New Orleans Saints Must Limit Turnovers to Save Season

By Chris Lehman @chrisbreezy91 on October 8, 2014

It’s no secret. In the NFL, as John Madden once pointed out, “Usually the team that scores the most points wins the game.” Well, that’s a lot easier to do when your team actually has the ball.

Turnovers have been the Achilles’ heel for the New Orleans Saints to start the 2014 season. It was a point of emphasis for the team in the offseason. and has now become the one thing holding them back. It’s pretty self explanatory: when you turn the ball over, not only do you limit your offense’s chances to score, but you also put your defense in a vulnerable position because of a shortened field for the opposing offense.

So far in 2014, there has been a direct correlation between turnovers and team records. Turnover differential is a very important football statistic which calculates whether a team is forcing more turnovers than they are giving up, or vice versa. The Chicago Bears rank 16th in the NFL with a turnover differential of one, meaning they have caused one more turnover than they have given up. They are the only team with a positive differential but a losing record, meaning of the 15 teams that have better differentials, two are .500 and the rest all have winning records.

So where do the Saints stack up in all of this? Dead last.

Currently, the Saints are ranked 32nd in the league with a minus-seven turnover differential. Drew Brees’ six interceptions through five games have him on pace to tie the second-highest mark of his career. And what do they have to show for this? A 2-3 record.

You might say the trend of New Orleans winning their home games and losing on the road is expected, but things are different this year. The Saints’ five losses last year came by an average of 12.5 points compared to this year’s average of 8.7 points. That’s including the embarrassing Sunday night rout they received at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys. Their first two games of the season were decided by a field goal or less, meaning they’re right in these games, and one more possession or one less turnover would have made all the difference.

So where does Sean Payton go from here? Does he further establish the team’s focus on takeaways? This strategy clearly hasn’t worked so far. Jairus Byrd was brought in to emulate Darren Sharper’s role from 2009 when the Saints won the Super Bowl and boasted a plus-11 turnover differential. Instead, Byrd forced one lone turnover before sustaining a season-ending injury.

Maybe Payton is looking at this the wrong way. Takeaways are nice, but currently, three of the top 12 teams at forcing turnovers still have losing records. Don’t get me wrong, forcing takeaways can make a huge difference as it gets the offense back on the field and allows them to play more freely, but perhaps in 2009, Sharper’s nine interceptions weren’t the main reason why the Saints were so dynamic. Instead, Brees’ 11 interceptions, his fewest since joining the Saints, had more to do with it.

Of the 12 teams with the fewest giveaways in 2014, all are top teams in the league with winning records with the exception of the Cleveland Browns, which still has a .500 record. To no surprise, the Seattle Seahawks, San Diego Chargers, Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals sit atop that list, in that order.

If the Saints want to hear their name mentioned among the elite teams, they must get out of the top five for giveaways. This offense has always gone as Brees has, and so far this season, his turnovers are leading them nowhere but down.

Chris Lehman is a New Orleans Saints Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisBreezy91, like him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.