Can the SAINTS be a real 4-Quarter team???

daviddrake2 · 11-13-2002, 11:10 AM

We all have our opinions on what it will take to beat Atlanta this week, but one this that I have not really seen talked about here (and a key factor in the Atlanta game as well as every other game from here out) is whether the SAINTS can fire on all cylinders for all four quarters.

Early in the season our boys let their opponents jump out to huge early leads before having to battle back to with (luckily, they did in almost every instance). Now, it seems to me that we are starting the games better, scoring more early, but breaking down in the middle and having to scramble late to win.

Everyone knows that Brooks keeps his cool in the 4th and is probably one of the best finishers in the NFL, but how do the SAINTS fix the problems that have kept them from playing the whole game as the SAINTS we too often see just in the 1st and 4th quarters?

Can we continue winning if we just play mediocre football half of the game and then kick ass the outhr half?

Is a 2-Quarter team good enough to make it past the 1st or 2nd round of the playoffs?

What are your thoughts?

Go SAINTS!!!!!

David in Houston

saintfan · 11-13-2002, 11:44 AM

I think so, but as I\'ve said here before, these guys are still, for the most part, awefully young. I still think they need to learn how to put teams away. This will come with experience...and with the talent we have on offense the sky is the limit. If our defense was playing half as well we\'d be unbeaten.

daviddrake2 · 11-13-2002, 01:28 PM

Saintfan, if you see our defense as the biggest problem, what are the main things you think we need to work on to improve, defensively?
Go SAINTS!!!!!

David in Houston

BuffordT · 11-13-2002, 01:49 PM

I would like to see the team be more consistent on both sides of the ball. If you look at the Carolina game, we were stuffing them in the first quarter, and then let them back in by playing soft in the second. I don\'t know if the defense co. changed the scheme mid stream or what, but they definately changed something up.
Coming from behind is fun and all, but I don\'t think a Superbowl Calibre team plays that way.
Just my two bits.

saintfan · 11-13-2002, 02:19 PM

BuffordT...as in Sherrif Bufford \"T\" Justice...from TEXAS...God I LOVED that movie, but I\'ll calm down now. I think, even tho everyone harps on our corners, that our biggest concern against Atlanta (and other teams too) is stopping the run. The Linebackers did a much better job against Carolina than they did the previous two games against Atlanta and SF. I didn\'t see our line get much of a push against the panthers either. Norman has been MIA a few games this year. We need to play better against the run and put some pressure on the passer (Vick or otherwise). I\'d like to see some controlled blitzes against Vick this week.

BuffordT · 11-13-2002, 02:26 PM

\"Junior, I ought to punch your old lady in the mouth.\"

I think our corners will improve every week from here on out. I think that stopping the run is the key, as you said. Make Vick beat us with his arm. I\'m also surprised at the drop off in the production in the D-line. I know they have been beaten down by injuries, but someone needs to step-up and get some sacks. This may not be the week to do that, though. I think this is a must-win game.

daviddrake2 · 11-13-2002, 04:22 PM

Yeah, an increase in sacks would be nice.

It doesn\'t seem like it was all that long ago that the SAINTS as a team had the best sack attack in the league and that we consistently had 2 or 3 players ranked at or near the top of the sack collumn.

Nowadays, it would be a stretch to even get one guy the top 10 of the NFC or the top 20 of the league.

Have we forgotten our roots this quickly and become only an offensive powerhouse?

Get me right, I\'m not knocking offense. Everyone out there knows how painful it was for all those years to watch the SAINTS defense dominate opponents only to lose games because we just couldn\'t score touchdowns. Hell, even the Midas toe of Morten Anderson wasn\'t enough.

I just hope that we see a more balanced team as time passes.

Any thoughts???

Go SAINTS!!!!!

David in Houston

JOESAM2002 · 11-13-2002, 05:52 PM

Ok, I guess it\'s time i put my 2 cents worth in on this subject. I think if we look back at the last 8 games we\'ll see that at one time or another we had two or more of our starters out of the game. The problem as I see it is they were not always the same ones. If we look at it like this, you have one man next to you every week you know what he\'s going to do in any situation. However if you have a new guy lining up next to you every week you can\'t know what he is going to do. These guys practice with 1st team ,2 nd team and so on. Rarely do they split in practice. As I said earlier, this defense will get better and some sacks will come. But the days of having someone in the top in sacks are over. This defense is not designed for that. The original plan was to stop the run, This too will be accomplished, it just takes healthy players that have been together for a while and know what each other is doing.
GO SAINTS

daviddrake2 · 11-14-2002, 11:52 AM

Granted that a good consistent defense only happens when you have good players that have played together for a while, but how long is \"a while\" and will the SAINTS gel down the stretch???

Go SAINTS!!!!!

David in Houston

pakowitz · 11-14-2002, 12:00 PM

i think they will \"gel\" down the stretch, as we all saw during the first half of the panthers game, the D dominated up until that last drive when they went to the prevent, and they had only practicing together for about a week maybe a lil over that, so i think they will get better as time passes on, and with the much anticipated return of BIG Grady Jackson this week and then michael hawthorne next week. they will be more solid then ever

11-13-2002, 11:10 AM	#1
daviddrake2 100th Post Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Houston (formerly N.O.) Posts: 270	Can the SAINTS be a real 4-Quarter team??? We all have our opinions on what it will take to beat Atlanta this week, but one this that I have not really seen talked about here (and a key factor in the Atlanta game as well as every other game from here out) is whether the SAINTS can fire on all cylinders for all four quarters. Early in the season our boys let their opponents jump out to huge early leads before having to battle back to with (luckily, they did in almost every instance). Now, it seems to me that we are starting the games better, scoring more early, but breaking down in the middle and having to scramble late to win. Everyone knows that Brooks keeps his cool in the 4th and is probably one of the best finishers in the NFL, but how do the SAINTS fix the problems that have kept them from playing the whole game as the SAINTS we too often see just in the 1st and 4th quarters? Can we continue winning if we just play mediocre football half of the game and then kick ass the outhr half? Is a 2-Quarter team good enough to make it past the 1st or 2nd round of the playoffs? What are your thoughts? Go SAINTS!!!!! David in Houston

11-13-2002, 11:44 AM	#2
saintfan Donated Plasma Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 18,556 Blog Entries: 5	Can the SAINTS be a real 4-Quarter team??? I think so, but as I\'ve said here before, these guys are still, for the most part, awefully young. I still think they need to learn how to put teams away. This will come with experience...and with the talent we have on offense the sky is the limit. If our defense was playing half as well we\'d be unbeaten.

11-13-2002, 01:28 PM	#3
daviddrake2 100th Post Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Houston (formerly N.O.) Posts: 270	Can the SAINTS be a real 4-Quarter team??? Saintfan, if you see our defense as the biggest problem, what are the main things you think we need to work on to improve, defensively? Go SAINTS!!!!! David in Houston

11-13-2002, 01:49 PM	#4
BuffordT Rookie Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 23	Can the SAINTS be a real 4-Quarter team??? I would like to see the team be more consistent on both sides of the ball. If you look at the Carolina game, we were stuffing them in the first quarter, and then let them back in by playing soft in the second. I don\'t know if the defense co. changed the scheme mid stream or what, but they definately changed something up. Coming from behind is fun and all, but I don\'t think a Superbowl Calibre team plays that way. Just my two bits.
BuffordT Rookie Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 23

11-13-2002, 02:19 PM	#5
saintfan Donated Plasma Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 18,556 Blog Entries: 5	Can the SAINTS be a real 4-Quarter team??? BuffordT...as in Sherrif Bufford \"T\" Justice...from TEXAS...God I LOVED that movie, but I\'ll calm down now. I think, even tho everyone harps on our corners, that our biggest concern against Atlanta (and other teams too) is stopping the run. The Linebackers did a much better job against Carolina than they did the previous two games against Atlanta and SF. I didn\'t see our line get much of a push against the panthers either. Norman has been MIA a few games this year. We need to play better against the run and put some pressure on the passer (Vick or otherwise). I\'d like to see some controlled blitzes against Vick this week.
	C'mon Man...

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11-13-2002, 02:26 PM	#6
BuffordT Rookie Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 23	Can the SAINTS be a real 4-Quarter team??? \"Junior, I ought to punch your old lady in the mouth.\" I think our corners will improve every week from here on out. I think that stopping the run is the key, as you said. Make Vick beat us with his arm. I\'m also surprised at the drop off in the production in the D-line. I know they have been beaten down by injuries, but someone needs to step-up and get some sacks. This may not be the week to do that, though. I think this is a must-win game.
BuffordT Rookie Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 23

11-13-2002, 04:22 PM	#7
daviddrake2 100th Post Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Houston (formerly N.O.) Posts: 270	Can the SAINTS be a real 4-Quarter team??? Yeah, an increase in sacks would be nice. It doesn\'t seem like it was all that long ago that the SAINTS as a team had the best sack attack in the league and that we consistently had 2 or 3 players ranked at or near the top of the sack collumn. Nowadays, it would be a stretch to even get one guy the top 10 of the NFC or the top 20 of the league. Have we forgotten our roots this quickly and become only an offensive powerhouse? Get me right, I\'m not knocking offense. Everyone out there knows how painful it was for all those years to watch the SAINTS defense dominate opponents only to lose games because we just couldn\'t score touchdowns. Hell, even the Midas toe of Morten Anderson wasn\'t enough. I just hope that we see a more balanced team as time passes. Any thoughts??? Go SAINTS!!!!! David in Houston
	Go SAINTS!!!!! David in Houston

11-13-2002, 05:52 PM	#8
JOESAM2002 1000 Posts + Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: CRYSTAL BEACH TEXAS Posts: 4,100	Can the SAINTS be a real 4-Quarter team??? Ok, I guess it\'s time i put my 2 cents worth in on this subject. I think if we look back at the last 8 games we\'ll see that at one time or another we had two or more of our starters out of the game. The problem as I see it is they were not always the same ones. If we look at it like this, you have one man next to you every week you know what he\'s going to do in any situation. However if you have a new guy lining up next to you every week you can\'t know what he is going to do. These guys practice with 1st team ,2 nd team and so on. Rarely do they split in practice. As I said earlier, this defense will get better and some sacks will come. But the days of having someone in the top in sacks are over. This defense is not designed for that. The original plan was to stop the run, This too will be accomplished, it just takes healthy players that have been together for a while and know what each other is doing. GO SAINTS
	Sometimes it's better to keep your mouth shut and be thought an idiot, than to open it and remove all doubt!!!!! "Every time you think, you weaken the nation!" Moe Howard...The Three Stooges.

11-14-2002, 11:52 AM	#9
daviddrake2 100th Post Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Houston (formerly N.O.) Posts: 270	Can the SAINTS be a real 4-Quarter team??? Granted that a good consistent defense only happens when you have good players that have played together for a while, but how long is \"a while\" and will the SAINTS gel down the stretch??? Go SAINTS!!!!! David in Houston

11-14-2002, 12:00 PM	#10
pakowitz The Dark Overlord Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: dirty south Posts: 3,450	Can the SAINTS be a real 4-Quarter team??? i think they will \"gel\" down the stretch, as we all saw during the first half of the panthers game, the D dominated up until that last drive when they went to the prevent, and they had only practicing together for about a week maybe a lil over that, so i think they will get better as time passes on, and with the much anticipated return of BIG Grady Jackson this week and then michael hawthorne next week. they will be more solid then ever