WhoDat!656

Of all the professional sports, the NFL is the one where coaching matters the most. Baseball managers generally loaf around for 162 games and basketball coaches are at the whim of their star players. But football coaches generally earn their keep.

That was never so apparent as it was in New Orleans yesterday. As the Saints played their first of 16 games without head coach Sean Payton patrolling the sidelines, it was clear early that no number of interim head coaches will be able to replace Payton’s value to that team. As the Shanahans’ schemed on the opposing sideline, head coach Aaron Kromer and new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo were outcoached and outmatched throughout the game. Even after a dramatic pre-game appearance from Jonathan Vilma, the poster boy for the bounty scandal, and the return of Will Smith across on the defensive line, New Orleans was always one step behind the Redskins throughout the day.


The biggest concern in the Big Easy has to be on the defensive line. The pass rush was non-existent and frequently manhandled by Washington’s offensive line. On offense, the team was predictable. After going down 20-7, the Saints threw the ball almost exclusively. This led to the Redskins winning the time of possession battle by a 2:1 ratio.

One loss doesn’t mean that it’s time to start abandoning ship in New Orleans. The team lost by 8 points to open the season last year, albeit to the defending Super Bowl champions. But Sunday’s performance means that the Saints are going to miss Sean Payton far more than they probably thought they would.

TDC Rewind – Week 1 | Third Down Conversion

"A Veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to "The United States of America" for an amount of "up to and including my life."