Credit where credit is due.
 

As much as it pains me to type this, I have to give major props to the Redskins. Especially these three people:

1. London Fletcher. He had the screen sniffed out and pretty much made Darren Sproles a non-factor. What can I say about the guy? He's possibly been one of the most underrated linebackers in the NFL for a long time. He is just a cerebral player that makes plays. No flash, just substance.

2. RG3. This goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway. He looked like he's been in the NFL for years. I've heard people say that they threw everything in their offensive game plan at him and focused on the plays in which he was stronger. Whatever they did, it worked. He controlled the game from the onset. He made intelligent plays and came through with clutch passes when needed.

3. Jim Haslett. I want to break my own fingers for even typing his name, but truth be told, his defensive game plan made our Cadillac offense look like a Yugo. The Redskins were able to bust through a porous offensive line and get pressure on Brees. The secondary seemed to always be in position and played excellent coverage. I know that players should get the majority of the credit for making the necessary plays, but the scheme set up by Haslett was extremely effective. Spags had a plan, too. The Saints' defense just didn't execute.

These are some things about the Saints that really bothered me:

1. They are really going to miss Robert Meachem this year. His ability to stretch the field was obviously absent, because no one really stepped up in that category.

2. The entire team seemed almost emotionally drained. There just wasn't any fire or urgency on either side of the ball. Too many mental mistakes (false starts, holding calls, dropped passes, blown coverages, etc.).

3. As much as I hate to admit it, but the loss of Payton for the year is going to be bigger deal than I wanted to believe. None of the coaching staff looked to be chewing on as much tail as they should have when the team was making these mistakes. That needs to change. If it doesn't, and soon, it is going to be a very, VERY long season.

I'm not giving up after one game, but I do know that there is a ton of improvement that needs to be made, and they need to make those improvements YESTERDAY!

Re: Credit where credit is due.
 

Oh man. I happen to pay a LOT of attention to that kind of stuff, the sideline action and so forth, because of where my seats are, and you're 100% absolutely right. In particular, the Saints defense would come off after a Redskins score, and just sit there on the bench -- NO ONE was chewing them out or waving a white board and markers around, or getting in their faces, yelling and showing them pictures -- nothing. It was just really incredibly un-Saints-like to watch. I hope this is not a Spagnuolo thing. I am actually towards the visiting sideline, and I have seen how losing visiting teams behave on their sideline before, and the Saints sideline looked like a team that was not focused or had a fire. It was REALLY bad. Bottom line, this team was NOT ready.

Re: Credit where credit is due.
 

i miss sean. :/

Re: Credit where credit is due.
 

I don't like hearing we beat ourselves. Yes, we played like crap, but they outplayed us

Re: Credit where credit is due.
 

Pardon my language but kromer needs to grow some balls and get in the players faces, that's what Vitt would do and that's what Payton would do

How we played today was unacceptable and they didn't seem bothered on the sideline, was utterly embarrassed with our teams performance

Hope you all appreciate this is just my way of getting the anger out, we need to step up next week or we won't be better than an 6-10 team

Re: Credit where credit is due.
 

Dude, I just listened to a clip from his presser, and he said "there were no indications this was going to happen. If you look at the Houston pre-season game we were clicking, we were stopping the run well. There was no indication this was going to happen"

I hope there was context to this that I missed

Re: Credit where credit is due.
 

You know I expected the D to not be on point. I was giving them 4-5 games to get their act together.

The Offense... Where do you start?? The Oline is horrible!! That's where it starts. Brees gets guys in his face, then he gets a little skittish. He starts pressing because he knows his guys are getting beaten.

But when the passes start coming, why can't our receivers catch? This isn't about missing Meach, this is about catching a ball when it comes to you. And Joe Morgan isn't ready for prime time.

Sloppiness all over the place. Not a crisp phase in the game anywhere. Turnovers, penalties, etc. How do you get 3 false starts in your own building??

The Skins are good. I'd go so far as to say evenly matched. But when you do everything I listed above, you beat yourself. Not trying to take away from the Skins at all. But for all the crappiness we put out there, we only lost by 8... If a lot of other teams played them the way we did, the Skins would have blown them out.

Ladies and gentlemen, there is a bigger picture here that I hope everyone sees. This is still a great team. It was just a team that had a bad day. This was a huge wake up call. I for one hope they answer the phone.

Re: Credit where credit is due.
 

No way these two teams are evenly matched. The Saints just got punched in the mouth and whupped by an inferior team in their own house today. Unless you're telling me the Redskins have been in the post season the last three years in a row, and I missed it somehow.

Re: Credit where credit is due.
 

My friend, a skins fan, told me earlier that Shan has one every opening game since being there. I mean as a Skins fan that sucks a little

Re: Credit where credit is due.
 

D is a good commentator.
Saintsbro, thanks for that bit of inside, sideline info of what was happening for us to know who were not at the game.
Interesting.