Saints Report #9 - November 10, 2019

Those who follow the NFL were surprised at the Saints success in the first half of the season,  As the bye week occurred at the half way point of the season, the Saints sported a tasty 7-1 record.  They appeared to be the NFL’s most talented and deepest team.  On many power rankings (for what they’re worth) they were second to the equally surprising San Francisco 49’ers, and it looked like the Saints could be playing the 49’ers in the dome in December with home field advantage in the playoffs on the line.

So, when the hated rival Atlanta Falcons came to the dome on Sunday, the Saints had their destiny in their own hands.  They proceeded to drop their destiny like a hot potato.  On a weekend where Sean Payton got engaged, his Saints failed to engage and the Falcons dominated them 26-9.  The Falcons, 13 point underdogs with a 1-7 record inexplicably decided to show up for the game, and administered a sound whopping.  The Falcons deserved this win.  They had a great game plan, and ran the ball down the Saints throat from the opening kickoff.   The Saints run defense had been stout all year, but they got sliced and diced on this day.  With the running game established Matt Ryan flew the friendly skies with an equally successful passing attack.   

The offense was no help.  Every time it looked like the Saints might get something going, they would shoot themselves in the foot.  They got penalized 4 times for hands to the face, obviously the result of a league-wide “penalty of the week” memo.  (I saw it called in other games too.)  They roughed the punter.  They dropped passes, as their lack of a legitimate receiver to play opposite Michael Thomas was evident.  But, it was both lines that got pummeled on this day.  It seemed like every big 3^rd or 4^th down play ended with Drew Brees on his back, looking at the ceiling of the Superdome.  He got sacked 6 times, and it didn’t help that New Orleans couldn’t and wouldn’t run the ball.   Alvin Kamara was largely left out of the offense until late in the game. 

A couple of other observations:

Marshon Lattimore left with a thigh injury and he had been shadowing Julio Jones until that point.  You could probably say this about most teams, but the Saints struggle against teams with two great wideouts.  (Rams, Falcons.)

Lattimore is a legit lock down corner and if he is out for awhile, the Saints defense will continue to be challenged.

The Saints offense has been inconsistent.  Don’t let the record fool you, or the Bridgewater success story. When Bridgewater played for an injured Brees, the defense had some great games.

The Saints 7-2 record features the following offensive output:  30, 9, 33, 12, 31, 13, 36, 31, 9.  That’s 4 games with less than 2 touchdowns scored.  That’s atypical of the Payton/Brees era. For contrast, here’s what they were scoring during their 10 game winning streak in 2018:  21, 43, 33, 43, 24, 30, 45, 51, 48, 31.  We don’t know which offense is going to show up, the invincible one, or the invisible one. 

So, what’s wrong?

Mainly, the Saints need a consistent 2^nd receiver option, and they need to commit to the run half of the time.  Many teams have 3 dangerous wide-outs.  The Saints have one.  Brees may trust Ted Ginn, but Ginn has never been a threat to catch 8 balls in a game.  He’s good for 2, maybe 3, and his hands have always been suspect.  Emmanuel Butler was the talk of training camp, but has been marooned on the taxi squad, after dropping a couple of passes in the preseason.  Maybe it’s time to give him a look.

Here are the receiving totals for the year:

Wide Receivers:

Michael Thomas               86

Ted Ginn                           20

Tre’Quan Smith                  6 (injured)

Deonte Harris                      3

Austin Carr                          1

Kenny Kirkwood                 0  (injured)

Lil Jordan Humphres           0  (cut)

Tight Ends

Jared Cook                          21

Josh Hill                              15

Taysom Hill                          9

Dan Arnold                           2

Backs:

Alvin Kamara                      41

Latavius Murray                  25

Zach Line                               5

Dwayne Washington              1

That’s right.  Our third string quarterback has almost half as many receptions as our second wide receiver. By contrast the Rams look like this:  Woods - 38 , Cooks - 27 , Kupp – 58 for a total of 123, and all are deep threats, which Thomas is only rarely.   

I was hoping the Saints would take a run at AJ Green, and maybe they did.  Maybe they made a call to Josh Gordon.  Maybe Antonio Brown is waiting by the phone.  Somethings got to Ginn.  

When you lose, its usually because you either a) turn the ball over, or b) your weaknesses get exposed.  The Falcons exposed some weaknesses, and Sean Payton will have to scramble to get them fixed, as the whole league took notes today.

Now the Saints take a 2 game division lead into 3 straight division games, culminating with a rematch with the Falcons on Thanksgiving night.  A noon mealtime is suggested so there is plenty of time for digestion.  Another game like this and some people are going to be sick.  

Saints Report # 4 - September 29, 2019

While most NFL matches could be likened to a made-for-television, pay-per-view pinball game, somehow when Dallas and New Orleans get together it turns into a defensive collision.  Last year, Dallas stunned the Saints 13-10, ending a winning streak, and starting the Saints’ transition into December football.  Sunday, it was the Saints turn to bring down the undefeated (but truthfully untested) Cowboys, 12-10.  That they did it without scoring a touchdown while still controlling the clock and moving the ball well made for one of those intense Superdome clashes that are just wearing me out.  Wil Lutz kicked 4 field goals for all the Saintly scoring.

I spent most of the game watching Marshon Lattimore covering Amari Cooper.  I knew going in this game was going to hinge on the matchup of the Cowboys vaunted offensive line versus the Saints quickly improving defensive line.  As soon as it appeared that Cameron Jordan and friends were going to give Ezekiel Elliott fits, it was all about the secondary.  They were up to the task against what I thought was a surprisingly vanilla attack by the Cowboys.  If Lattimore returns to his role as a true shut down corner, he can take the other team’s best receiver to Lattimore Island and park him there.  The Saints linebackers, while not as good as Dallas’s (did you see their speed?) have also greatly improved.  The defense is becoming fun to watch.  If they stay healthy, it’s going to be a fun 16 games.  I know.  We are only in the first quarter of the season.  Temper the enthusiasm.

Teddy Bridgewater continued to fill in admirably for Drew Brees.  I had previously said that with the Saints’ difficult September, if they could get out of it with a 2-2 record, I would be happy.  If you had told me that they would go 3-1, and be without Drew for the majority of that, I’d have gone to Rouse’s and bought a pineapple upside down cake to celebrate in advance.  All of this of course against my better dietary judgement. Credit the Saints for investing in a back up QB behind an almost never injured Brees.  They knew if Brees ever went down, they had to stay competitive, or they'd be wasting a very talented team.  They anticipated the need for a bridge over trouble water.  (forgive me.)

The Saints are relying heavily on the superstar tandem of Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas.  They aren’t so much gamebreakers, as they are clock grinders.  Suddenly, the Saints weakness is on offense as they appear to have to little to complement their terrific two.  Tight End Jared Cook hasn’t asserted himself yet, Ted Ginn doesn’t appear to be the threat he once was, and other receivers are not even getting a look.  Another wideout right about now would be a boost.  But, the complexity of the offense means there won’t be any quick fixes.  It gives one some hesitation in the hopes that the Saints are rolling toward a championship.

The two Superdome games have featured an invasion of Texans.  I have to admit some fans have been a little obnoxious for my taste and I’m glad they’ve been quieted.  Bad house guests make me irritable.  Good defense makes me happy.

Saints Report #1 - September 9, 2019

At the dome, at the dome, at the great Superdome,
You’ll have fun, you’ll have fun, every Sunday this fall,
You’ll love the thrilling drives, you’ll scream til you split your sides,
at the Superdome, the Saints Superdome.

New Orleanians may miss the Zephyr, the famed roller coaster at Pontchartrain Beach.  But roller coaster thrills are still available.  Just come out of the New Orleans heat into the air cooled Superdome, and hold on for dear life. 
There have been some great games in the Superdome.  Monday night’s battle between the Saints and Texans has to rank as one of the best.  The Saints pulled out a 30-28 win on a 58 yard field goal by Wil Lutz as time expired.  It was heart pounding, then heart breaking, then heart pounding again.
There was so much to this game:

• The Saints won their opener for the first time in 6 years.  Previously they have started 0-2, 0-3, 0-3, 0-2, 0-1.  They had not won an opener since 2013. 
• The Saints were down 14-3 at the half, having looked lethargic and outgunned.  Quarterback DeShaun Watson had a terrific game, gashing and goring the Saints with runs and passes. 
• The Saints secondary struggled against the Texans receiving corps of DeAndre Hopkins, Wil Fuller, and new acquisition Kenny Stills.  The Saints are glad they’re leaving town, and the rest of the NFL is going to have to deal with them.
• Ryan Ramzyck turned in an all-pro performance by holding JJ Watts without one single tackle. 
• Drew Brees was not sacked.  Kamara and Thomas were terrific.
• Ted Ginn, who missed 11 games last year, had over 100 yards receiving, including 2 critical catches on the last drive.
• The officiating crew totally butchered the clock at the end of the first half
• The Saints were down 21-10 midway through the third quarter.
• The Saints sacked Watson 6 times, the most in the NFL in week 1.  It didn’t intimidate him.
• Cameron Jordan was all over the field.
• The Saints played 2 deep safeties much of the game.  It didn’t seem to help as the Texans still were able to throw deep, and run the ball effectively.  Last year they spent most of the year with one deep safety and the Saints were great against the run.  This game, they were good against neither the run nor the pass.
• The game was the first Monday Night Game ever to feature 2 lead changes in the last minute of the game.

I have two thoughts about the fourth quarter.  1 – It was incredible, and 2 – I’m getting too old for this.

The Saints took a 24-21 lead and got the ball with 3:29 left.  They needed to run out the clock, but the Texans still had all 3 timeouts, so it wasn’t going to be easy.  They started on their own 8 yard line.  On third and 2, Brees completed his longest pass of the night, 40 yards to Ted Ginn.  Remember that.  The Saints drive stalled and Lutz kicked a field goal, making it 27 -21. 

The Texans got the ball with 50 seconds left and no timeouts.  The dome was rocking, but the crowd was quickly stunned when it only took 2 plays and 13 seconds for the Texans to go the length of the field, with long passes to Watson, and Stills.  And just like that the season opener was the inevitable disaster that seems to be the Saints destiny.  Except the kicker missed the extra point, so the game is tied at 27.  Except there’s a flag.  Except the refs have something to say.  They always do.  They call roughing the kicker and the Texans get a gift re-kick to take the lead at 28-27.

So, the Saints get the ball back with 37 seconds left and they start what will be a legendary drive.  First 15 yards to Ted Ginn, and they clock it.  11 yards to Michael Thomas, and they clock it. Then the final pass.  With the Texans backed off of Ginn (remember he’s just burned them) Brees completes a nine yard pass to him, and he drops to the ground.  Wil Lutz then nailed a 58 yard kick to win it 30 – 28. 

In a city that misses the Ponchartrain Beach Roller Coaster, we know we can always get onboard the black and gold one that awaits within the Superdome.  The ride is always fast, sometimes thrilling.  This night it was especially thrilling.

Now it’s the tough west coast trip.  Now you’ll ride the roller coaster in the comfort of your living room.

Saints Report #15 - December 23, 2018

Raucous.  You know the Superdome is loud when the announcers are having to yell over the noise.  Sunday's game, won by the Saints over the Steelers 31-28, lived up to the advanced billing, the importance, and the growing reputation of the Superdome as the most difficult place to visit in sports.

The Steelers faced an unheard-of situation.  They came into the game leading their division by a half game (or whatever a tie game represents) but a loss could mean they don’t make the playoffs.  So, the Steelers came, they saw, and they fumbled.  Two fourth quarter fumbles proved costly.  One happened before, and one after a decision to run a fake punt on a fourth and five at midfield.  The Steelers only gained 4 of the 5 yards they needed, turning the ball over back to Drew Brees and the Saints offense who were down 28-24.

The Saints drove down and Michael Thomas caught a touchdown pass just under the 2 minute mark.

Ben Roethlisberger, who was brilliant all day, drove the ball effectively with no timeouts left, only to have Ju Ju Smith-Schuster fumble after a catch.  The Saints have one glaring vulnerability – trouble covering two elite wide receivers, and Smith-Schuster and Antonio Brown lit them up all night.But the defense continued to force fumbles

The Steelers scored 28 against a Saints defense that has been brilliant over the last 6 games.  The Saints scored in bunches.  When the Steelers tied the game at 14 late in the first half, it took Brees and mostly Alvin Kamara only 40 seconds to drive into field goal range, which Wil Lutz converted for the 3 points that would eventually be the difference.  Since the Saints had deferred at coin toss, they took the opening kickoff and drove down for a touchdown to take a 10 point lead at 24-14.  Then the offense slumbered til the last drive of the game.  The Steelers dominated the second half and took a 28-24 lead until they lined up to punt and made the controversial decision to try to preserve their possession. 

Thus the Saints preserve their top seed in the NFC with a 13-2 record.  They secured home field advantage until the Super Bowl.  They should be able to rest some starters next week, although there’s also a shot at their best regular season record in franchise history.  They will probably rest Drew Brees against Carolina in the closer, providing a showcase for Teddy Bridgewater.  This also allows them to rest most of the banged up offensive line, giving them 3 weeks to heal up.

The case for Drew Brees as MVP has now been made.  The Saints got Ted Ginn back from injured reserve and it was a huge addition.  Brees has been throwing to the great Michael Thomas and 2 rookie wide receivers: the drafted Tre’quan Smith and the undrafted Keith Kirkwood.  It looks like Kirkwood has supplanted Austin Carr in the lineup, and Tommylee Lewis has not contributed.  The tight ends have been sporadic at best.  Who has ever heard of a team playing this well with 2 rookies at wide receiver?   The productivity of the offense is Brees, Moore and Alvin Kamara.   Sean Payton usually doesn’t play rookies, much less two of them in this super complicated offense.  Allegedly, Brees calls three plays in the huddle and picks the one to he wants at the line.  So, what Brees has done with this inexperienced receiving corps is a marvel.  

The next time the Saints leave town, could be, should be to travel to the Super Bowl.

Let's go.