Saints Report #17 - January 9, 2022

"You’ve got to be kidding me.  This is what we get with a 17 game season.  The Saints?  So, let me get this straight, if we had stuck to the 16 game schedule, the 49’ers would be in already? "

"Roger, let’s not panic yet.  There’s still a half to play and although they’re down 17-3, we know the Rams aren’t a second half team and they’ll probably choke.  As for the Saints, we thought for sure after that Hurricane, down to their 4^th Quarterback, and all that covid, they were goners.  You gotta give them credit."

"No, no credit.  But I’ll say this.  You guys sure did a good job getting the National Media to ignore them until now.  If the 49’ers do lose, I want that blackout of Saints info to continue." 

"Roger, we’ve got Colin, Stephan, and Mike in our back pocket.  They haven’t mentioned the Saints all year.  The only one we can’t get to shut up is Kay Adams, and she’s on our own network." 

"Can we bring someone else in?" 

"Roger, she’s so popular it would be suspicious."

 "Ok, it's halftime.  Let's get to work.  Mary Ann, contact the replay booth and tell them which way to lean.  Also, reach out to the clock operator and tell him what to do." 

"If the Saints make the playoffs despite our efforts, put together a “preserve-our-ratings” task force.  First, start with sending Fauci down to personally sit with the opposing quarterback, I guess Matthew Stafford, for the week so he doesn’t get sick.  Isolate him.  Keep him away from his kids."

"Second, I want that Officiating Crew from LA that we sent to the Superdome to keep the Saints out of the Super Bowl, I want that same crew doing the Saints playoff game."

"Third, I want a deep dive into the Saints observation of protocols.  Surely, we can suspend someone.  Maybe Tom Benson?"

"Roger, Tom died years ago."

"Oops.  If the Saints don’t make the playoffs, let’s get the “Coach of the Year” criteria changed to “must go to a coach of a playoff team,” just to be sure Payton can’t win.  And why are the Saints allowed so many quarterbacks?"

"Roger, good news.  The Rams choked and it’s going to overtime." 

"Ok, make sure the Niners win the toss.  I want that crew on high alert for pass interference."

Ultimately, the Saints season of adversity ended with a Matthew Stafford interception in overtime, and the 49’ers got the playoff spot.  Stafford has the footwork of Stephen Adams (Slowfoot) who played for the Pelicans last year.  Should they meet again in the playoffs, the 49’ers will grind them into the ground with their running game.

The Saints finale was mostly satisfying.  Their 30-20 win over Matt “Turnover” Ryan and the hapless Falcons was good until the last drop, and then the shoe dropped when the Rams spit the bit.

Taysom Hill was nearly perfect until he got hurt.  If he really has a lisfranc foot fracture, he’ll be under the knife tomorrow. 

Trevor Siemian took over and was safe and flawless, helped substantially by the defensive takeaways.  The announcers were even impressed by the fact that the Falcons had three one play drives.  It wasn’t just Roger Goodell who didn’t want the Saints in the playoffs.  That defense and the Saints ability to play field position is enough to frighten every team.  Let’s hope that somehow the defense can stay together for next year.  They’ll be some salary wrangling to do.

I watched with admiration this year as Sean Payton unveiled his game plan for each game.  He took a team with a couple of quarterbacks who had no mobility, and one that had too much, and a rookie, and basically manipulated this team to competitiveness.  Yes, there were games that slipped away. (Giants, Titans, Falcons).  Kicking problems were embarrassing at times.  But, for obstacles overcome, adversity dealt with, and juggling of personnel, hats off to Sean Payton.  A 9-8 record is nothing to covid sneeze at.

Saints Report #8 - November 7, 2021

Any Saints loss to the Atlanta Falcons is heart-breaking, end of the world sorrowful, but this one was a throwback to the 70’s, with a last minute dagger that felled the Saints 27-25. 

The Saints played a pretty lackluster first 3 quarters, allowing Matt Ryan to chop up their vaunted defense with mostly short passes, with an occasional embarrassing long one thrown in.  The Falcons led 24-6 with 8 minutes left, and it all seemed a formality.  The Saints were going to squander their chance to take the division lead.

There are a lot of tried and true ways to lose in the NFL.  Here are a few:

• Sleep walk through 3 quarters and let the other team jump out to a big lead
• Drop about 7 passes
• Fail miserably on a couple of critical two point conversions
• Lose a fumble in the pocket in the middle of the comeback.
• Waste a stirring comeback by leaving the veteran opposing quarterback too much time to mount a comeback of his own.
• Put a rookie man to man on the best receiver with the game on the line.

Consider all those boxes checked.

The Saints trailed by 18 with 8 minutes left and mounted a thrilling comeback, as Siemian and Taysom Hill began to sling the ball all over the field.  It was the most remarkable comeback since the Brees-led one over the then-Skins of Red back in 2017.  When Kenny Stills caught a touchdown pass with 1 minute left, Saints fans were ecstatic, but also knew that was a lot of time for Matt Ryan.  He needed about 10 seconds of it.  His 64 yard pass to Cordarrelle Patterson over rookie Paulson Adebo took the wind out of the Superdome faster than a bomb cyclone, whatever that is. The Falcons won it on a short field goal.

The Saints are a puzzling lot.  They’ve lost to three teams, the Giants, Falcons, and Panthers that now have worse records than the Saints.  They beat the two teams, the Bucs and Packers that are the favorites to play in the NFC Championship. 

They broke their improbable 3 game winning streak.  Instead of a remarkable 6-2 record, they stumble to 5-3, making their playoff odds significantly longer.  Three of their next 4 opponents, Tennessee, Dallas, and Buffalo lead their divisions, and the one that doesn’t, Philly, is in 2^nd place.  Cakewalk it ain’t.  These 3 losses to teams they should have beaten would have provided a margin for error they don’t have now.  Going into December at or under .500 is a very real possibility.  Meanwhile, their home field advantage seems to have evaporated and escaped through that fire on the roof a few months back.

They’ve hidden their major deficiency – wide receiver, until today.  Against the Falcons, drops were plentiful, and separation was not in evidence until late in the game.  My personal opinion is that OBJ is a head case, but he’d easily be the #1 receiver on this team.  Not that I’m advocating.

Tight End Adam Trautman contributed a couple of critical drops, but came alive in the 4^th quarter.  They say he’s a good blocker.  Whatever.

Mark ingram looked good in the first quarter, then he disappeared, into the “minimal use” bucket.

Atlanta receivers, on the other glove, were wide open all day.  If this is evidence of game-planning by their first-year coach, Arthur Smith, the Saints recent superiority may be in jeopardy.  While Atlanta upped their series lead to 54-51, the Saints are 21-10 since Payton arrived, including 6 out of the last 7 until today.  It would be nice for recent momentum to continue.

Taysom Hill embarrassed the Birds last year, and zinged two completions right before Siemian’s game-changing fumble.  Payton may not have been convinced Hill was ready after his concussion, and Siemian played pretty well, but I’m thinking the decision will be tougher next week.  The loss was certainly not Trevor’s fault, but could he win a Super Bowl?  I don’t know.  Could Nick Foles?  Brad Johnson?  Jeff Hostetler?  Trent Dilfer?  How much has the game changed?  I just don’t know.  No one is talking about his big arm, that’s for sure.

Today reminded me of the Minneapolis Miracle.  The Vikings jumped out to a big lead.  Brees piloted a brilliant comeback, one that should have made it a signature win.  It all went out the window on an improbable bomb to Stefon Diggs, whose part was played today by Patterson.  After what the Saints did to Brady last week with under a minute left, this outcome was particularly surprising.  The defense was a step slow all day, and Patterson one-on-one with any rookie is a full load, although they did contain rookie phenom tight end Kyle Pitts.

So, a puzzling day in the NFL all around.  In future opponents, Jacksonville embarrassed Buffalo, and Denver surprised Dallas, so they’ll be more focused.  Let’s hope the Saints are. 

Saints Report #12 - December 6, 2020

Familiarity breeds familiarity.  The Saints and Falcons are familiar to each other.  They don’t like each other much.  Neither do the fan bases.  So, the Saints 21-16 win Sunday should make Saints fans happy.  You know, a W is a W and all that.  It was the 9^th straight win on the season, and moved the Saints to 8-0 without Drew Brees in the last 2 years. 

But it should have been a lot easier. 

The game almost got away because, as is often the case, Sean Payton was thinking too much.  This year, as is often the case, the Saints defense came through to save Sean some embarrassment.

Going into the 4^th quarter the Saints had been dominant and led 21-9.  Just like two weeks ago, the Falcons had only been able to muster 3 field goals.  The Saints recovered a Matt Ryan fumble and set up shop on the Falcons 18 yard line, poised to put the game away.  Four plays later the Saints had the ball on the 7, first and goal.  To almost any coach in America, it’s time to pound the ball and run the clock. 

To Sean Payton, it’s time to experiment.

A two yard completion set them up on the 5.  Then Taysom Hill, who fumbles like he’s doing a rendition of Tiki Barber, coughed it up on the most unnecessary scramble this side of a Waffle House.  The Falcons recovered, and recovered the momentum that’s been missing since a certain Super Bowl.  The Falcons would be assured of 3 more possessions.  You do the math.  They scored on their first drive, but fizzled after that, and the Saints held on, watching the next two drives ending with a Ryan pass falling to the end zone turf.  Fortunately, the Falcons fizzle a lot and the Saints stayed in the driver’s seat for top seed. 

So, let’s talk Taysom.  First, we must acknowledge that we have been spoiled by the accuracy and analysis of Drew Brees.  Taysom had a good game, except for the fumbleitis.  He put it on the carpet 3 times.  That’s not good.  But he’s better than I thought he would be with his accuracy, and he puts figurative mustard on the ball.  He makes up his mind pretty quickly where he’s going with it, and soon the defenses are going to feast on that.  His running ability adds a dimension, but also a couple of risks.  He may indeed be the quarterback of the future for the Saints, but I promise there will be growing pains and mistakes ahead.  Right now, the Saints defense is playing so well that they can be a giant mistake eraser.  That won’t always be the case.  But, Taysom is 3-0 and he’s done what he had to do.

As for Payton, despite his penchant for experimentation, you’ve got to give him credit.  The reason the Saints have done so well without Brees is their ability to game plan.  It’s rare that the Saints don’t have a top-notch game plan. 

The first challenge of a coach in the NFL is to win your division.  After Carolina won the division three Cam Newton years in a row, the Saints can  clinch their 4^th straight division championship. If they beat Carolina in the final game of the season, they will be the first NFC South team to ever sweep the division. 

Because of the familiarity factor, splitting the 6 division contests and winning most of the rest of your games, is a pretty good strategy.  Payton has been better than that.  This is the 8^th time the Saints have swept the Falcons since Payton arrived.  His division won-loss record goes like this:

20-8 over Falcons
16-12 over Panthers
18-10 over Bucs

The Saints control their destiny, but will probably have to win out to get the bye, as Green Bay shows no signs of faltering.  The biggest test will be Kansas City in two weeks.  The Saints aren’t familiar with them.  The rest of the football world is.  

 

Saints Report #10 -- November 22, 2020

With a little help from their friends, (Phillip Rivers and the Indianapolis Colts who knocked off Green Bay), the Saints moved into the top spot in the NFC @ 8-2.  The Saints punished the Atlanta Falcons 24-9 Sunday.

The spotlight before, during, and after the game was on Taysom Hill, selected to start at quarterback over Jameis Winston, due to the Drew Brees injuries, plural.  Hill turned in a solid B+ performance in his audition for the franchise quarterback spot that might be available next year. 

But focusing on Taysom Hill would miss the point of this game.

What everyone should be spotlighting is the Saints defense.  It is generally assumed that Drew Brees will be retiring this year.  By the end of this game, Matt Ryan had to be considering retirement.  Ryan is a quarterback in the statuesque tradition of Drew Bledsoe.  Ryan’s only chance is to get the ball off, because footwork is not in his DNA, much less scrambling.  The Saints sacked the statue like protestors after a fiery speech.  Eight times they bulldozed Ryan in the backfield.  You almost had to feel sorry for him.  Almost

At this point the Saints are loaded at every position.  The front four is dominant, and no one can run on them.  Demario Davis is everywhere, and it looks like newly acquired linebacker Kwon Alexander has displaced Alex Anzalone in the starting lineup.  CJ Chauncey Gardner is becoming a star, and the defensive backfield is taking advantage of the pass rush.  The Saints defense is simply playing lights out and had complete control of the game.

Back to Taysom Hill.  The good was that his passing was excellent for the most part.  He was smart enough to seek out Michael Thomas to the tune of about 104 yards.  He ran the ball effectively although in those situations that he was obviously going to run, I don’t understand why they don’t just hand it to Latavius Murray, who is tremendously effective running the ball straight ahead.  Hill fumbled once, and he has shown the propensity to fumble a little too much.  Other than that issue, which can be coached up (as coaches would say), the Saints have put themselves into the driver’s seat for the #1 seed in the NFC and home dome advantage.  There is a long way to go yet, but the Saints are on a steamroll.  

 

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.