Flip Flopping On DA Again
 

I can't remember flip flopping on whether I like or dislike someone as much as I have with Dennis Allen. When he first started calling plays for the Saints in '08 I thought he wasn't aggressive enough. DA was initially ineffective until we put several years of top daft picks on the defensive side of the ball. He needs top level talent to make his scheme work but when he has the players then he consistently fields a top five defense.

His first year as head coach with the Saints was just short of disastrous between the injuries and bad play calling. His mantra was just keep doing what you're doing. What they were doing was losing and it wasn't pretty. His coaching style was too relaxed in my opinion. This year the front office gave him the pieces to be successful with one of the best off seasons that I can remember. If he isn't successful this year year it's his own fault.

Each season I seem to reevaluate Dennis Allen and flip flop on him. We've gone from signing petitions mid way through last season wanting to fire him to high hopes for the upcoming season. I hope he doesn't let me down again but I like the team vibe and I like the direction the team is going.

Re: Flip Flopping On DA Again
 

I wish him well this season, but I don't think he has the right stuff

Re: Flip Flopping On DA Again
 

It’s interesting to indicate you’ve gone back and forth on him. His prior stint at Oakland doesn’t mean much to me. He’s done a good job as DC and as head coach he’s had one year. That one year had poor QB play/talent and a whole lot of injuries.

He surely has to prove himself this year. But as far as the petitions and whatnot I’ve been steady in saying I’ve not been convinced he’s terrible.

Edit…Isn’t winning the division but losing first round still headed in the right direction compared to the last 2 years ?

Re: Flip Flopping On DA Again
 

I think we’ll have a great season but I still want him gone.

Re: Flip Flopping On DA Again
 

I'm sorry, Rugs, but his mantra was never "just keep doing what you are doing". One time and one time only when both he and Andy Dalton were asked after the game where Andy threw the two pick sixes at the end of the first half, they both said Allen told Andy to just keep doing what you are doing as refers to the second half of that individual game. He was basically telling him to stick to the game plan and not panic. Dalton actually had a pretty strong 2nd half of that game.

That was the ONLY time "just keep doing what you are doing" was ever uttered or implied. It was only claimed to be a "mantra" or his "philosophy" by those with a vendetta against him. Not referring to you, at all, here Rugs. I know you're just repeating what others have erroneously claimed on multiple occasions.

Just trying to set the record straight once again.

As for my evaluation, I've always thought that Allen has always been a victim of the circumstances. He spent his early years as a head coach with arguably the most incompetent leadership in the NFL around him. His first year here with the Saints was marred by the second year in a row of the most disastrous two years of injuries in the Saints history. I feel we've had both better and far, far worse head coaches over the years.

Re: Flip Flopping On DA Again
 

As for the poll, I believe we will not only win the division, but will make a strong run in the playoffs. So I guess my answer would be "none of the above".

Answered "I believe" since it was the closest, I guess.

Re: Flip Flopping On DA Again
 

Completely agree with all of that, Boston.

Re: Flip Flopping On DA Again
 

If you looked at his approach to last season then it's easy to see where I'm coming from. DA didn't bring anything fresh or innovative in 2023. He simply dusted off Payton's old play book and told the team to keep doing what you're doing thinking it was good enough to win. He even kept Payton's right hand man calling the plays when Payton left and then stuck with him after an atrocious first season as OC. We'll see how that works for him this year.

Re: Flip Flopping On DA Again
 

Let's not forget that Pete Carmichael, and not Dennis Allen, was in complete charge of the offensive playcalling. We all know that playcalling is dependent upon situational factors and personnel. When you have a different offensive line grouping every week and receivers going down left and right playcalling is of course going to be affected. Specific plays are designed for specific personnel groupings. If you lose key personnel for specific plays during a game those plays are rendered fairly useless. I can see where this could lead to what appears to be a very vanilla approach.

But back to previous point, at no point did Dennis Allen tell the TEAM to keep doing what they were doing. One lone isolated time he told the QB that threw two picks in the final minutes of the first half to keep doing what he was doing in that one half of that one game (ie. to not give up).

Re: Flip Flopping On DA Again
 

Something on offensive playcalling that I have heard mentioned more than once that was shared by Bill Parcells. He said that no play makes it into an individual game's playbook unless that play is successfully executed at least ten times either in practice or in walk-throughs. If it is a play designed for a specific receiver, for example, and was practiced ten times successfully with that player and that player (or any other critical player) goes down before or during the game that play is "red-lined" (the term Parcells used) and not used in that game.

What I'm trying to say is it is impossible to read Carmichael's mind and know what he is thinking during the game. Also, let's not forget that the Saints' standard offense commonly includes two variations of a play involving a pass or a run that can be audibled by the QB regardless of what the original call is coming from Carmichael. How many times did Dalton wimp out and go with the more conservative variation?