Saints’ Bye Week Must Be About Answers, Not Excuses for Kellen Moore

The New Orleans Saints have reached their bye week at 2-5, and this break could not have arrived at a more important time.

After traveling to Paris and falling 16-10 to the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Saints have seven games worth of film showing exactly what this team is, and, more importantly, what it isn't. New Orleans has flashed enough potential to make you believe better football is possible, but the consistency simply hasn't been there.

For head coach Kellen Moore, the bye week needs to be less about rest and more about reflection.

Moore said Monday that this is a "self-scout week" and that the Saints will evaluate everything. That's exactly what needs to happen.

Let's start with the obvious.

New Orleans cannot continue playing offensive roulette where one week things look promising and the next week the entire operation disappears.

The 34-27 victory over the New York Giants showed what this offense can look like when things start clicking. Then New Orleans went to Paris and managed just 10 points and 18 rushing yards against Pittsburgh.

That kind of swing is unacceptable.

Moore has built his reputation around offense, so this is where the microscope should be the strongest. Is the problem personnel? Play calling? Offensive-line execution? Are the Saints putting quarterback Tyler Shough in manageable situations? Are they getting their playmakers the football enough?

Everything should be on the table.

The Saints are averaging 23.1 points per game through seven contests, but they've also allowed 27.7 per game. Numbers like that explain why this team has struggled to build momentum.

Self-scouting cannot stop with the players. Moore needs to evaluate Kellen Moore.

That's one of the biggest responsibilities of being a head coach. Sometimes the problem isn't effort or talent. Sometimes it's preparation, play selection, game management or failing to adjust quickly enough when the original plan isn't working.

The Saints have been too inconsistent from week to week.

They lost by one point in overtime to Detroit, beat Baltimore, dropped three straight, rebounded against the Giants and then immediately lost to Pittsburgh.

That tells me this team isn't completely outmatched. Instead, it looks like a team still searching for an identity.

Seven games into the season, that identity needs to start appearing quickly.

The bye also gives New Orleans an opportunity to examine the roster without the pressure of preparing for an opponent immediately.

Who has earned more snaps?

Who hasn't produced enough?

Which younger players should become bigger pieces of the offense and defense?

Those are uncomfortable questions, but a 2-5 team can't operate like everything is fine. The goal shouldn't be change simply for the sake of change. The goal should be finding combinations that give this roster the best chance to win.

That evaluation includes special teams. Moore has acknowledged that the kicking operation will be part of the bye-week review after Daniel Carlson's struggles, including four missed field goals from 50-plus yards and two missed extra points this season.

Here's the encouraging part: there is still football left. The Saints return from the bye to host Cleveland on Nov. 8 before another home game against Carolina. That's an opportunity to reset the season, especially if New Orleans comes out of the break playing cleaner, smarter and more physical football.

The bye week needs to become Kellen Moore's biggest coaching week of the season, even though there isn't a game Sunday.

Turn on the film. Question the scheme. Question the rotations. Question the play calling. Question the coaching staff. And yes, Moore should question some of his own decisions.

The Saints don't need to reinvent football during the bye. They need to identify what they actually do well and build around it.

We've seen flashes from this team. We've seen them fight. We've seen them win on the road. But we've also seen too many stretches where the offense stalls and mistakes erase opportunities.

At 2-5, patience starts getting expensive.

When the Saints walk back into the Superdome against Cleveland, they need to look like a team that learned something about itself during the week off.

Otherwise, the next evaluation might not be about fixing the season.

It could be about who gets to lead the next one.