Entering the bye week, the New Orleans Saints have work to do if they have any aspirations of turning this season around. There are roster issues and coaching issues that have caused the Saints to lose many of these games, and although this team can move on from some of these players or coaches, the odds of that happening is low. Is that the correct decision? Absolutely not. 

The Saints should be making changes throughout the franchise now, and although I think Kellen Moore should be a part of those changes, it's understandable why it wouldn't happen midseason. It could be even more detrimental to Tyler Shough, but it also may be for the best, but it's a risk. But potentially moving on from some staff, such as Offensive Line Coach Brendan Nugent, would be a good move, just likely not happen. Then, for players, the only one that sticks out is kicker Daniel Carlson, but the rest of the roster will likely be the same. 

So, if the Saints are not going to make major roster moves or any changes in the staff, they need to improve in the areas that have plagued them this season. 

Here are some of those areas of improvement:

Was there really any other place I could have started? The Saints’ run game has been horrific this season, and it can’t be fully blamed on the players. New Orleans has a good offensive line that should be playing much better, but when good players all of a sudden regress, there may be another reason behind it. It also doesn’t help that the Saints' current RB group is missing Travis Etienne due to his injury. But it has recently been reported throughout the Saints world that New Orleans has certain tells in their offense that tip off a run play for the defense. This is something we saw back when Pete Carmiehcel was OC, and it’s unacceptable for any coach to do. 

The Saints need to remove the tell from the run game as soon as possible, and from there, they may be able to see some improvements. 

The other improvement is that the Saints must include more than 12 personnel in the offense. 12 personnel is 1 RB, 2 TEs, and 2 WRs, and this was supposed to be a change in the offense this season, especially after adding Noah Fant and Oscar Delp. For some reason, that hasn’t happened, and what makes it even more confusing is the Saints' blocking issues. Having two TEs, likely one of Juwan Johnson or Fant and Delp, on the field will help with the pass blocking and the run game. Each of those TEs is also great in the passing game, so it adds more contested catch threats on the field.