EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsMETAIRIE, La. -- The New Orleans Saints' offense has endured nine straight quarters of misery in their home stadium this season.Coach Kellen Moore, starting quarterback Tyler Shough and all the Saints are hoping they can hit the reset button on the road the next two weeks.New Orleans (1-4) will travel to face the New York Giants on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, Fox) and then will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in France on Oct. 25 (9:30 a.m. ET, NFL Network).At this point, it's difficult to know what the international crowd will get in the NFL's first game in Paris.Will fans see the Saints team that sparked hope with its second-half play against the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens in Weeks 1 and 2? Or will they see the product that Saints center Erik McCoy said has "hit a sputtering block" in their past three games?"I think it's pretty blunt. S---ty performance wise," McCoy said following the Saints' 23-13 Week 5 loss to the Minnesota Vikings.Wide receiver Devaughn Vele said that afternoon that the offense wasn't on the same page against the Vikings."There's just certain looks that we expected ended up being different looks. Guys are thinking different things. Obviously Shough was on a different page as well," the Saints wideout said. "This was a whole team effort."McCoy said things have been going wrong ever since the Week 3 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders, and the team's statistics reflect that sentiment. The Saints have been trending downward in both points and yards in each loss.New Orleans had hoped to spark life into the Caesars Superdome with a three-game homestand this season, but each attempt has fared worse than the last.On Oct. 5, the organization honored its 2006 team on the 20th anniversary of the return to the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina, while the current team lost 45-24 to their rival Atlanta Falcons in primetime. Then in Week 5, the Saints inducted former quarterback Drew Brees into their Ring of Honor at halftime of the Vikings game, but then went on to lose by 10 points in a game that would have been a blowout if not for two defensive takeaways.Saints owner Gayle Benson said on Tuesday it was "truly disappointing" to lose to the Falcons in a game that was meant to celebrate the 2006 team. She also mentioned Brees' ROH induction and how the team should honor his legacy by upholding the standards he set. It was a rare critical comment by Benson that highlighted the disappointment of those losses.In speaking about the home loss to Minnesota, McCoy said the Saints' problems are an "all-around issue." The Saints consistently turn the ball over, start slow and get penalties that put them behind the sticks.New Orleans has turned the ball over eight times since the fourth quarter of the Week 3 loss to the Raiders. The Saints have rushed for 55 yards or less in their past two games, and against the Vikings, they passed for only 96 yards. They rank No. 9 overall in penalties counted against them but 24th in pre-snap penalties.Shough has been hit on 36 of his dropbacks this season, which is tied for third most in the league. He has also been playing with an injured non-throwing hand that requires wearing a protective layer at the moment. Shough has been handing off with his other hand and cannot use the injured hand to help himself off the ground.Moore would not confirm if Shough's hand is broken but said "he's doing OK.""It's kind of like a day-to-day thing. That felt like the easiest path for this week and we'll see how it goes. I think he came out of it feeling pretty clean, and so some soreness there and we'll go from there," Moore said.Shough had a career-worst performance as a starter against the Vikings in passing yards and passer rating, while throwing two interceptions and rushing for only 9 yards. But Vele said the team fully believes in the QB's ability to rebound."He's got the right mindset," Vele said. "... As an offensive unit, we trust him with all our hearts. I know he's going to bounce back from this. I mean, it's on all of us. It's not just on Tyler. You know what I mean? This is a team sport."If the Saints are looking for immediate offensive help, they won't get any until after their Week 8 bye. The Saints waived running backs Devin Neal and Audric Estime earlier in the season with injury settlements and Travis Etienne Jr. went on injured reserve with a hamstring issue in Week 4, meaning he'll be out until at least after the bye week. Left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. is out indefinitely after having ankle surgery in Week 3. Rookie first-round pick Jordyn Tyson, who has not played this season, will not return to practice this week and is likely a post-bye returner as well.Without the hope of an offensive spark, the Saints will have to regroup in the next two weeks. While the Saints are tied with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1-4) for the worst NFC South record, they have time to turn things around with the Carolina Panthers leading the division at 2-2.Several players have said they believe they can do that, but it'll take more than just belief to make it happen."We took a step in the wrong direction, I would say today, but it's not a matter of, like I said last week, we need to completely flip the script and we need to just change who we are," Shough said. "No, it's not that at all. And I'm going to continue to elevate how we prepare as an offense and how we continue to go. And that starts with me too, but by no means is there a matter of we need to cuss people out, do things like that. I mean, we need to continue to do what we're doing from that process and we have the right people in the building."
