Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

Contrary to what you may hear and read everywhere else, New Orleans coach Sean Payton did not lose his mind when he ordered a fake field goal late in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons.

Yes, the fourth-and-7 play failed miserably after holder/quarterback Mark Brunell held the ball too long. Sure, Payton would have been roasted if the Saints had blown their perfect (13-0 and counting) season, with references to him reverting back to the immature risk-taker who cost his team games the past two years.

That criticism would have been dead wrong. He made the right call.

Ahead 26-23 and at the Atlanta 15 with 2:14 left, the Saints could have virtually put the game away with a first down or a touchdown. The way their broken-down defense was playing, a six-point lead would have been anything but safe.

This one had 30-29 written all over it.

The Falcons had gone 80 yards in five plays for a touchdown on their opening second-half series and 79 yards for a TD in 11 plays on their next drive. They had scored on five of their six possessions before Jonathan Vilma’s interception a few plays earlier. The lone exception came after a Chris Redman pass glanced off the fingertips of wide receiver Michael Jenkins when he was 10 yards behind the Saints secondary for a sure 69-yard touchdown.

Psychologically, a 3-point advantage probably was better than 6.

Say what? No, seriously.

Trailing by 6, the Falcons would have been more aggressive on their final drive knowing they had to score a touchdown. With two timeouts and two minutes left, they would have had plenty of time to get to the end zone.

Knowing they needed only a field goal to send the game to overtime, the Falcons were more conservative. They did not take a deep shot on any of the nine plays of their final possession. The Saints, meanwhile, knew they had to stay aggressive to prevent the Falcons from getting in field-goal range. Maybe Vilma would not have come up as quickly to stone receiver Jason Snelling on fourth-and-2 near midfield if Atlanta needed a touchdown.

Other considerations:

If the Saints had converted the field goal, the Falcons might not have needed to go much farther to score a go-ahead touchdown than they would have for a tying field goal. Starting at their 15, they needed about 50 yards to get in reasonable range for kicker Matt Bryant. They had returned the Saints’ last kickoff to their own 36. That’s a potential 14-yard difference.

If Garrett Hartley had missed the field goal – a distinct possibility considering he clanged an extra point off the upright – the Falcons would have taken over at their 23, eight yards better than where they got the ball.

Atlanta, which did not score last Sunday against Philadelphia until the final play, went up and down the field against New Orleans. Redman, starting for the second straight week in place of injured Matt Ryan, threw for 303 yards. The Saints sacked him only once, and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams’ blitzes produced almost no pressure.

Payton did not trust his defense or his kicker enough to settle for the conventional play.

Given the evidence of the first 57:46, would you?

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

garret hartley has missed only one field goal as a saint and it was a 50+ yarder at the end of regulation against the redskins

his PAT was a little iffy but that shouldnt deter a coach from letting him kick the field goal late in the game

the real blame should fall on john carney who has created a lot of doubt in the kicking game.....a lot of doubt that doesnt make sense since he was replaced

garret hartley is a good kicker and is very clutch as far as we are concerned

he is the most accurate and consistant kicker we have had in a long time.....there is absolutely no reason not to trust him except for the reason i pointed out earlier.....john carney

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

I agree with you, QBrees. In fact, I said out loud prior to the snap, "Fake field goal." It didn't work, but then again, it did.

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

... just say no to blogs

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

This makes no sense...
The Falcons were 6-6.
They need to win.
They should have been looking for 6 regardless of if the Sainst made the field goal attempt.
They needed to win not send it into overtime.

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

I was surprised at the fake but I guess he thought they could catch the Falcons off guard. It didn't seem they did.

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

I don't agree. I doubted Hartleyon his own merits yesterday. Missing an EP will do hat for you. I think the fake was the right call. Tha screen to Thomas on 3rd and long however was stupid. If I can call that on my couch at home then so can the Falcons.

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

im sorry i like sean payton as coach, i think he's a great head coach but that call was suspect! it could have cost us a game. also there was one down the stretch when he called a pass play on 3rd and 1! that's what running backs are for. this aint madden 2010! there are no do-overs! stupid plays like that could have easily cost us the win! :doh:

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

Had the fake been executed well, it would have been a first down.

I don't think there was doubt in Hartley - We all know SP will make a call like this just so he can control the game.

Our defense has been opportunistic all season and I was confident Gregg would get pressure and force a turnover.

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

Bad call, just a bad call.

IF you are planning on going on 4th, then you have to have a strategy for the whole series. There's 2:23 to go, second and 7. Two incomplete passes take no time or timeouts off the clock, and we don't even get to the 2 minute warning.

Think how different even 1 running play would have been. More time, plus a time out. Not to mention we ran better in the second half.

I have no problem with going for it and leaving the ball inside the 20 with 2 minutes to go. I'd just rather see guys like Brees, Colston, PT and Bush on the field, not Brunnell and Dinkins.

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

I guess I am too old school. But when you have the opportunity to make it a TD game instead of FG game. You do it. Of course, I don't coach an NFL team. Especially an undefeated NFL team. :mrgreen:

Defending Sean Peyton: Fake Field Goal Was Right Call
 

Contrary to what you may hear and read everywhere else, New Orleans coach Sean Payton did not lose his mind when he ordered a fake field goal late in the fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons.

Yes, the fourth-and-7 play failed miserably after holder/quarterback Mark Brunell held the ball too long. Sure, Payton would have been roasted if the Saints had blown their perfect (13-0 and counting) season, with references to him reverting back to the immature risk-taker who cost his team games the past two years.

That criticism would have been dead wrong. He made the right call.

Ahead 26-23 and at the Atlanta 15 with 2:14 left, the Saints could have virtually put the game away with a first down or a touchdown. The way their broken-down defense was playing, a six-point lead would have been anything but safe.

This one had 30-29 written all over it.

The Falcons had gone 80 yards in five plays for a touchdown on their opening second-half series and 79 yards for a TD in 11 plays on their next drive. They had scored on five of their six possessions before Jonathan Vilma’s interception a few plays earlier. The lone exception came after a Chris Redman pass glanced off the fingertips of wide receiver Michael Jenkins when he was 10 yards behind the Saints secondary for a sure 69-yard touchdown.

Psychologically, a 3-point advantage probably was better than 6.

Say what? No, seriously.

Trailing by 6, the Falcons would have been more aggressive on their final drive knowing they had to score a touchdown. With two timeouts and two minutes left, they would have had plenty of time to get to the end zone.

Knowing they needed only a field goal to send the game to overtime, the Falcons were more conservative. They did not take a deep shot on any of the nine plays of their final possession. The Saints, meanwhile, knew they had to stay aggressive to prevent the Falcons from getting in field-goal range. Maybe Vilma would not have come up as quickly to stone receiver Jason Snelling on fourth-and-2 near midfield if Atlanta needed a touchdown.

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

Logically, you're right. But that's not the way most teams play. A backup quarterback who had just thrown a terrible interception on the previous possession will be a little skittish. If Redman directs the Falcons to a field goal, he gets hailed for doing everything he could to give the Falcons a chance to win, and even if they lose in overtime, he maybe earns himself a contract with another team with a chance to compete for a starting job next year.

If they're down six, he knows he has to go for a touchdown to cement that opportunity.

I understand why most people would think the fake field goal was crazy, but I still think it was the right thing to do.

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

There would have been the same amount of time left on the clock if the Saints had run the ball. Atlanta would have had one fewer timeout, but with the 2-minute warning still to come, there still would have been plenty of time.

As for keeping Brees and the offense on the field, I understand the logic, but Payton really thought the fake field goal would work. Plus, going for on fourth down would have been a more obvious slap in the face to Hartley and the defense. When the fake didn't work, Payton could talk about the Falcons' special teams unit giving him a look he thought could exploit on film and say it had nothing to do with a lack of confidence in his kicker and defense.

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

... seriously, man. Stop. That was a BAD call. No amount of over-rationalization is going to change that.

That right there... you are kidding, right?

I have NO idea what the Falcons where actually thinking, but I can GUARANTEE you, the last thing the Falcons wanted to do is go into overtime and take the chance that Brees was going to get the ball back. With 2 time outs and the 2 minute warning, 2+ minutes to go, and the ball in their possession, I GUARANTEE you the Falcons wanted to win that game right there and then.

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

After careful consideration, this call wasn't about winning the Falcons game. It was about putting doubt in future opponents' heads about going after kicks. You now have to respect the fact that a guy who's been in playoff games is taking snaps and has practiced hitting receivers out of that set. Smart move.

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

I am with you XAN!

Besides if you look at that play closely I wouldn't be surprised if that kick was blocked.

Going forward teams are going to have to respect that we will think faking it reguardless if we made it or not. Who wants to get burned on a FG attempt fake.

This play call is a TOTAL set up. Lets face if it Payton really wanted to be sure we go for it and get it he'll leave Brees and company in there.

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

Horrible call. Gay and Vilma saved Payton from a roasting and he knows it.

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

I have no problem with going for it on 4th down there, but if your going for the TD or first down to end it, then have your best player, Brees, go in and run a play. What you don't do is have your highly immobile broken down backup QB who hasn't thrown a meanigful pass this decade try and roll out and and hit your starting guard with a post pattern.
The call was absolutely absurd.

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

And what if we got 3 more points and gone up 29 to 23...

did our defense stop them all day?

Were we ever going to stop them?

Do we depend on a miracle week to week, in this case the defensive starters showing up?

Vilma and Gay are GODZ for their play but a lot of starters on defense totally underperformed all day long.

Had we scored a field goal and Atlanta came back and scored a touchdown we would have been toast. Am I wrong here?

Just trying to think this out. I agree with what everybody is saying on both sides.

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

It was the right call poorly executed.

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

I had no issue with the Saints trying to put the game away. Matter of fact, it made perfect sense. IMO, the Saints would have had a better chance by just going for it with Brees behind center. A quick slant would have completely ended it. I really did not like the fake FG at that point in the game. Thank goodness the Saints defense was able to finally stop them when it counted. Pathetic to see Chris Redman tear the Saints up like he did all afternoon...

Re: Defending Sean Payton: Fake field goal was the right call
 

I can agree with this.

Brees to: Colston or Meachum or Bush or Henderson or Shockey or Thomas (whew that's a lot of options) would have probably been more effective.:D