfl football season with a record of 6 and 11 on the year and you know that isn't a doom and gloom to be a hundred percent honest with you. judging by how this season started, we knew that this season was going to be a rough season. We knew that this was a rebuild season. We got a new head coach, a new quarterback, new pieces on offense, new pieces on defense, a lot going up against the new Orleans saints. So a lot of prediction, the early season or preseason predictions had the saints winning three. and four at best, you know, and I didn't see that at the time. I thought the Saints would be contenders at the early onslaught of the season, you know, before it really kicked off. I thought the Saints would probably squeak out eight, possibly nine wins this year, which in hindsight would have warned you to division. Who would have thought that? But it wasn't to be. The Saints did. outperform what a lot of people predicted the new orleans saints to be this season uh with winning six games and you can make an argument for the 11 games that they lost this year uh i would say six of them offhand saints could have won the saints could have a 12 and what 12 and 5 record if if the ball would have bounced their way but That's not how football works. You know, you only get close. Close calls only count in horseshoes and hand grenades. So you can't count it there. But the record is what the record is. And you are what your record says you are. The Saints are 6-11. But I will say this before we go any further. I cannot be more happy to be wrong. I was 100% wrong on so much, you know, especially towards the middle point of the season where I just gave up. I didn't recap any games. I was frustrated. Even when the Saints went on their win streak, the Saints went on a four-game win streak towards the end of the season. Unfortunately, came up short in the final game against the Atlanta Falcons. But the Saints looked... really good in the month of December, went undefeated in the month of December, and I still wouldn't get behind his microphone. It was just the same old, same old to me, and I didn't want to jump out there and like, oh man, the Saints turned the corner. I really didn't want to go through all that, but the Saints did, and I can honestly say a lot of boxes were checked as we come to the end of this season that i didn't expect to get checked you know especially looking at the product that we received within the first five six seven games of this season where i was like oh my god this is a dumpster fire of an organization i was calling for everybody's head i was calling for uh kellen moore's head i was calling for brandon staley's head i was calling for Mickey Luma's head. And it pains me. And look, this is the biggest one. This is the biggest one. It pains me to admit that Mickey Loomis did a good job this season. He really did a good job. I know 6 and 11, you look at that like, how can you say that, Kevin? Well, the reason is he picked the right coach. Kellen Moore. He showed that he's a real good coach. He showed that he can be a real good coach in this league and for this team. And the players respond to him. The players play hard for him. And where I didn't see evidence of that early on. That's why that would kind of sway my decision to feel the way I feel, at least felt. early on in the season i'm like man nobody wants to play this dude this dude doesn't have a clue he he can't call plays his clock management is bad we're we're we're going into halftime with all three timeouts and all this i mean just dumb stuff third and one you're in shotgun and all this i'm just so frustrated with this team but something happened towards the midway point of the season where something clicked Something clicked in Kellen Moore. Something clicked in this defense. And well, to be honest, the defense been playing solid all year under the radar. But something clicked with the players on this team and they started playing. And I mean playing hard for Kellen Moore. And that's all you can ask for. I was so impressed. During the last six games of this year or five, five games of this season where I looked at this team as one of the best teams in the league. They definitely were the hottest team in the lead up until the final game. But but you can make excuses. But in football, we don't make excuses. But Saints ran out a whole practice squad in their final game against Atlanta. They were supposed to lose that game. But even with that, they only lost by two points against an Atlanta team that put foot to behind to the L.A. Rams just a few days earlier. So how can you not be impressed? And the boxes that got checked, did we find our franchise quarterback of the future? Well, that's the big question. Did we find the guy? Spencer Rattler began the first half of this season. He was solid the first six games, and then the bottom fell out. He went all the way out, and I'm a big Spencer Rattler guy, but I'll be the first to admit it just fell apart, mainly against that. Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their first Tampa Bay game. He just looked horrible. And then it was all Spencer Rattler from there. I mean, Tyler Shuck from there. But we started off with Spencer Rattler. I never felt he was the guy, but I thought he gave us the best chance. Boy, was I proven wrong. As Tyler Shuck came in, Tyler Shuck looked a little shaky early on. You know, like I always felt. it was going to be a process. It was going to take time. He had to learn. And finally, when it clicked, it clicked. And Tyler Shuck looked like the best quarterback in the NFC South. You can make an argument, one of the better quarterbacks in the league, period. Tyler Shuck looks like the guy. Is he the guy? That remains to be seen. He has to actually go out there and do something as far as winning the division and going to the playoffs and whatnot. But as far as leading this team in the quarterback position, that box is checked. In my humble opinion, I was wrong about Tyler. Well, I'm not going to say I was wrong. I will. I'm pleasantly surprised and surprised on how quickly he developed at the position. I didn't know where the ball dropped on Tyler Shuck. That's why when people were mad at me for the beginning part of the season because I didn't want Tyler Shuck in the game to start, it wasn't because I had hatred towards Tyler Shuck. It was because I felt he wasn't ready. I saw him in the preseason. He didn't look all that good in the preseason. I didn't want him to start. but eventually i wanted to see him on the field because i want to see what we got we spent a high draft pick on him i wanted to see if he's the guy and he proved that he is truly the guy he i don't care about his age people are harping on his age oh he's 25 years old i don't care who cares how old he is 25 years old at 25 years old at the quarterback position that's relatively young you can still get 10 years out this guy you can still build a team around this guy if you can keep them upright and healthy that's going to be the key But as far as did we find our quarterback of the future? Check that box. Tyler Shuck is the man. And I think we need to hitch our wagon to him and ride off into the sunset with him. Is Kellen Moore our coach? That was another box that we needed checked or hope to get checked going into the season. Early on? No, he wasn't. He was not the coach. He was not the coach. He looked like the moment was too big, the lights were too bright, whatever cliche you want to use. He just did not look like he was ready for primetime. And I was ready to move on. I was ready to move on that early. I guess that's why I'm not a GM in this league, because you have to be patient. And that's something I need to work on, my patience. And my patience paid off. the little patience that I had paid off. I think Kellen Moore is a good coach. He can be an excellent coach in his league. He had some growing pains to do. He had to figure it out. Let's not forget, this is his first time being a head coach. I had to put it all in perspective. He's never been a head coach. He's never been responsible. responsible for a whole team he's been offensive coordinator in all his stops previously so he never had to worry about making sure to take a time out here or making sure uh the defense is right making sure that the special teams is right making sure everybody is on the same page that wasn't that was never his job now he's in control of the entire team and so there's a lot of pressure there there's uh the fact that you You coming out there with rookies. You going out there basically with a bunch of rookies, a whole new squad, a lot of players that aren't your guys. You know, he started off the season with Spencer Rattler. Spencer Rattler wasn't his guy. Spencer Rattler, he inherited. And so I give him kudos for this. I give him a lot of respect for giving Spencer Rattler an opportunity. I can't get mad at that. And it was the right move. Let's see what he has. Let's see if he can lead this team. He couldn't. He couldn't. Now, did Spencer Rattler cost us any games? Aside from that Tampa Bay game, he really didn't. But the problem was he couldn't win us one either. And that was the bugaboo. Spencer Rattler couldn't win it. But he also couldn't lose it. He made the decision hard to move on and plug in Tyler Shuck. But, you know, I give him respect for giving Spencer Rattler the opportunity to showcase himself. And I can't get mad at that. But that wasn't his guy. And you could tell by the way the plays were called, the way the offense was moving. He didn't feel comfortable with Spencer Rattler. You can sum it up by saying he didn't trust him fully. And once again, that's not his guy. That's understandable. But once Tyler Shuck got the nod, then we saw a different Kellen Moore. We saw a more comfortable play calling Kellen Moore. We saw Kellen Moore that was willing to take chances and willing. to have his quarterback lead the team, you know, call audibles, change plays and all this other stuff. And the team looked different. The team responded differently. So, I mean, it looked like a different team. The Saints in week three compared to the Saints in week 18, two completely different teams. Two completely different teams. is kellen moore our guy is he the uh uh head coach or of course he's the head coach or is he the right head coach for the new orleans saints i'm gonna say yeah that you can check that box he he is the right guy he's the right guy for this team for the team that we have here you know uh with these young players speaking of young players did the saints hit in the draft well normally you don't get an idea of drafted players or their contributions to the team week not week but year two year three when you really start to feel the impact of a player you drafted no matter what the round is. Saints, oddly enough, we found out this year. All of these, every player drafted, with the exception of Fadil Diggs, who I think was on IR. He got hurt early on, and I think he ended up on the practice squad, as well as Vernon Lloyd, the defensive tackle. I just had his name. But the defensive tackle who looked good in the preseason, but he got put on IR right before the season started. Outside of those two, everybody else played. And I will say everybody produced. Calvin Banks, that was our first pick in the first round. Calvin Banks Jr., the offensive tackle, he hit. I think we found something there at left tackle. Of course, Tyler Shuck. He hit Jonas Sanker. That was a good pickup. Jonas Sanker looked like he's going to be a very productive safety for the Saints. Danny Scruckman, linebacker, looks like every time I see him on the field, he's hitting something hard. So he looks like we got something there. Quincy Riley, cornerback, he looked like one of the he's probably the best corner on the team. Do you know? Devin Neal, before he went down with injury, he looked like he was making it easy to move on from Alvin Kamara. The tight end, he didn't play that much. Molaki, oh God, I can't think of his last name. But anyways, the Samoan, big guy, big tight end. He didn't play that much. He didn't play that much. But everything else, I mean, that's well over 80% of your draft picks played this season and produced and made a name for themselves, as Gambit would say. And so did this draft class hit? Right now, check. It's as a check. Everything worked out. And that leads me to Mickey Loomis. who not only did I want fired, I wanted him nailed to a stake. I ain't going to say a cross because I don't want to be sacrilegious, but tied to a stake in the middle of Jackson Square over a bonfire. I was ready to just roast marshmallows on him. I cannot, I could not, still can't, still can't, but I got to tip my hat to him. He made the right decisions. Those decisions panned out. Now, I will preface that by saying a lot of this fell in his lap. It's not like he wanted to make these decisions. A lot of this fell in his laps. Let's not forget, Biggie Loomis wanted Derek Carr back. He tried everything to bring Derek Carr back as the quarterback of the New Orleans Saints. It wasn't until Derek Carr said, forget it. It wasn't until he just quit that the Saints were forced to move on and choose a quarterback in Tyler Shuck in the second round, early in the second round. If it wasn't for that, we wouldn't have had Tyler Shuck. We would have been still rocking with Derek Carr if it was up to Mickey Loomis. And so that decision was made because he was. forced to make it but he made it and so i'll give him that and so uh good on him uh i still don't too much care for the dude uh but i gotta give credit where credit is due um the new orleans saints had the biggest up and down season probably in the history of this franchise i mean We saw the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows this season. We saw all stages of emotion when it came to the 2025 NFL football season, when it came to the New Orleans Saints. I mean, deep depression with some of these losses and just overwhelming hype in some of these victories. And even in some losses, you couldn't do anything but tip your hat. on how hard they played, namely the last game of the season against the Falcons. I think the Falcons game showed me more about this team than any win. that we had this season in that loss i saw tyler shuck go out there with a practice squad with players they called up on friday only to play on a sunday and almost win that game i mean they were a uh controversial in my humble opinion offensive pass interference call from winning that game. I don't think that was a pass interference on Dante Pettis on that touchdown that was called back. They scored that touchdown. It's a different game. But they had to settle for a field goal at that point. Think about it. That's four points taken off the board. We lost by two. So that lets you know how big that penalty was. And I don't think that penalty was a penalty in my humble opinion. But it is what it is. But they should. They showed me that they were willing to go out there and play hard and actually try to win. It wasn't Cancun on three. They were actually trying to win the game and gave it their all. The defense came to play. B. John Robinson did absolutely nothing in that game. Nothing. And this is a running back that averages up, what, 130 all-purpose yards a game? I think he had... 40 yards total in that game they completely shut the atlanta falcons down now thinking about it in in in its totality neither one of those teams saints or falcons had anything to gain from that game win or lose it didn't matter they both were sitting on the couch uh when the clock hit zero in the fourth quarter and so it didn't matter the only thing that was up for grabs was the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as far as their division. That goes to show you how trash the NFC South was this season. It came down to the two worst teams in the division in order to decide who won the division. I've never seen that in all my years, in 46 years on this planet. I've never seen. A division decided by two teams that weren't going to win the division, but whoever won that game was going to determine who won the game, who won the division. It is horrible. And none of these teams are above 500. Everybody was below 500. Now, if you want to really go in depth with it, the winner end up, but since the Saints lost, The winner ended up being Carolina. Carolina won a division for the first time since 2017, I believe. Kudos to them. All respect to them. Saints swept Carolina this season. The worst team in this division swept the division winner. Played them twice, beat them twice. Handedly, mind you. Saints split with Tampa Bay. It wasn't like this was a runaway division. Now, the Saints did get swept by Atlanta, which is the one thing about this season that hurts me the most. Out of all that took place this season, that's the one thing that bothers me. I hate Atlanta. There ain't no point putting it kindly. I can't stand Atlanta. And the fact that they were celebrating that win like they won the Super Bowl. Y'all are sitting on the couch right next to... us it's hilarious to me that they were celebrating that like they won the super bowl but that's neither here nor there uh all four teams had a three and three record and uh in the division so that lets me know that this this division is up for grabs and here's where the hope and here's where the final box that needs to be checked is there hope for the future Yes, you can check it. Look at the division. Look at the quarterbacks in this division. Let's round them out, people. You have Tyler Shuck. You have Baker Mayfield. You have Bryce Young. And I don't know what Atlanta. Is it Mike Pennis or is it Crew Cousins? I don't know. It doesn't matter. But you can put them both on there. Tyler Shuck has the most upside. Tyler Shuck is the best. He played the best. You know, in his limited time, he didn't play the whole season. In his limited time, in his limited play, outplayed all of these quarterbacks in his division. I think we have the better quarterback. I think we have the better youth movement on this team. I feel confident that the New Orleans Saints can go into next season and overtake this division. I feel that this division is ours for the taking. We had our worst season in a long time and struggled, rebuilt, trying to figure it out. And we were right there. We was only two games out of first place in this division. And that's what us trying to figure it out. Everybody else, it was standard. You know, everybody else was established. Tampa has won five years in a row, four or five in a row, They were established. Atlanta, they probably had the most talent, and they've been having the most talent on their team for years. They're established. Carolina, Carolina is Carolina. But, you know, they're pretty much established with quarterback and everything else. Saints are trying to figure it out, and they were right there with everybody else in this division. Saints showed at the end of this season that they are figuring it out. And if you go into next season, building on what you left off with this season, what's to tell me that the Saints can't take this division? Yes, am I being too hopeful? Do I have the black and gold glasses on? It's possible. But I got to look at the positive here. In the positive, everything looks great going forward. I mean, you going into this offseason, you actually are under the cap. I never thought I would say that. With all these years, man, the Saints are under the cap. We don't have to restructure 50 people in order to get under the cap. We don't have to move this and move that. Get rid of a player. Let this player go. No, Saints actually have money to spend. And I thank free agents would love to come here now they see that there's a quarterback here they see that there's a coach here that is uh looked up all all accounts show he's player friendly um everything looks great defensively they look great you can bring in pieces on the defense i mean stuff stuff is looking up man it is looking on the upside as far as that is concerned plus we do have some draft uh capital to use you we can get some um um players to come in and plug some of the holes that we have with saints do have a lot of problems still of course obviously we're six and eleven we have problems the number one priority going into this offseason hands down first order of business all finn sieve line we need to fix that old line I don't care what we got to do. I don't know if we can address it in a draft. I heard that this draft is Lyman heavy. I don't know. I haven't followed the college ranks as of yet. Normally, I do my research around this time of the year, but haven't gotten to it yet. But we'll see how that goes. Or can you address it in a draft? You know, I think that not to drive, sorry, and free agency. I think the I think free agency wise, there are not too many players that are going to be available as far as offensive linemen are concerned. But something needs to happen there. Something needs to happen there. Trades something that offensive line is pathetic. This is one of the worst offensive lines in football. But with that being said, the last few weeks. The offensive line actually been doing a pretty decent job. Now, the last few weeks, the Saints haven't been playing top 10 defenses either. So you've got to kind of look into all of that and put all of that in perspective before you make a statement like that. But I'm going to give credit where credit is due. A lot of the sacks that Tyler Shuck takes, I will say 70% of them is his fault. He holds onto the ball a little too long, but there's a lot of factors that go into that. There's the fact that is a lot of players that he's not accustomed throwing to and players that can't get open and a wide receivers. I would like to say, and stepping up in the pocket, that's something he has to work on too. But, you know, we need to address it, especially those at the guard position. We need to address that. Maybe even center, sadly to say. And Eric McCoy is the linchpin of that offensive line. Not having him on that offensive line obviously showed. It showed why he is who he is and why we need him. The reason I say we need to address center, Eric McCoy, this is the second year in a row. He's been hurt. He got injured, you know, and we haven't had his services. Is this a pattern now? You know, is this a need? Yes, it is a need. We need to address it. Now, his backup also went down, Will Clapp. He went down as well. So it was just bad, man. We were just in a bad position, and injuries as a whole, as a team, has been an issue throughout the entire year. I mean, I can't remember the last time the New Orleans Saints had been this, you know, ridden by. injuries like this you know by in all positions almost is is is crazy but at the same time a lot of those injuries open the door for these rookies to get playing time to where we got to see him and so it's kind of a catch-22 do you know and so it's still it's still you don't want to see that you don't want to see black men go out early you didn't want to see uh uh Of course, Eric McCoy go out. You didn't want to see Chase Young, who didn't start the first four weeks of the season, and Alvin Kamara and Kendra Miller, Devin Neal, you know, the whole running back room almost to a degree. So it was brutal injury-wise. But like I said, you got to see a lot of young talent as a result of that. So it is what it is. As far as the draft is concerned, the New Orleans Saints will be picking eighth this draft. We got the eighth pick overall, and that's a good spot. I heard a lot of rumblings and upset people. It just blows my mind in the Who Dat Nation sometimes. When the Saints went on their winning streak, they're messing up draft position and all this. What are you talking about? At that point, the Saints were going to be a top 10 pick regardless. It didn't matter. So why are you even tripping? We don't need to draft a quarterback. So I don't know. What are you trying to get at the number one, one, two, three pick in the draft? The only good thing that would result in that when you can trade down and get more picks, you can still do that with the eighth pick, you know? So it's not the end of the world. I'm cool with the eighth pick. I didn't want. a high pick i really didn't not because it wasn't nothing there i just had no faith in mickey loomis but i still don't even though even though the draft picks panned out this season i still don't have uh all the faith in the world that they're gonna do the right thing there because this was a this was a anomaly this this was a uh freak of nature man you know it normally if the saints swing and miss when it comes to first round draft picks for years this is the first time it actually done panned out so far we'll see going forward hopefully we keep on this trajectory but we'll see but the saints do have the number eight pick and now the big question is what do we do with it do we pick a running back it's time it is time for a running back i know we need to address our offensive line but i don't think at number eight is the right time yeah we drafted calvin banks jr pretty i i think he was the uh he was the ninth we picked night last year right yeah the ninth pick we used that but that he was he he is a he's a number nine player he he deserved to be picked that high like i said i don't know right now off the top of my head an offensive lineman i would use the number eight pick on But, hey, we'll see. We'll see going forward. By the time the combine and all that come around, we'll get the resume on all these guys. So we'll see. But I'm leaning towards a running back. Jeremiah Love, to be exact. If you don't know anything about Jeremiah Love, look him up. That dude is the real deal. The dude's the real deal. I don't know if he'll be there at 8, though. If he do fall to eight, eight, get him, get him, get him. Now, the problem with that is we still need to assure that offensive line, that offense, it doesn't matter who you get at running back. If you don't have an offensive line, it's a waste of time. Ask Barry Sanders, the Hall of Famer, one of the greatest running backs of all time. Detroit didn't have an offensive line to save their life. Every yard. barry sanders got he got it wasn't because of the offensive line and so you give him an offensive line barry sanders you probably add two three years to his career um but that's neither here nor there yes we do need to address uh our running back situation we thought it was kendre miller uh sadly is not him he looked good early on i thought this was the year he he actually showed that Okay, I see why we drafted him. And then, once again, got hurt. Injury prone. He can't last the season. Sorry, I hate it because I like him. I like how he runs. He's physical. He's fast. He does it all. But he can't stay healthy. Devin Neal, like I said, jury's still out on Devin Neal. But he got hurt. He got hurt. He was looking good before he got hurt, but he got hurt. Alvin Kamara, it pains me to say that it's time to move on from Alvin Kamara. I'm not saying just throw the baby out with the bathwater just yet, but let's be real, people. Alvin Kamara has never, I mean, since he's been a New Orleans Saint. has never given us in full season. Never. Is he phenomenal to watch? Yes. Is he a dog? Absolutely. Do I want to see him go? No. Do I want to see him retire as a Saint? Yes. But let's be real. Is he helping this team? At this point, at this juncture right now, is he helping this team? You don't have to go all the way back. Let's just say the first, the last two to three seasons. Has he helped this team? Now, has the team helped him? No. No, the team has not helped him either. Be fair, but you got to give to get, and you got to get to give. So it's not working. It's not working at this time. And that goes back to the Kellen Moore factor. Alvin Kamara is not a Kellen Moore guy. He inherited Kellen Moore. I mean, Alvin Kamara. Now, can he use him? Of course you can use Alvin Kamara. Alvin Kamara can do it all. He can run and catch. Yes, he can use him. I would argue that Kelly Moore didn't use him right early on when he was healthy. And to be fair, I don't think Alvin Kamara was 100% all season. He just didn't look right all year. But they didn't use him. They didn't use him. and he was a non-factor and he wasn't a non-factor. He's been a non-factor for the last couple of years. So I'm not saying next season we move on from him, but you can bring him back. But it's time to start that transition phase. You know, the same way with Demario Davis. Demario Davis is, I mean, a true leader on this team. The leader on this team, offensive and defensive, even though he's a linebacker. He's the... voice of this team he's getting old and he's played a phenomenal year this year and it's hard for me to say move on from demario davis but if they do i wouldn't be mad but if they bring him back i wouldn't be mad either you can add cam jordan into that category cam jordan had his best season this season in a while Cam Jordan look rejuvenized this season. Would I be mad if they move on from Cam Jordan? No. But if you bring Cam Jordan back, will I be upset? No. Because I see the value. I see that there's still gas in the tank for these guys. But it's time for the transitional phase. Time to bring in some guys. Because you move on from who you're replacing them with. Right now. If you move on from Cam Jordan, who right now on this roster, as the team sits right now, who is Cam Jordan's replacement? Nobody. Nobody. I couldn't tell you who. Oh, Carl Granderson? Yeah, Carl Granderson had a good year. But Carl Granderson started off hot, and he disappeared. He came on at the end of the season. So it was about a 6, 7, 8-game stretch where I didn't hear Carl Granderson's name. And so I'm not comfortable enough to say that Carl Granderson is ready to hold down the Cam Jordan spot. Aside from that, nobody. Nobody is ready to bump Cam Jordan out of that position. Same thing with Demario Davis. Demario Davis, he looked great throughout the year. He played decent. Has he lost a step? Yes. I mean, his father, he's 30. He's in his mid-30s. Yes, he's going to lose a step, you know? But who is there? Strutman? Strutman looks good. But is Strutman ready for that mic? position and so i'm not ready to hand over the keys to the ferrari just yet give it another year and that's all i'm saying and plus that leadership leadership factor you can't you can't exclude that either and so uh but those are the moves uh i think you need to kind of focus on now going back to the draft portion of this yeah i think you should move on with a running back there I know a lot of folks will say, oh, Rob Receiver, we need a playmaker. I don't think so. I think the Saints are good at Rob Receiver. Now, you look at the last game of this year, you're like, what receiver? We didn't have any receivers, and we didn't. Everybody was hurt. Chris Olave had that blood clot, and I'm praying for a speedy recovery from him with that, but Chris Olave came on. On the second half of the season, they had a career year. He had 100 catches over 1,000 yards receiving. And I can't remember. We're going to go over the stats in a few. But he had a phenomenal year overall. And I think he earned a contract. Now, with that being said, does he deserve number one money? I'm not ready to do that. I'm not ready to give him that. But I think he earned a contract, not a big money contract, but a contract nonetheless. He is a really, really good player. He fits this offense great. And I think the chemistry between him and Shuck is good. I think they got something going, man. So I'm encouraged by that. Bailey, Bailey, a tree that I was so confused by. early on this season once again going at mickey loomis head like a stupid move why did we trade for this guy and he's not even playing some some weeks he was even a healthy scratch and all i'm like why did we trade for this guy and then he arrived then he started playing and i'm like this dude the best receiver on the team he was better than chris olavi he he is phenomenal every but he catches Everything. He's a big target. Everything about him is great. I love Devon Bailey. I think that was an awesome pickup. You know, kudos to Mickey Loomis for that trade. Speaking of trades, another head scratcher. We traded for a player that was on IR. Is it Jonas Polk? But anyway, the wide receiver from New England, we traded for him for next year. You know, he's on IR still, but he is expected to play next year. He is a good wide receiver. I went and looked him up, you know, and really watched him. I saw a couple of games with him live, but I really went back and looked at some of his highlights and, you know. how he runs and his route running and all this here, that dude, that dude is good. Really good. That could be a potential steal. in that tree i am encouraged by that and so you have olive vele you have a poke let's not forget you still have trey parker who uh was on ir this season trey parker is a palmer i meant to say trey palmer is a excellent receiver as well so you have those pieces do you bring i think you still address it. I think you could still probably address that in free agency possibly or or late round pick you know get another receiver but i don't think you need to go high in the draft uh for a wide receiver i think we have what we what we need there um i was speaking on the defense earlier and that defensive line that's where i'm kind of i don't know i'm kind of iffy on at times they show flashes of greatness but then again they'll show not so greatness you know sometimes it looks like they don't need a blitz to get pressure they get pressure with the front floor and then their games where that offensive well yeah that offensive line opposing offensive line will bully them so yeah do we need a pass rusher yeah I think we do need another one Ed. like to add on to what I was talking about earlier to get that transition started with these older players, a la cam Jordan, you know, yeah, we do need another pass rusher, but I think that can be addressed late and, and through free agency. So we don't have to go high there either. So, with all that being said, speaking of next year, these are the saints opponents for the upcoming season. They're looking ahead. in 2026 and speaking of which i've been speaking for almost an hour and i forgot to say happy new years to everybody happy new years uh to all you out there in the who that nation i hope 26 uh brings you more joy than 25 can ever uh imagine but going into 26 um this is the saints opponents we don't have the schedule the schedule don't come out too much later but uh we do know who we will be facing next season start up with the home games we play more home games than away games this year you know because of the it's an 18 week schedule so you play 17 games of course it's not even so you play more either away games or home games saints of course we'll play atlanta tampa and carolina at home In addition, coming to the Dome, Green Bay, Minnesota, Cleveland Browns, Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona Cardinals again, and the Las Vegas Raiders will be coming to the Caesars Superdome in 2026. Away games. The Saints, of course, Atlanta, Tampa, and Carolina. But we will have to travel again to Chicago, Cincinnati. detroit baltimore and to the giants and so this isn't a favorable schedule this is not going to be it it looks like it's going to be a little easier at home away is going to be kind of tough but at home the saints schedule looks very promising if you can take care of home turf the saints looks good you know and probably squeak out Three or four victories on the road. The Saints could possibly be looking at a division title as well as playoff run. So we'll see as the year goes on. Going over the season, this previous season, like I said, man, the Saints could have been better. But honestly, it went the way it needed to go. everybody of course i know the fandom gets to you it got to me i'm like okay we can do this and we can tweak this we can make a run we can make the playoffs dude we didn't want this team in the playoffs let's be real it would have been embarrassing um so it went the way it was supposed to go but the saints started off this season against the arizona cardinals we lost that game 20 to 13 that's a game we probably could have won You know, we had opportunities in that game, but once again, I wasn't expecting to win that game because it was the first game, you know. I just weren't expecting much out of that game. But after watching it, and the Saints didn't play, you know, nearly as good as they played later on this season, but Saints still had opportunities to win, I was kind of hopeful going forward. Week two, they played the San Francisco 49ers. They lost that game, 26-21. Another game where they could have won that game. you know and san fran they look like us you know they just as hampered as us injury wise but for some strange reason kyle shanahan he he knows how to coach he knows how to get the true uh next man up mentality going over there in frisco and they they figured it out you know their playoff team almost almost snagged the first seed in the nfc with nobody you know they lost their best offensive players their best defensive players they they lost their quarterbacks they all throughout the season and they still managed to uh chug along um they were missing players in week two when they met up against the saints but the saints just couldn't get there we lost that game 26 to 21 uh week three is when it really got bad that's when we had to go to Seattle to play the Seahawks and we got decimated. 44 to 13 that's the game when the special teams just they didn't they didn't make the flight they stayed in the wall it was bad i think we had what two punt returns in that game or something like that a kickoff return and a punt return and it was it was just a mess that was a horrible horrible game uh but uh that was the true real loss this season it was only two that took place this year that i can honestly say saints got their butt kicked and that was the that was the first one uh we move on to the next week we had to go to buffalo go clear across the country and i knew that was going to be difficult uh within itself let alone playing the bills who are one of the best teams in the league but they had their struggles this season as well but we lost game 31-19, but the score really doesn't reflect. Saints had multiple opportunities to take control of that game, and we just couldn't cross the hump. I finally remembered that Spencer Rattler actually outperformed Josh Allen in that game. We just could not score. We could not score. We moved the ball up and down the field, but we couldn't punch it in, and that's how we lost that game. The next week, we came back home. We played the Detroit, not Detroit. What am I talking about? The New York Giants. We got our first victory of the year, 26-14 over the Giants. In that game, we won that game because the Giants didn't know how to hold on to the ball. I think they had five turnovers in that game, and the Saints ended up winning. But we'll take it how we can get it. But it was a very ugly game. But Spencer Rattler got his first win. Kellen Moore got his first win as the head coach. It was looking good. It looked like maybe we got some momentum going. Well, unfortunately, we didn't. The next week, we played the New England Patriots. The Patriots beat us 25-19. We played them tough. and the Patriots are a You know, as the season went on, they proved to be one of the best in the AFC. Saints could have won that game. They had multiple opportunities to win that game, but just couldn't score yet again. 25-19. The Bears. We had to travel to Chicago. Like, we're going to have to travel to Chicago next year again. I don't know what Goodell got against the Saints. uh we gotta go to go to chicago but maybe it's the dennis allen factor i don't know but uh our first meeting against dennis allen uh he got us it was 26 to 14 this well i take back what i said earlier about there were two defining victories there was actually or losses there were actually three and this was the second one it was a close game scoreboard wise but It really was. The Chicago Bears dominated. We couldn't do anything. The fact that we scored two touchdowns in that game was a miracle. It was dominant. In that game, I think that's the game that we lost Kendrick Miller for the year. Alan Kamara couldn't run. It was like he was in quicksand. Not because he was just running slow. They would not give him any quarter. We couldn't push the ball down the field. It was nothing. There was nothing we could do right in that game. Our first meeting the following week against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tampa Bay beat us 23-3. This was the final stand for Spencer Rattler. Spencer Rattler, I think, threw two picks in that game, and that was the scrawl that broke the camel's back. We just could not bounce back from that. And in that game, the reason this isn't one of the games that I say that the Saints decisively lost, even though we lost by 20 points, Tampa Bay did nothing in that game. They did absolutely nothing. It was the Saints turning the ball over. I think one was a pick six or something like that. I forgot how it went, but their points came off of Saints turnover. We don't turn over the ball. We probably had a chance to win the game because. Tampa Bay's offense was depleted. Baker Mayfield, he was injured. He wasn't 100% in that game. He could barely throw. And even if he could, his receivers were out. Their running game was hampered. They had nothing. But we couldn't do anything. It was probably one of the most embarrassing, but I wouldn't say it was one of those defining losses of the season. That came a week later. When we had to go to L.A. to take on the Rams, the Rams put foot in the Saints 34 to 10. And that score does not reflect what what the beating we received at the hand of the Los Angeles Rams. Very, very tough loss for the Saints. Then we had to travel to Carolina. We get our second win of the season, 17 to 7 against the Panthers. the Panthers were fresh off of beating Oh, who they played the week before. Was it Atlanta? No, no, no, no. I think it was Green Bay that they beat the Brakes out of. And I'm like, oh, my God. No, it could have been Chicago, something like that. But I remember Rico D'Avila, he ran for almost 200 yards or maybe over 200 yards or something like that the week before. And I'm like, oh, my God, this dude is going to get 300 yards today. But. No, the Saints shut them down. They did nothing other than that one drive, which was assisted by a defensive penalty to keep that drive alive that they scored on. Aside from that, Carolina did nothing in that game. Saints shut them down. I was so blown away by that. I was like, oh, my God. This is good. This is good to build on. Well, unfortunately, it didn't roll over to the next week when we played our first game against the Falcons at home. And the Falcons beat us 24 to 10. I try to forget that game as much as possible. So I don't have much to reflect on that game. But it was it wasn't it wasn't pretty. And I think the Saints, I think it was I think it was moody because if I'm not mistaken, Drake London didn't. play that game it was moody that just tore into the saints in that game they couldn't stop could not stop um the following week which was the uh game that officially ended the saints playoff hopes the saints traveled to miami and lost to the dolphins 21 to 17 another game saints could have won saints had a chance to win that game on a on a fewer cage to kind of take control of that game couldn't capitalize on it but uh you know it is what it is we lost to the miami dolphins and at that point the saints were eliminated from playoff contention we move on and this is where the saints turned the corner i don't know if it was the loss to miami that kind of kicked us in the butt or the fact that we We're close in that game. We were competitive in that game. We should have won that game. And something clicked, but the Saints traveled. They stayed in Florida, went to Tampa. and revenge the loss and beat Tampa Bay 24 to 20 in that game that game showed me so much because that was a that game was in the middle of a typhoon it was a it was a flat-out tsunami in that game i mean it was pouring down raining you couldn't throw the ball you could not throw and this was the moment i fell in love with tyler shuck tyler shuck literally put the team on his back and went out and won that game he rushed for two touchdowns He was running. He was moving up and down the field with his team. Even though you couldn't throw the ball, he found the way to throw the ball. It was just, he took control. He was poised. The stage wasn't too big. You're on the road. It's a division rival. The weather, this implement weather, everything was against him. And he put the team on his back and went out there and won it. And at that moment, he won my heart. That was it. I was sold. I was sold from that moment on. And so we move on to the next week when the Saints had to face the Carolina Panthers yet again. And I'm like, well, Carolina, they got their act together because from the moment we beat them to the next time we play, Carolina went on a run. Carolina didn't lose a game after that. And I mean, they were beating people. The same Rams team that tore us up, they tore them up. They tore up the Bears. They tore up, I mean, they went through teams. I'm like, well, so much for that run. We got one, at least we beat Tampa Bay. And that's what I was saying in my head. Saints win 20-17, beating the Carolina Panthers yet again, sweeping Carolina on the year, the one team that we did sweep. and That was super, super impressive that the Saints were able to get two division wins back-to-back. At that point, Saints hosted the New York Jets. After that, Jets were or are a dumpster fire of an organization. They don't have a team. They don't have a quarterback. They don't have nothing. And the Saints showed the world that that was true. Saints had their most dominant victory as a team. 20 8-9 to 6 over the Jets. Much needed. That was supposed to happen. I didn't think it was going to happen in that manner, but they did it. And kudos to them on that. They played the Tennessee Titans. Beat the Titans 34-26. And this was a Tennessee team that they were trying to win. They were giving the Saints everything they can handle. Saints were giving them everything they can handle. It was an actual game. And you couldn't tell that there were, what, nine wins between the two of them? You know, you wouldn't imagine that. But I don't even think it's nine. I'm being kind with nine. But they really went at it. They went at it. And Cam Ward, I don't think he looked as good all year. Just say he was the number one overall pick. But he looked. Excellent in that game, but it wasn't enough. Saints came out victorious. Unfortunately, that was the last victory for the New Orleans Saints as they wrapped up the season against the Atlanta Falcons and lost 19-17 in that game. The Saints, like I said, no Chris Olave, no Valey, no Tifton, no, I mean, no nothing, man. You have you had a guy who I've never heard of. Well, two guys I've never heard of out there running routes, trying to catch passes. And it was, it was just, it wasn't expecting to win that game. Even with Chris Olave, it would have been tough to win that game. But, I give him credit for playing hard for giving it their all. And it really did. They gave it, they all in that game to finish strong. And I believe that they did. And so that wrapped up the 2025 season saints. 3 and 11. Let's go over the stats real quick, and we're going to wrap up, put a bow on the 2025 season. Let's start with passing. Our passing leader this year was Tyler Shuck. Tyler Shuck, he went 198 for 292. He had a completion percentage of 67.8. 2,125 yards, nine touchdowns, and five interceptions. The worst stat, he was sacked 27 times. Yes, we need to address that offensive line, people. 27 times he was sacked. Spencer Rattler, he finished the year 174 of 257 attempts. He had a passer rating of 67.7. They pretty much had the same passer rating. 1,586 yards, eight touchdowns. and five interceptions. They, their numbers are almost dead. Even it's almost dead. Even Tyler Shook had more yards passing, but that's crazy to me that their completion percentage was the exact same, which tells me quarterback. Isn't the problem. And it wasn't a problem early on. And it wasn't a problem late. That's so you could take that, take that. However you want it. Rushing leader. And this is crazy to think, but Alvin Kamara finished as our rushing leader on the team with 471 yards off of 131 carries. He only scored one touchdown. And that was in the first game of the season. You can't make that up. Coming in second is Devin Neer. Neal, he had 57 carries, 206 yards. He scored two touchdowns. Kendrick Miller, he had 193 yards off of 47 carries. He scored one touchdown as well. Leading receiver is, of course, Chris Olave. He had 1,163 yards receiving this year with... off of 100 catches. Good on him. Nine touchdowns. Our second leading receiver was Jawan Johnson. He had 74 catches for 828 yards and three touchdowns. Rashid Shahid, shockingly, is our third leading receiver, even though he's not on the team anymore. They traded him early on in the season, but yet still, he's the third leading receiver. Put it to all his saints with 44 catches and 499 yards and two touchdowns. Just for kicks and giggles, Devon Bailey, he had 25 catches for 293 yards and two touchdowns on the year. Moving over to defense, our leading tackler, the one who goes get it, the one who hits. more people than anybody on the team this season was the old man demario davis he had 137 tackles total uh 63 of them were solo tackles but uh he also had a half a sack this season as well as two fumble recoveries leading uh i guess interception getter D'rgh leading the team in interceptions was uh kool-aid mckintry he had three interceptions this season so tip my hat to him for that i don't know how the voters are going to vote but i i can't think of anybody else and this isn't the who that in me talking this isn't a homer or whatever the case may be, but I honestly can't think of nobody else. Tyler Shuck should be rookie of the year. I know he didn't play the entire season and will that play a factor in it? I don't know, but you look at his production and what he's done, his record, the other rookie quarterbacks that came out this year and playing, compare them to him. Who else? Who else would be rookie of the year? I think that he should be rookie of the year. If not winning, he definitely should be in the conversation. He has played phenomenal. He made me out a believer. I'm not ashamed to eat crow. I'm not ashamed to say I had it wrong. I had it wrong. And I would argue I never said that he was going to be bad. i just didn't believe he would be this good this fast and he looks good and so i i honestly think that he's the guy. Now, you can also make an argument. I know there's going to be some out there that's going to pick apart every little thing. Who did he play in that stretch that he started? Yeah, Tennessee. He played the Jets. He beat Tampa, Carolina. Yeah, they weren't. They're not top. tennis defenses i i'll give you that but the stage never got too big for that young man he never i mean you think about the hostile conditions that he had to play under and the fact that he was getting new players every week every week he had a different player on the team every week the offensive line was changing every week he had a different receiver he was throwing to it feels like another running back to hand off to, it felt like. He had so much, but he stayed consistent. And that's all that matters at the end of the day. I think he should win Rookie of the Year. And I think, with that being said, if I was giving out MVP of the team for the season, it will go to Tyler Shuck. Tyler Shuck is the MVP of the 2025 NFL season for the New Orleans Saints. But that's it. That's it for the Saints this season. I'm happy. I'm hopeful. Despite we ended on a loss and even worse against Atlanta, I never walked away from an Atlanta loss feeling this good. And I feel hopeful. I see the promised land. I see the land of milk and honey. And I think that we are done. just pieces away and now it's not going to be easy there's a lot of pieces you know that we have to fill in you know a lot of gaps that we have to fill in here but i think the saints are in a position to fill those gaps i think that um our cap situation puts us in a good position our draft positioning puts us in a good position and so the the future is bright the future is bright uh Kudos to Kelly Moore on this season. As much as I wanted to strangle him early on, now I just want to wrap my arms around him, give him a hug, on a good job. Brandon Staley as well. Brandon Staley's defense looks like it's geared up to be something special. If he can get the pieces that he wants on his team, that he needs on his team, and for it to work in the way that he sees it fitting, This is going to be a scary team because that defense is a top 10 D. I think the Saints finished number nine overall defensively with this defense, with these pieces, you know, with old man Demario Davis and Cam Jordan with, Lord have mercy, Justin Reed, no relation, thank God. What a disappointment, Justin Reed did not, he does not. cut the mustard for me but even with all that with losing uh blackman early on you know uh with your corners not really playing up to their potential you know alante taylor he's so on and off you know uh kool-aid same way he he'll he'll get burnt but he'll come back and get you but it's it's hot and cold um over there but even with that The Saints never allowed a 300-yard passer all season long. The Saints never allowed a 100-yard plus, I think. Maybe once, but I'm a 100-yard rusher, I'm trying to say. But I'm trying to remember. I don't think so. If they did, it was once or twice. But Saints defense really played. Saints defense came to. Saints defense is the reason why we had chances in those 11 losses that we had because it wasn't the defense the reason why we lost those games. It never was. I can think of the defense of reasons why we won, but never why we lost. And so, Brandon Staley, I tip my hat to you as well. The future is bright. And so, I hope. that the Saints can build off of this, and that's all you can do. The foundation has been laid. We have our quarterback. We have young pieces on defense. We have a few young pieces on offense that we can build around. So I can't wait to see what's ahead. I would like to know from the Who Dat Nation, shout out, what do you, or should I say, how do you feel about the 2025 season and how do you think the 2026 season will go? Do you think that we're going to get a repeat of this year's out? put or do you are you feeling like me are you hopeful are you hopeful that the saint uh can come back and take back the division that was ours for so many years uh we're close we are very very close look how close we are now this season and we were nowhere near our best yeah i can't help but be hopeful but i want to know your thoughts your feelings and your predictions email the show kbradiopodcast at gmail.com you can also search for the show on all social media platforms just search for the kb radio network also don't forget about youtube subscribe to the kb radio network channel and like this video if you don't mind don't forget about the five stars the reviews and sharing this show if you're listening on apple podcast spotify our heart radio wherever you are currently listening to the Who That Say podcast here on the KB Radio Network. Everybody, thank you for joining me for this recap of the 2025 New Orleans Saints football season. The Saints ended the year 11, or I wish, 6-11. 6-11, but a hopeful 6-11. To the Who That Nation, happy... Happy New Year. Have a blessed New Year. And to my New Orleans Saints, thank you for finishing this season strong, playing hard, and showing that we are the most resilient team for the most resilient city. All I got to say until next season is who that?