Saints Report #13 - December 8, 2019

It was like a slasher movie.  Two offenses going up and down the field gashing each other repeatedly in one of those bloody games we get every so often.  It was the game of the year in the NFL, which doesn’t make me feel any better.

The hated (almost as much as the Falcons) San Francisco 49’ers traveled to the Louisiana Superdome determined to wrestle NFC home field advantage away from the New Orleans Saints.  They pulled out all the stops and emptied their trick play book to take a 48 – 46 victory.

Most would argue that the Saints made a strategic error, when early in the game, capitalizing on a penalty on a touchdown, they tried a two point conversion from the one yard line when Jared Cook’s 2^nd receiving touchdown made the score 13-7.  There were 2 unfortunate results.  Cook suffered a concussion on the play and did not return, and the play call fooled nobody.  The missed conversion hung over this game like a blimp running out of gas.

I would argue that another error was just as costly.  At the end of the 1^st half, the Saints were clinging to a 6 point lead, but the 49’ers were driving.  They had a 1^st and 13 on the Saints 35.  They gained 8, giving the 49’ers 2^nd and 5 from the 28.  The Saints called a time out with 1:46 on the clock in the hopes of getting the ball back.  Why? Payton calls these defensive time outs on a wing and a prayer all the time, and they inevitably just take the clock pressure off the offense.  He called another one at 1:31 on 3^rd and 1.  Sean Payton is an incredible coach, but there’s two things he does that I hate.  Defensive Time-outs when the odd are against you, and on offense lining up in an empty backfield on 2^nd and short.  Unnecessary gambling.  Anyway, the 49’ers scored to conclude a wild first half of 8 touchdowns. 

Going into this game I was thinking the Saints biggest challenge would be stopping George Kittle, the league’s best tight end.  The Saints chose to put rookie CJ Gardner-Johnson on him, and he held his own until the 4^th quarter.  I was also worried about the Saints linebacker corps, with AJ Klein and Kiko Alonso out, replaced by Stephon Anthony and Craig Robertson, and that slight speed differential was costly, particularly in the track-meet first half.  San Francisco led 28-27 at the half. 

In the league’s highest scoring game so far this year, the two quarterbacks, Brees and Garoppolo were magnificent, both throwing for 349 yards.  Brees threw for 5 touchdowns and Michael Thomas had his usual terrific game.  With the Saints down 45-40 and needing a touchdown, the Saints got the ball back with 2:23 left.  He then came up with one of his patented drives, ending in a 18 yard touchdown pass to Tre’Quan Smith to take a 46-45 lead.  Unfortunately, the Saints had scored too quickly and there were 53 seconds left on the clock.  With 3 timeouts left, the 49’ers drove, converting a 39 seconds-left 4^th and 2 for a mere 39 yard gain, with a 15 yard penalty tacked on.  Robbie Gold kicked the winning field goal and the Saints had another heartbreaker to put in their pocket.

The Saints fell to 10-3 with 3 games remaining, and are now third in the NFC.  The Saints playoff positioning took a huge hit, but if they get healthy, there’s no reason to panic.  It probably means an extra game in the playoffs.  The worse news is that there will inevitably be a trip or two to the west coast, and the skies have not been too friendly to the Saints out thataway.

There were some positives.  Special teams were a difference maker for the Saints, as Deonte Harris had a great return game.  Of course, the fake punt that backfired was a strange call.  Again, I liked the decision, but the red team was ready for the play that was called.  Latavius Murray averaged 10 yards a carry and Alvin Kamara averaged 2.  Defenses have caught up to Kamara and that swing pass has lost its effectiveness.  The same can’t be said for Michael Thomas, who had another spectacular game, including his performance on a 4^th quarter drive that was almost all him.  Nope, can’t fault the offense for this one. 

On the defensive side, the Saints continue to struggle at corner with the PJ Williams/Eli Apple alliance having a tough time.  Cornerback in the NFL is almost impossible to play, and I’m sure it will be addressed in the off-season.  Until then, avert your eyes when playing against a good passer with two speedy receivers, and just hope the pass rush gets home.  The Saints have a history of anointing quarterbacks into superstars.  Let’s hope that’s not what happened to Garoppolo. 

Next up, an unexpectedly critical Monday Night game against the Colts.  Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck are retired, right?

Saints Report # 12 - Thursday, November 28, 2019

It was a typical ugly Thursday Night NFL game, but the Saints came away with a 26-18 win, to give New Orleans their third straight NFC South title, and maybe more importantly a redemptive win over the hated Atlanta Falcons, who embarrassed the Saints just a few weeks back.  

We will remember that we got the win, and we’ll try to forget the profanity filled 4^th quarter when the Falcons, seemingly dead at 26-9, recovered two onside kicks (the football version of make it, take it) and made a game of it.  In the end it was the relentless defensive line pressure, particularly by Cameron Jordan (4 sacks) that put the game away with less than a minute remaining.

While Wil Lutz was pounding home 4 field goals to bail out a rather anemic Saints offense, for the second straight week the Saints benefited from the short-range ineptitude of the opposing kicker who missed a short field goal and an extra point.  As far as I’m concerned if you line up to kick an extra point from a hashmark, you deserve to miss, and we’ve seen that in these last two games, a lot.

The Saints had jumped out to a big lead on the backs of Taysom Hill, who blocked a punt (a Saints vs. Falcons tradition), caught a shovel pass for a touchdown, and sprinted 30 yards for the Saints other touchdown. 

The Saints won the turnover battle, with a fumble recovery by Vonn Bell, and interceptions by rookies Shy Tuttle, and CJ Chauncey-Gardner who has shown a penchant for “Being There.”  It must be said that Cam Jordan also diminished an interception with another stupid penalty, this one a block in the back.  The Saints also continued to be heavily penalized, particularly on pass interference calls, and they dropped numerous passes.  Ted Ginn and Jared Cook missed end zone passes that could have put the game away, and even Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara had drops.  But having watched Matt Ryan for what seems like a century, his penchant for holding the ball too long makes him a feast or famine passer of the football.  The Saints re-found the pressure they lacked in the first meeting and held Ryan in check. 

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So, this game was sloppier than my Thanksgiving plate of food, and while the Saints didn’t look like a team ready to challenge for the Super Bowl, the 4^th quarter of the season starts now.  The Saints are 10-2 and have a big matchup on December 8th with the San Francisco 49’ers, whom any reputable Saints fan hates as much as the Falcons.  We’ve been tortured by Montana, by Rice, by Young, and even by Alex Smith.  The Saints do not at this moment look like a team worthy of first seed in the stacked NFC, but December tells the tale.  They get the 49ers, after a little longer rest, in the dome, although Sean Payton may take a day to just practice recovering on-side kicks.  Then, another extra day of rest before playing the Colts in the dome on a Monday night.  Win those two, and it's on to the trap games.  The last two games are at Tennessee and at Carolina. 

So the last 4 games are winnable but if we learned anything watching these Saints, they’re also lose able.  It’s the ground game that wins in December and so far the Saints running attack has the consistency of cranberry sauce.  It can lead to bouts of profanity.