Saints Report # 2

Pat Sajak, “The category is Before and After.”

R_A_

WO_

IS M_

Sean, “Can I buy a vowel?”

No, time’s up, the answer is

ROAD WOE IS ME.

No trips to the playoffs for you.

The Payton era of Saints football will be remembered as follows:
One Super Bowl (hopefully more) 
Record Setting Offense
Road Woe is Me

For the second consecutive week the Saints went on the road, brought a porous defense, played a sloppy game, and lost on a field goal at the end.

Don’t get too upset.  This was not unforeseen. 

Starting 0-2 in two away games was a huge fear, but is not surprising given the road woes of the Payton era.  While often dominant in the Superdome, the Saints are an average road team.

The question is why? 

In their 26 – 24 loss to the usually cooperative Cleveland Browns, the Saints defense made Bryan Hoyer look like a genius as he consistently read the Saints defensive tendencies.  Tendencies.  The league has figured out the Saints’ tendencies, like blitzing too many players on the biggest play of the game.  Charles Durning's legacy endures.

Meanwhile the Saints offense sometimes confounds the most ardent supporters.  Apparently the league read the Sports Illustrated NFL preview edition where the writer explained that Sean Payton likes to come out in a lot of different formations to start the game to see what defenses are going to do.  What the article didn’t say was they are all passing formations.  So while most teams smash a little mouth to start the game, the Saints do a little dance, just to see what their partner’s going to do.  We can establish the run game later, after we’ve given up the first few possessions. 

Most frustrating down?  Second.  For some reason the Payton playcard dictates shotgun on second down, even if it’s 2^nd and 6.  Why not just run the ball?  It is a confounding tendency that they treat 2^nd and 4 as a passing down.   “Hey, we can run it 4 yards, or we can go with an empty backfield!”  Makes for a lot of unnecessary third downs.

When the Saints run the ball well, as they did after the first quarter (yes even Mark Ingram), they are hard to stop.  Critics like to blame the offense for the road woes, and sometimes that’s true.  But, the opposing team’s noise should make it harder for your offense.  Home field should be worth 10 points off.  At the Superdome it certainly does.  The offense has been frustrating, and a pick 6 Brees toss may have been the deciding factor, but the truth is that the offense, while not dominant, has played well enough to win.

But, to win on the road, the defense must travel.  Ours just doesn’t.  It looks like the addition of Jarius Byrd, and the position change for Kenny Vacarro has been a wash.  The Saints linebackers are too slow to cover, and one cornerback is a magnet for the opposition to pick on.  Jabari Greer retired this week after last year’s injury.  Greer and Tracey Porter, or Keenan Lewis and Patrick Robinson?  Who would you take?  Right about now the Who Dat nation would trade PRob for a Roast Beef Po-boy from Parkway Tavern, because well, we know the gravy covers the roast beef, and we like coverage.

Next up, Adrian Peterson and his Viking band of disciplinarians will undoubtedly get a warm welcome in the Superdome.  The NFL has had the worst two weeks in the history of the league, and the Saints have been right in step.  Unfortunately, and rather surprisingly, the Carolina Panthers have picked up where they left off, and the Saints are already in a divot.  If the team must win 11 games to make the playoffs, that means they must go 11 – 3 the rest of the way, and even that won't secure the home field advantage we obviously need even more than I thought we did before we got rock and rolled in Cleveland.  11 - 3 is possible I guess.  But, only if something changes on defense.  Like our tendencies.  

Here's the locker room scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6mpHW3SMcc