Not A Fan Of James Laurinaitis Saying He's Happy To Be In A Place Where 7-9 Is Unacceptable

#Saints' James Laurinaitis: I think it’s refreshing to me to be in a place where they’ve won, the expectations are to get back to that.

— Larry Holder (@LarryHolder) June 2, 2016

Laurinaitis: Went to St. Louis where we had to try climb out of it. Get here, hear 7-9 isn't acceptable. Awesome to be around that hunger.

— Larry Holder (@LarryHolder) June 2, 2016

​Well it was bound to happen eventually, but there is James Laurinaitis' first misstep as a member of the New Orleans Saints. Given their recent history I guess I'm just glad that it didn't result in a first down for the opposition, or - if last year is the barometer - a back breaking 70 yard touchdown.

I am actually not as upset with what Laurinaitis said as I am with his decision to say it. The truth is that he's probably right. At least I would certainly hope the Saints are more proactive about addressing their failures than a team that just sentenced themselves to a foreseen future of mediocrity by bringing back the most average Head Coach in NFL history. That said, his decision to call attention to a 7-9 record forced Saints fans - who have generally maintained an overly optimistic view of this team under Sean Payton - to take a look back a couple of years and realize that the team they hold in such high regard has finished 7-9 in three of the last four seasons.That record may be unacceptable in New Orleans, but that hasn't stopped the Saints from getting bent over the barrel and forced into accepting it. I appreciate Laurinaitis' intent because I truly believe that he meant well, but trust that the dose of reality that he just unintentionally fed the Who Dat Nation was about as unwelcomed as Cam Newton's MVP campaign. The Saints may perennially have higher expectations than the Rams, but if the result is going to be exactly the same then I wouldn't consider that a good thing. Until this team reaches the level of play that they tricked their fans into becoming accustomed to I don't want to hear anything negative being said about teams that have been equally unsuccessful in recent years.