Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

No more WTF large contracts hamstringing the team.
Need new beef on the OL. Brees spoiled us with his quick reads and release, made many look better than they really were, even WRs.
Taysom's legs helped out, but just how long is that sustainable? Play him more games, but let's get a looksee with the kid, Ian Book, at some point. If Taysom's finger is effed, maybe this forces SP's hand.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

The age old Madden adage still holds true. "if you have two quarterbacks, you have none"

• We have not had a QB since Drew's retirement.
• 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.. :bng:

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

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.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

-Humphrey with a couple more plays
-Vannett looks like a keeper.
-Harris is a true difference maker.
-Love Hill. True warrior. Not a NFL QB When he hurt his finger, should have been pulled. The game was still in reach. Bad contract.
-Backup OLine competed.
-How did Callaway go from potential star to a bust?
-One more loss and they should pull the plug on some guys and let Book play. The Saints need a cheap QB for a couple years. Would have been nice to have gotten Jones.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

I do not know for the life of me why Callaway is still starting, except for a handful of great plays he hasn't looked good at all this year. As for Kenny Stills, I believe he will get released from the team this week, or at least deserves to be released.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

The game was lost a few seasons ago. Signing guys off the street & ignoring the skill position @ WR via the draft. Timestamp 1:34 or so, Sean low-key called out Kenny Stills for Alligator arm on that lack of "going to get it". That was a costly PICK.

Saints lack talent offensively. We are simply not good enough, especially now with injuries. We perform like a pre-season team on offense.

Defense is the only reason why we are in games at the end.

Honestly, the lug nuts were coming loose once Winston went down.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

Callaway can make great catches but the route running is pretty lousy. I wish we had a frenetic slot receiver like Edelman, Welker or Beasley. It's almost imperative we find our Cooper Kupp in this next draft. And/or get Michael Thomas back, but at this point it hurts just thinking about him.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

How about them SAINTS!!!!???

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

I mentioned the defense in my previous post ...

Kwon Alexander - thought he covered and tackled well. Extremely stout against the run. Zeke had nowhere to go.

PJ Williams - he gets raged on more than most but he's an excellent tackler in space. Lamb probably wondering what Mack truck hit him on that 3rd and short.

Lattimore - stats say he gave up 6 receptions, but they were minimal yardard gained. Not to mention pass breakups on Gallup.

Offensively, Nick Vannett showed up. Brings physicality to the position we have been missing & was good in the screen game.

Business as usual for Deonte' Harris and Blake G. > Ballers all season.

That blindside block penalty from the refs :dunce: ... smdh.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

Agree will all points and we need to give props to the defense - we made the Cowboys one-dimensional and that was what kept the game within reach. Just the one Pollard TD run got us, and that was just a great play by him, somewhat Kamara-like.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

Re-sign Jameis, draft WR Garrett Wilson and sign a TE (maybe OJ Howard?). Callaway can go back to the slot where he looked better his rookie year.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

Facts.

I'd also look for one in Free Agency. Doesn't have to be a big "name" but a guy who is hungry, can run routes, create separation on a consistent basis & a player willing to make the difficult catch in traffic.

The off-season will be interesting.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

I'd like to see us go QB/WR with our first two picks. Sam Howell fan here and WR is typically a deep position that we can still address early.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

My takes on last night:
Parsons is a beast and he is the real deal.
Diggs is good but he's believing the hype and can be had as we saw several times with average receivers.
Lamb is quick and can shake DB's on those out routes that were killing us all night. Two high zone on 3rd downs was not cutting it.
Harris was the star of that WR corps last night. Aside for a couple drops, he and Vannett kept most of the passing game alive.
O line functioned pretty well as a unit most of the night in spite of being a patchwork solution.
D front 7 shut down the run game effectively with the exception of that ridiculous long run by Pollard. (WTF, was up with Williams letting him run the sideline like that when he had the angle? Was he afraid of whiffing a solo tackle? Again?)
Then there was Taysom. His rushing was nothing short of glorious and Dallas had little answer for it. Kudos. But then, when he had to pass the ball? 1) Staring down your receivers; 2) No touch; 3) Short arming passes; 4) Throwing into double coverage; 5)When there were receivers open (which, surprisingly, they were several times last night), inability to lead them on crossing and fade routes to hit them in stride.

Short of some radical changes, Taysom is NOT the answer at QB. I wasn't thrilled with JW at first, but he proved he could move and score with this Offense. The front office would better serve the team short term by securing Winston. Otherwise, I see a long and painful walk to NFL relevance again.

To paraphrase Jack Nicholson's Joker: This offense needs an enema!

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

every team has injuries as the season goes along. The Saints were no different this year and maybe their injuries were more significant than some other teams were.

I think a Winston lead team with a healthy CGM, a healthy Kamara, a capable kicker and the offensive line they had hoped would be available would be a playoff team and could play with any team in the league. Unfortunately we don’t have that. If the team gets a pick in the top ten maybe it will be a chance for a good draft and they bounce back next year.

Watching that last seahawks game, I am less excited about possibly having Wilson at QB.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

You make every phone call you can this off-season.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

Weird that despite the mistakes, penalties and injuries we were still in this one. Felt like we could have come on top.

We've officially hit rock bottom in my opinion. That's good. It was inevitable.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

One of my poker friends is a Jets Fan. It can always get worse. 😆

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

We were making a LOT of people nervous. Then that inexplicable flag for...blocking...

Imagine that they couldn't find a real foul but they needed (desperately) to put an end to the momentum Hill had built.

So, a flag that nobody can explain, drive killed. Game over. People, a subtle call like that affects the whole game. That's all it takes.

Somebody gonna tell me a professional NFL official actually saw a foul on that play?

Bull:censored:

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

That call was so bad even Buck and Aickman said it was a bad call. Which I will say this for Aickman, he likes it when they let them play.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

until SP falls out of love with the Hill experiment, it will always be an issue. But a game like this may expedite the divorce.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

+1.

And this is why Troy doesn’t really bother me as a color analyst. He was a tough football player and didn’t whine on the gridiron. Old school.

Today’s league & refs are ruining our sport.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

Charlie Weis made a very good observation during the day yesterday prior to the game. He said given the Saints current state of affairs with all of the injuries they really didn't stand much of a chance facing the Cowboys, but he stressed that it is ten days until they play next and they have a very good chance of having six starters back in the lineup. He went through the remaining schedule and said the Saints have a very realistic chance of winning four of the last five games (Jets, Dolphins, Panthers, and Falcons) and at 9-8 have a very good chance of making the playoffs. Most of the other teams alive with be playing each other or the Saints and will suffer some losses.

As for observations from the game, I was enthused by Hill's performance. He gave the team a spark they haven't had recently. The Cowboys made some great defensive plays and Taysom was forced to force some throws late. The defense played a very solid game and will only get better with the return of Davenport and hopefully Ceedy. Once again, drops came into play in a very bad way. Stills is less than useless. Ingram clearly wasn't healthy yet. Overall tackling was much better.

Back to Hill ... he is not the QB of the future. We may not find that for a couple of years. It's my understanding that the draft class is void of top end QB prospects. But, Taysom can keep us more competitive than Siemian in the interim. I believe he will improve given the chance to keep playing and keeps the defense honest with his threat of the run.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

The Saints have a better shot at a top 10 draft pick than making the playoffs.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

I'd much rather make the playoffs. To hell with a top 10 draft pick.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

With the Falcons, Panthers, Vikings and Niners all losing today it was a pretty ideal day for us. It's gonna be an absolute pig pile for those last few NFC playoff spots - who knows!

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

I don't care as much about the playoffs as I do about finishing above 500. I still remember when that seemed like an unobtainable fantasy.

(But making the playoffs would be great.)

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

Good luck with that bud. This team is broken with injuries and backups.

I want better players on my squad for the next 4-5 years that can provide long-term help & make real playoff appearances.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

I'll pull for wins and you can hope for losses then. The draft is the last thing on my mind. I start caring about it after it happens.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

Well pal, brace yourself.

You build a solid foundation with high-quality draft picks - see 2019, 2020 Tampa Bay draft selections. 3 years later, Lombardi #2. Not a participation trophy (meaningless playoff appearance).

I'm on to the Jets.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

Shoot, look at the Pats turning it around after one down year. They were in the exact same situation as us.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

Tell me about it! I’m already sick of hearing their crap.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

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. :bng:

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

A narcissist can never be wrong
Their opinions are facts
Their feelings are valid
Their views are always right
This does not apply to you
Everything you think, feel, or say is wrong.

Point out a hole in their illogical thinking
and you've just started a never ending war.

5 - 12 Baby! :rofl: :rofl:

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

Yes you do, but at no point will I EVER willingly accept losses regardless of at what point in the season just for the sake of a draft slot. Never. Ever. If there is even a tiny thread of hope we can make the playoffs I am holding on to it. Then, even if eliminated, I will be there in the stands until the final seconds tick off the clock urging my Saints on hoping for victory. A playoff appearance may be meaningless to you, but it certainly is not to me. Nor is any win meaningless.

We are going to draft who we are going to draft. There's nothing any of us can do to change that. I see no value to me to even consider the draft until the day it happens and that is just to see who we will have to work with.

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

Whatever :rolleyes:...

https://media0.giphy.com/media/wKTgK...200w.webp&ct=g

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

Facts

Re: Observations from the Saints' Loss to the Cowboys
 

I didn't expect you to understand. I choose to live in the moment and to try to get as much joy out of the present as is possible. To each his own.

:bng: :beer: