Have the Saints finally cleaned up their discipline issues?
· Yahoo Sports
The New Orleans Saints have spent much of the season making life harder on themselves with costly penalties. Whether it’s been extending opposing drives, putting the offense behind the chains or simply failing to execute when it matters most, discipline has been a consistent concern.
However, Sunday’s win over the Cleveland Browns gave fans a reason to believe things might finally be moving in the right direction.
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The Saints finished the day with just four penalties for 25 yards, a big improvement from what we’ve seen throughout the first half of the season. The Saints have struggled to avoid those self-inflicted setbacks, making Sunday’s performance a refreshing change.
Coming out of the bye week, there was an opportunity for Kellen Moore, his coaching staff and the players to address some of the issues that have held them back.
Still, it would be an overreaction to say the Saints have officially solved their problems.
One game, regardless of how encouraging it was, doesn’t take back the mistakes that have continued to show up throughout the first half of the season. Consistency is key in the NFL, and it’s beyond time for Kellen Moore and New Orleans to prove they can maintain this level of discipline moving forward.
The encouraging part is that the Saints showed they are capable of playing a much cleaner game.
It’s too early to say the issue fixed, but it is certainly fair to believe the bye week helped to some degree.
Now the challenge is making Sunday’s discipline the expectation rather than the exception.