The New Orleans Saints entered the 2014 season as a Super Bowl favorite. They were coming off a very solid season that ended with a road loss to the eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, and their defense had shown significant improvement under coordinator Rob Ryan.
Moreover, teams with quarterbacks the caliber of Drew Brees aren't supposed to miss the playoffs under normal circumstances -- so the fact that the Saints have done so while playing in the worst division in football, whose champion will be a seven-win team, is nothing short of shocking.
What went wrong for the Saints this season, and what has to happen to make 2014 nothing more than a bad memory? Let's take a look at some possible fixes to New Orleans' many issues.
1. Provide Drew Brees with better protection
For the record, Brees hasn't played poorly this season. In pure numerical terms he's our second-rated quarterback at Pro Football Focus. But he has made crucial errors at very inopportune times this season.