By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – The New Orleans Saints managed to eke out another win Sunday, this time a two-point win over the winless Carolina Panthers, and although the performance was slightly more dominant than has been seen in earlier games, the end result was still a nail biter. Clearly, this is not the same Saints team the area cheered on one year ago.

Accordingly, last week L’Observateur asked visitors to its website, “After tearing through the post-season and winning Super Bowl XLIV, the Saints have not looked as dominant this season as they did last season. What should be done to remedy this situation?”

The answers were evenly spread out, reflecting the attitudes of the fans throughout the metro New Orleans area and. It seems, those of the coaches as well.

The Saints’ stepping up pressure on opposing quarterbacks garnered the most votes, with 22 percent.

Three different choices each earned one-fifth of the responses. These ranged from getting a new kicker to steeping up protection on Drew Brees to leaving everything alone for the time being.

The lowest vote getter, which still garnered 18 percent of the vote, was that the Saints should vary their offense more.

A full breakdown of results follows:

• 20 percent of respondents chose “The Saints need a new kicker.”

• 18 percent of respondents chose “The Saints need to balance their offense and not rely on the passing game so much.”

• 20 percent of respondents chose “The Saints need to step up their protection for Drew Brees.”

• 22 percent of respondents chose “The Saints need to put more pressure on the opposing team’s quarterback.”

• 20 percent of respondents chose “It’s still early in the season, and the team should leave everything alone for now.”