The New Orleans Saints were an offseason Super Bowl favorite in 2014. However, a rash of injuries and disappointing play led to a 7-9 season.
Drew Breestold The MMQB's Greg Bedard after Sunday's Pro Bowl that it was the "most frustrating season" he's experienced. But after talking with coach Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis after the season, the quarterback believes his team knows how to turn it around.
"I think we've identified the problems or the things that got us beat or the things that didn't allow us to be as good as we know we can be, and we have the solution to fix it," Brees said. "It's going to take a lot of work, but I know we can get it done."
Brees didn't detail what those "problems" were specifically, but alluded to losing significant locker room leadership when the Saints jettisoned a bevy of veterans the last few offseasons.
One reason the Saints were viewed as a Super Bowl-caliber team last year was the amount of young talent on the roster. Brees, however, doesn't care about talent; he wants winners.
"I hate the word 'talent.' I hate it," Brees said. "Some of the best players I ever played with, or best teammates I ever played with, that wasn't their best quality. Everybody's talented. Their best quality was their work ethic, their leadership ability, their ability to fight through adversity, toughness, reliability. Those are the things I most value."
It's on Loomis and Payton to combine the right amount of young dynamic talent and veteran leaders in the Saints' locker room to turn their record around in 2015.
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