Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys

neugey · 12-03-2021, 06:39 AM

Originally Posted by TheOak

We have not had offensive leadership on the field since Drew's retirement.

Sadly leadership can not be fixed in the draft or free agency. Leaders are not appointed they are bred..

I think Jameis was doing a solid job filling the leadership void before the injury in his own way.

Anyway, there were some positive signs for the offense from this game. Payton's playcalling was generally better and we did a good job of stretching the defense horizontally at times (the Taysom quick rollouts where he threw to the TE in the flat, the edge run by Harris, the play where the play looked like it was going left and Taysom swept right). We just went to deep drop play action too often - it is not our strength and we need to cut back on those.

Especially after we get Kamara and our tackles back, we will have more success stressing defenses horizontally and that will set up everything else, including the very occasional shot play. This is fundamental, sustainable west coast offense and we have a great offensive mind in Payton to make it work if he commits to it. This will be the case whether it's Taysom, Book, Winston or whoever (though in my opinion Book is the best QB for this style - we'll eventually see if I'm right).

There are elements of a very productive new way of doing offense if we embrace it. It will look a lot different than the Brees offense, but this is the path forward.

TheOak · 12-06-2021, 06:48 AM

Originally Posted by neugey

I think Jameis was doing a solid job filling the leadership void before the injury in his own way.

Anyway, there were some positive signs for the offense from this game. Payton's playcalling was generally better and we did a good job of stretching the defense horizontally at times (the Taysom quick rollouts where he threw to the TE in the flat, the edge run by Harris, the play where the play looked like it was going left and Taysom swept right). We just went to deep drop play action too often - it is not our strength and we need to cut back on those.

Especially after we get Kamara and our tackles back, we will have more success stressing defenses horizontally and that will set up everything else, including the very occasional shot play. This is fundamental, sustainable west coast offense and we have a great offensive mind in Payton to make it work if he commits to it. This will be the case whether it's Taysom, Book, Winston or whoever (though in my opinion Book is the best QB for this style - we'll eventually see if I'm right).

There are elements of a very productive new way of doing offense if we embrace it. It will look a lot different than the Brees offense, but this is the path forward.

Leadership is not a void that someone is appoints to or tries to fill, that is management. Being a leader is a natural phenomenon that happens when two or more people are present. That just so happened to be Drew the last 12+ years but can be anyone.

Winston isn't that person (yet) and I will borrow from another discussion in another thread to explain. Someone commented that we used to be able to take 4-7th round WR and get productivity out of them, the reply was 'yes but we cant do that anymore'.

Even with two people in a room it takes time and familiarity for the roles to fall in. Those roles are not forged in a meeting room.

12-03-2021, 06:39 AM	#1
neugey Hu Dat! Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 6,870 Blog Entries: 13	Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys Originally Posted by TheOak We have not had offensive leadership on the field since Drew's retirement. Sadly leadership can not be fixed in the draft or free agency. Leaders are not appointed they are bred.. I think Jameis was doing a solid job filling the leadership void before the injury in his own way. Anyway, there were some positive signs for the offense from this game. Payton's playcalling was generally better and we did a good job of stretching the defense horizontally at times (the Taysom quick rollouts where he threw to the TE in the flat, the edge run by Harris, the play where the play looked like it was going left and Taysom swept right). We just went to deep drop play action too often - it is not our strength and we need to cut back on those. Especially after we get Kamara and our tackles back, we will have more success stressing defenses horizontally and that will set up everything else, including the very occasional shot play. This is fundamental, sustainable west coast offense and we have a great offensive mind in Payton to make it work if he commits to it. This will be the case whether it's Taysom, Book, Winston or whoever (though in my opinion Book is the best QB for this style - we'll eventually see if I'm right). There are elements of a very productive new way of doing offense if we embrace it. It will look a lot different than the Brees offense, but this is the path forward. leilung, SmashMouth and Rugby Saint II like this.

12-06-2021, 06:48 AM	#2
TheOak 10000 POST CLUB Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Cypress Tx. Posts: 19,050	Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys Originally Posted by neugey I think Jameis was doing a solid job filling the leadership void before the injury in his own way. Anyway, there were some positive signs for the offense from this game. Payton's playcalling was generally better and we did a good job of stretching the defense horizontally at times (the Taysom quick rollouts where he threw to the TE in the flat, the edge run by Harris, the play where the play looked like it was going left and Taysom swept right). We just went to deep drop play action too often - it is not our strength and we need to cut back on those. Especially after we get Kamara and our tackles back, we will have more success stressing defenses horizontally and that will set up everything else, including the very occasional shot play. This is fundamental, sustainable west coast offense and we have a great offensive mind in Payton to make it work if he commits to it. This will be the case whether it's Taysom, Book, Winston or whoever (though in my opinion Book is the best QB for this style - we'll eventually see if I'm right). There are elements of a very productive new way of doing offense if we embrace it. It will look a lot different than the Brees offense, but this is the path forward. Leadership is not a void that someone is appoints to or tries to fill, that is management. Being a leader is a natural phenomenon that happens when two or more people are present. That just so happened to be Drew the last 12+ years but can be anyone. Winston isn't that person (yet) and I will borrow from another discussion in another thread to explain. Someone commented that we used to be able to take 4-7th round WR and get productivity out of them, the reply was 'yes but we cant do that anymore'. Even with two people in a room it takes time and familiarity for the roles to fall in. Those roles are not forged in a meeting room.
	It's not what you look at that matters, it's what you see. ~ Henry David Thoreau