Midseason Takeaways From Saints GM Mickey Loomis

Saints general manager Mickey Loomis lended the media some of his time on Wednesday to talk about the state of the team and where they're at after the midway point of the season. Here's some of the biggest takeaways, notes, and quotes from our talk with him.

ON OFFENSE NOT CLICKING YET

Loomis agreed with the way fans have felt about the offense out of the gate, saying that, "It's never fast enough." The team is still looking for that 60 minutes of offensive football that they've been used to seeing. That's the bar for the Saints.

"I think some of it is, look, we've got a lot of new parts offensively, right? We haven't had a game where you walked out of the stadium and sit down and say, 'Man, we did well on offense. We did well on defense and we did well on special teams. All three.' No game's perfect, you're always going to find faults in every game. But even in the New England game, I felt like we left some stuff on the field offensively."

"We've had halves where we've played well on one side of the ball or the other, and then the other half we didn't. We just haven't had those games that we've all become accustomed to over the last 16 years where we've had a really good game in all phases of the game. I think it's coming because I think we're capable. We've seen stretches where we've done well in each phase and yet, we haven't had a game in where we've been able to say that. Part of that is that we have a lot of new parts, particularly on offense."

Loomis cited the offseason preparation as a point to look at to figure out where they could do better early in the season, but also was quick to point out that Derek Carr is just getting started and drew a parallel to another Saints quarterback's first years.

"We're nine games into the Derek Carr era here. So, it's no surprise that we're not always on the same page. Go back and look at Drew's (Brees) first 10-12-16 games, I think you'll be a little surprised at, 'Oh, wasn't as good as I remembered,' but we won right? We won right out of the gate. But then look at the next year and the next. It wasn't perfect. That was an evolution."

STATE OF THE OFFENSIVE LINE

Loomis didn't shy away from saying that they expect more from the group. The team has really focused on trying to build from the inside out and have invested a lot of draft and cash capital in the group. 

"Look. There's some things here, you know. Trevor Penning was hurt all last year and didn't really have much of a camp, didn't really start playing until halfway through last season. He was hurt in this offseason. So, he hasn't had the time on task. It's probably unfair of us to just throw him in there to sink or swim. Then, we've had this rotating group of injuries."

Leadership was missed some from last year as well. However, the confidence is coming together there. 

"I think we're seeing that come together a little bit, the last couple of games. We get James (Hurst) back, we get Cesar (Ruiz) feeling better. Cesar missed time this last offseason. Even him, a guy that's been here for now four years, we had two COVID years, we basically didn't have an offseason. His rookie season, two COVID years. Even him, there's time on task isn't as great as it probably should be. So, I think it's coming together."

PETE CARMICHAEL CRITICISM

"Ultimately, it's all our responsibility. You know, he's a good coach. He's had a lot of success. That hasn't changed. He's still a good coach. Whether or not it's the right play call at the right time, that's all fair. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of our roster, we expect him to do that and he can do that and has done that. There's a lot of factors here that belong to all of us, not to Pete exclusively."

BLAKE GRUPE

The team remains confident in Blake Grupe despite what has happened this season, with Loomis saying that the team has to go through some growing pains with the rookie kicker, but they also know that. He also urged patience, even if it's hard, but reiterated that the talent level is there. Loomis also talked about the experience he had with John Kasay and his early struggles during his time in Seattle, but then he went on for 20 years going down as one of the greatest kickers of all time.

CONFIDENCE IN BACK HALF 

Loomis was asked about how this year feels different as opposed to previous years with the confidence level in the team putting it all together during the back half of the season. He talked about having the right guys in the locker room to go through all of the adversity the team has faced. He pointed out the amount of really good players the team has on defense and some really good elements on offense, which are better. The biggest thing is to get everybody on the same page.

TREVOR PENNING

It doesn't sound like there's going to be any moves to guard for Penning. The team absolutely isn't writing him off or hasn't given up on him. Loomis pointed out that the team views this as his rookie season and the fact that he didn't have an offseason. The biggest thing for the Saints moving forward is to rebuild his confidence, and that might take some time, but Loomis maintains that Penning has the right demeanor. They want to put him in successful situations to boost that confidence, like work in jumbo sets or getting some games where they have a big lead to be able to give him some playing time. Ultimately, the upcoming offseason will be crucial to his outlook.