Former Saints Super Bowl WR calls out local media for praising moral victories

A wide receiver who won a Super Bowl with the New Orleans Saints finds the moral victories the team is racking up to be pitiful.

The New Orleans Saints fell to the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 6 with a final score of 30-26. Falling to 2-4 puts the Saints even further out of contention in the NFC South, though the overall low level of play in the division and conference helps keep some playoff hope alive.

For a moment, things looked good for New Orleans. They carried a lead late in the fourth quarter. Then, punter Blake Gillikin botched a short punt that went out of bounds. He knew it, heading to the sideline to grovel in disappointment with himself. On the very next play, the Bengals scored a go-ahead touchdown.

After the play, Jameis Winston — who may or may not have been demoted today, who knows — consoled Gillikin. Some fans and even a former player took exception to this being praised by others.

Lance Moore hates moral victories. Saints fans should, too

Lance Moore took to Twitter to quote-Tweet Mike Tripplet, who praised the fact that Winston showed leadership and maturity in consoling Gillikin for the bad play.

Firstly, you can’t put all the blame on Gillikin. Did he do his job? No. But you also have to put yourself in a no-doubt position to win if you don’t want the game to come down to one final special teams play.

But is Moore wrong? Nope. He’s not.

The Saints are 2-4. That’s bad, and yes they’ve been so close to winning some of those four losses. But moral losses count for absolutely nothing in the NFL, nor should they.

Yes, it’s a cute story that Winston is showing elite maturity and leadership on the sideline. It’s also arguably one of his only jobs in a game where he’s serving as the backup QB.

Moore knows what it takes to win a title, and clearly, he doesn’t love what he’s seeing with the direction the franchise is headed in. Keep in mind, some picked this team to come out of the NFC to represent the conference in the Super Bowl.

This is the team’s first year without head coach Sean Payton at the helm. It looks like the culture might be suffering a bit.

So if Moore isn’t wrong, is Mike Tripplet wrong? No, not necessarily. (and Moore clarified he wasn’t trying to single him out, for what it’s worth) It’s his job to keep an eye on these things and give us glimpses into the off-field stories that add context and color to what’s happening. But it’s up to Saints fans to decide if they really want to view these moral victories as positives.

They’re not positive. Wins are.