I wonder if Coach Payton has learned his lesson.

SaintFanInATLHELL · 06-17-2007, 07:27 AM

The greatest Saints' moments thread got me thinking about the NFC championship game again. As incredible a force as the Saints' offense is under Coach Payton, schematically they still have some flaws to work on. Last season when faced with defenses of the same caliber as the offense (Baltimore, Chicago, and to a lesser extent Carolina) the offense had some efficiency issues.

Here's the lesson:

When in doubt, run the ball.

Even if it's an 8 man front, run the ball.

To keep the offense balanced, run the ball.

Even if it's two yards and a cloud of dust (or snow in the Chicago case), run the ball.

Even if you're behind in the game, run the ball.

The Saints last year always got in trouble when Brees started slinging the ball all over the field. If the defense succeeded in unbalancing our offense, then they got themselves in trouble.

I still don't know how many times Brees checked out of a run due to scheme, or how many times it was that Coach Payton called for passing the ball.

But what I do know is that Brees needs to limit his attempts to under 40 per game if at all possible. Consider that he threw 45 attempts in the Baltimore game and 49 attempts in the championship game. In both games the rushing game was under 20 attempts by the RBs.

So I ask, do you think Coach Payton has learned his lesson and will keep the rushing offense balanced at all costs. Especially when playing exceptional defenses?

You make the call.

SFIAH

06-17-2007, 07:27 AM	#1
SaintFanInATLHELL The Professor Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Lithonia, GA Posts: 2,783	I wonder if Coach Payton has learned his lesson. The greatest Saints' moments thread got me thinking about the NFC championship game again. As incredible a force as the Saints' offense is under Coach Payton, schematically they still have some flaws to work on. Last season when faced with defenses of the same caliber as the offense (Baltimore, Chicago, and to a lesser extent Carolina) the offense had some efficiency issues. Here's the lesson: When in doubt, run the ball. Even if it's an 8 man front, run the ball. To keep the offense balanced, run the ball. Even if it's two yards and a cloud of dust (or snow in the Chicago case), run the ball. Even if you're behind in the game, run the ball. The Saints last year always got in trouble when Brees started slinging the ball all over the field. If the defense succeeded in unbalancing our offense, then they got themselves in trouble. I still don't know how many times Brees checked out of a run due to scheme, or how many times it was that Coach Payton called for passing the ball. But what I do know is that Brees needs to limit his attempts to under 40 per game if at all possible. Consider that he threw 45 attempts in the Baltimore game and 49 attempts in the championship game. In both games the rushing game was under 20 attempts by the RBs. So I ask, do you think Coach Payton has learned his lesson and will keep the rushing offense balanced at all costs. Especially when playing exceptional defenses? You make the call. SFIAH
	Super Bowl Championships: New Orleans Saints:1, Carolina:0, Atlanta Chokers: STILL ZERO Only Atlanta choked in an unchokable situation... Life is definitely good.