Here is Charles Star, Saints fan, on the end of the Gregg Williams era in New Orleans:
Whatever the Saints do next year, it won’t be the same. The offense as it exists may be unaffordable—Brees, disgruntled All-Pro guard Carl Nicks and top wideout Marques Colston are all free agents. If the changed environment leads to fewer points, the GWIME will have to evolve or die. By the same token, if the offense and defense both regress towards the NFL mean, it doesn’t mean that the team will lose. But it does mean that the gonzo, high-variance, definitely-bet-the-over Saints games of recent years will be replaced by the same boring crap that, say, Falcons fans have been watching. If the Saints start winning that way, I guess I’ll enjoy the wins. But I think I’ll miss the screaming.
Having written or tweeted on a number of occasions during Falcons-Saints games that watching the Saints offense makes me both jealous of their attack and angry at Mike Mularkey, I am in no position to disagree.
The "same boring crap" description is interesting when one thinks about the significant portion of the Falcons fan base that are, like me, fanatics on Saturday and casual fans on Sunday. On the one hand, the conventional, traditional NFL-style approach of the Falcons is likely to push me away. I spend Saturday watching all varieties of offense go up and down the field, so how am I going to get excited on Sunday to see Michael Turner run between the tackles 25 times in a game that will inevitably finish 23-20? On the other hand, with the SEC getting more and more like the NFL as everyone apes Nick Saban (and more disdainful of shootouts as cheap Big XII thrills, the football equivalent of empty calories), maybe we will be able to better appreciate the "same boring crap?"
There is a great analogy to be made here to the Dutch soccer team, but I only start posts with soccer analogies.