NEW ORLEANS -- It would be a stretch to suggest that the New Orleans Saints need to finish 8-8 or 7-9 to keep the franchise from trading coach Sean Payton or quarterback Drew Brees in the offseason.
But it certainly wouldn't hurt for this team to finish strong and feel like it's heading in the right direction after a 2015 overhaul in which there were major changes to the roster, the coaching staff and the scouting department.
"[Winning] validates many of the things that you've kind of instituted this year in order to build the foundation again with a new crop of players," Brees said of a team that began the season with more than 20 new players, including 11 rookies and four other first-year players.