The Eagles aren't exactly a beacon of organizational consistency and wisdom right now, what with a chaotic head coaching search, a muddy quarterback room, and an increasingly confounding owner.
But it's clear the Saints still can't shake the Eagles' shadow from 2017.
Ahead of Sunday's matchup with the Buccaneers, Saints head coach Sean Payton was asked a fairly innocuous question about the team's decision to sign kicker Blair Walsh and long snapper John Denney this week.
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Specifically, Payton was asked if the signings were intentional "in case of emergency"-style signings to protect against kicker Wil Lutz and long snapper John Wood being held out because of COVID-19 complications, in the same way the Eagles added Josh McCown last offseason as an emergency COVID-19 quarterback.
Payton could've answered the question straight, but instead he decided to go out of his way to kick the Eagles while they're down:
Okay, Sean.
Payton and the Saints clearly view themselves as one of the elite organizations in the NFL, but a truly elite organization is more focused on its own team than what's going on around the league. Bill Belichick would've given us a demure answer about "preparing for any and all possibilities in an uncertain time". Mike Tomlin would've gone on at length about having as much depth as possible at every position. Pete Carroll... well, he's a loose cannon, but you get the idea.
NFL
Payton decided to lob one over the wall at the Eagles, because he and the entirety of that silly little fanbase is angry that the Saints weren't the ones getting whupped in Philadelphia back in January 2018.
(I also wonder if Payton's a little bitter about getting smoked by an awful Eagles team and a rookie QB this year. Just a thought.)
Some might see this as a defense of his pal Doug Pederson. But Pederson was likely involved in the decision to bring McCown in, so that doesn't make too much sense unless he really just needed a reason to roast the Eagles.
The Eagles and Saints have had a spicy rivalry for years now, but even when the Eagles are no threat to the Saints at all, it's clear they're still living rent-free in Payton's head.
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