The Josh Innes Show - My Football Team Has Hit A New Low

Episode Date: May 15, 2025

The Saints have officially gone back to the old days.... My team will not play one primetime game this season. The other teams who won't play in primetime are the Browns and Titans. Look, I get the Saints were a throwaway franchise for many years. But had a hella good run for about 15 years. Now, we are back to hell. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

World it is we live in friends. Yes. Schedule release day was yesterday in the NFL and everybody is excited and everybody's filling out their little their little schedules to let you know when loss when loss either going 14 and three I think we're going 13 and four. You know we're getting all those from people today. I will tell you something from schedule day. We got a bunch of stuff to get into today and I appreciate you and thank you for telling your friends because

you guys are wonderful. But I am a fan of the New Orleans Saints you know I'm a fan of the New Orleans Saints and something very significant has happened here this is a significant happening for the New Orleans Saints now mind you it was not that long ago that this was a franchise that had come out of the ruins, out of the muck, a franchise that had one playoff victory in its first, what, 40-something years? I think it was 33 years the franchise was around before it got a playoff victory. It did not get another playoff victory until six years after that. So the New Orleans Saints had two

playoff victories in the first 40 or so years of the franchise's existence. They were on the verge of moving out of New Orleans to wherever, San Antonio, whatever city you think, after Katrina. Let's see, 2005, every game was played outside of New Orleans. Couple of games were played in Baton Rouge. They were playing home games in New York City. They bounced around from place to place, San Antonio. There was fear that who knows, maybe those San Antonio sons

of bitches were going to just swoop in and steal our football team, right? But our football team came back. Our football team came back from the worst natural disaster you could imagine, City Underwater. And our football team came back and found a hero that nobody else wanted by the name of Drew Brees and found a young head coach named Sean Payton who had been a coordinator in some other stuff but this was his first opportunity. And in their first year together in the Superdome, the New Orleans Saints won 10 football games, went to the playoffs, won their first playoff game since the year 2000,

their second playoff victory ever, and actually advanced to the NFC Championship game where they lost to Rex Grossman and the Chicago Bears. But that season that ended in the NFC Championship game then led to an unprecedented run of success that New Orleans football had never seen before and I feel pretty confident we'll never see again. The high point being a Super Bowl victory over Peyton Manning's Indianapolis Colts, a game that ended on a pick six from Tracy Porter who I played high school basketball against because he played at Port Allen High School and they were the rival of Bruleigh High School where I went to school. Now, as time

went on, things kind of mellowed out. They had a nice little run. Then there was 13-14. There was actually 14-15-16, three consecutive 7-9 seasons. Sean Payton was suspended for one of them. We had Bounty Gate and it looked like it was over. And then the 2017 season starts and the Saints start at 0-2 and it really feels like it's over. It's feeling like no more Sean Payton, no more Drew Brees, let's hit the reset button. But then a miracle happened. The Saints started winning again in 2017. Should have gone to the NFC Championship game if not for a stupid Case-Keenum-Stefan-Diggs bullshit

miracle. Should have been in the NFC Championship game. Should have been in the Super Bowl after that, but of course the worst no-call in the history of football. Then a home playoff loss the next year to the fucking Vikings again in overtime. Then the year after that have a chance in the Rona year, but a dropped a pass that led to an interception let Tom Brady and the fucking Bucks advance since then the Saints have really not sniffed the postseason 2001 2002 2021 2022 2023 2024 four consecutive non-playoff seasons we're at a point now where there's no more Drew Brees, there is no more Sean Payton.

There's Tyler Shaw and there is Spencer Rattler and we're at a point now where the New Orleans Saints have hit a low that I have actually never witnessed them hit. I guess I'll take that back. I guess winning two games or three games in that year of the hurricane, I guess that I would throw the Katrina year, that was pretty low. But I have never seen the New Orleans Saints this low in my time. I moved to Baton Rouge permanently in 1997. I've been a Saints fan. I've rooted for the Saints in that time period. I have seen highs. I was there in 2000 when Azakim dropped the punt after the Saints were destined to

blow a huge lead to the Rams in the Dome in the playoffs, but Akim dropped it and Brian Milne fell on it and we won a playoff game. Next week, we went to Minnesota and lost to the Vikings. I've been in the Dome to see them beat the Eagles in the playoffs. I've been in the dome to see them beat the Eagles in the playoffs. I've been in the dome to see them win multiple playoff games. I've experienced amazing atmospheres in the dome. The lowest I've ever seen this franchise in my lifetime, I could argue, especially after we've had the highs we've had. The Saints have always been low, but then after getting this high as high, winning the Super Bowl, to now where we are, the New Orleans Saints join the Tennessee Titans and the Cleveland Browns as the only two NFL teams that do not have a primetime football game this year. We will continue this after these words.

Now, is it the end all be all? Is your world over if you don't have a primetime game? No. Right? It's not like you're recruiting or something and being on in primetime will help recruit see you. Like I see people make the argument all the time about like NFL and national broadcasts and it doesn't matter. None of that matters for the NFL. Every game is available everywhere. Being a national brand really doesn't fucking matter to of that matters for the NFL. Every game is available everywhere. Being a national brand really doesn't fucking matter to a team, right? Who gives a shit? I mean, it helps you sell merch and that's nice, but big picture, it doesn't really matter. And a lot of times, prime time games suck anyway. Like think of all those years that Thursday Night Football was, you know, Jaguars, Texans, Jaguars, Titans. You know, Thursday Night Football kind of sucked.

You know, like Monday Night Football matchups aren't always great. But I want you to think about things. Whoever your team is, you might be the Philadelphia Eagles and be a fan of the Eagles listening to this. Just won a Super Bowl, second Super Bowl in the last what seven years, whatever it is, six, seven years. You could be a fan of the Texans who are on a very positive trajectory on an upswing have a good young quarterback good coach ownership seems to know what they're doing at least a little bit things are going well for you. If you're listening in St. Louis which aren't many of you I would imagine but if you are you don't have a football

team talk to me about the Battle Hawks. They play in prime time though. Hell, the Battle Hawks are on prime time television more than the New Orleans Saints. Let that sink in. The Battle Hawks of the UFL are on television prime time. Only game in town more than the New Orleans Saints. Women's basketball is on in prime time. The WNBA is on in prime time more than the New Orleans Saints. I gotta find a whole list of shit that there's got to be other things like in prime time you'll see like like the Westminster Dog Show is on in prime time more than the New Orleans Saints. I know you got your own problems. I know you have your own lives to live. I know you have your own

teams to root for, but it is a shitty time to support the New Orleans Saints and we're about to hit a stretch where that like back in my day when I was a young kid, it used to be easy to get tickets to see the Saints because people didn't give a shit. Like that's a myth. Like yes, people were into football and the Saints fans are passionate people. But like they're back in the good old days. There would be a stretch where like it'd be a Sunday and you didn't know if the Saints game was going to be on TV in Baton Rouge because the game

wasn't sold out. You know, it's funny how the NFL has changed so much in really a short period of time because like there was a stretch where like every owner seemed kind of like a seedy scuzz ball that was looking to move the team. The teams weren't worth five billion dollars and like fans didn't always sell out games. You guys know this in Houston you saw saw it with the the the the the Oilers. Like you saw it. Like it is a new thing that seemingly every game feels like it's sold out. Like not every game is but every game feels like it. Back in the era of the blackout though, man, like it would be like a Sunday morning and you'd be like, we don't know if the Saints

game is going to be on TV. Oh wait, InterG just stepped up and bought 4,000 tickets to guarantee the game was sold out. Now we get to watch the Saints and the Packers here today. Like that's how life was growing up in Louisiana. That's how it was. Then the world changed. Like Drew Brees and Sean Payton and all that change, Reggie Bush, everything changed. And then the Saints got pretty fucking good and went to the playoffs. How many times did they go to the playoffs

with Sean and Drew Brees? I know they went the last four seasons of Drew Brees' career. The three before that, they didn't. I think the four before that, they did. So that's eight. I wanna say they made the playoffs nine or 10 times, eight or nine times maybe,

in the stretch of Drew Brees and Sean Payton and they were never awful because they'd always have an offense that was fun. Like yes they'd have 7 or 9 seasons but they'd be fun and you'd go even though we were 7 or 9 we got to get this fucking defense because god damn Rex Ryan's brother Rob Ryan who's a shit stain. The defense was terrible but at least Drew Brees was there so he always felt like he had a shot so you get on TV whatever. Like the Saints they didn't even send the Saints to play in fucking London they're like we don't want to like we don't even want the fucking foreign people to see what the Saints we don't want Brazil. Brazil is glad and just happy to have any fucking like Brazil

Ireland they are just happy to have an NFL game in their country. They are excited. They're like, hey, they're like, oh I got myself so, oh they're always after me, lucky charms and we got the NFL and and all the NFL is here and oh boy we get to see the National Football League. Ha ha! Irish people do not talk like that. That is a leprechaun impression. I am sorry. But anyway, kind of shitty one at that. But they didn't even send them over there to see that. They're like, hey Mexico, do you guys want a football game? We're not going to subject you to watching the Saints at all. Like I'm not sure if the Titans have to go overseas. I don't think they do and maybe the Browns do. But that's the level

you're on now. You are on the level of being an organization that is not playing a prime time game at all. And mind you, there are five Monday night football games or five Monday nights that there will be two Monday night football games. Five! And they couldn't even slide you in at like 10 o'clock on one of those nights against the Chargers or somebody. Nope. You are so obsolete, so worthless as an organization, such a clown car. Tyler Shaw, fucking Spencer Rattler that you don't even get a primetime game. And at the

end of the day, does it really matter? I mean, like, we knew they were, they, they're not going to be good, but it's, it's like a realization. It is a realization that we are in a world where the New Orleans Saints, my football team, are so bad and so unwatchable and have zero star power. Like there's Alvin Kamara and that's it. You've got Kamara and then it's kind of like, well, what else do they have? There's no Drew Brees. They've got, like they have

solid receivers but nobody that anybody in the world gives a shit about. Cam Jordan's 108 years old. No one gives a shit about anybody on the defense. The Saints are obsolete. **** What a **** world this is and like the last 4 years have been mediocre and they kind of suck and they've had like 10 quarterbacks since Drew Brees and **** Ian Book started a game for the **** Saints like things are not great and they haven't been great but **** this is where we are now.

This is like I remember years that the Texans were embarrassing and like you'd have Brock Osweiler as the quarterback but the Texans would still somehow pop up on a random Monday night or a Thursday night. The Saints don't even get that. They're like, hey, here's the last game on Christmas Day. Nope, you don't get that. None of it. Holy shit. This is our world now. I know it's not your problem. You probably listen to this, Root for the Eagles. You're like, yeah, we're on prime time like 700 times. And oh, we open the season against the Cowboys. Prime time here, prime time here. Oh, we're the Texans. We're going to be on Monday Night Football twice, among other things. Things are going well for all of us. Hey, dipshit, who roots for the Saints? This is your life now, you pud. It truly has never been this bad.

I mean, it's been this bad. The Saints organization has historically, you know, been inept for most of its existence. But I mean the last third of its existence been pretty good, you know? Not anymore, not anymore. These are the sad times. I don't know what to do with myself. Anywho, more to come.