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FIRST TAKE: From at least one quarterback's perspective, one of the biggest reasons for the New Orleans Saints' lack of offensive rhythm last week was the poor performance by the receivers. That was the first thing ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer pointed to when asked what the Saints need to fix on offense after their 40-32 loss to the Washington Redskins.



"I think the receivers have to play better. I thought the receivers played really poorly," Dilfer said. "They weren't getting open, they were being grabbed a little bit -- I thought Washington got away with a lot of grabbing in the secondary - but they weren't pulling out of those grabs. They were kind of quitting on routes. (Marques) Colston had the fumble again down in scoring territory, makes that a different game.

"Listen, I'm not always going to be apologetic to the quarterback, but I kind of know their offense, and I know where Drew (Brees) was throwing it. Earlier on in the game there were four or five balls that were kind of wide to the outside, and those were routes that the receivers need to keep running on. They're pulling up instead of running out of them.

"They've got to play better because they're going to throw the ball. That's who they are."

It's an interesting observation, because Brees completed less than 50 percent of his


New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees (9) is off the mark on an incomplete pass to fullback Jed Collins (45) during the game between the Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Sunday, September 9, 2012.
passes (24 of 52) for the first time since 2006. And when I took a closer look at all of those incomplete passes during this week's film study, I made a lot of notations where I either wrote, "miscommunication?" or "well-covered," especially on some of those early three-and-outs.

Brees missed Colston by a yard on the first play of the game on a quick timing throw, for example, where it was clear that at least one of them missed their mark.

Obviously, it would take a more intimate knowledge of the play designs to assign blame to either Brees or the receivers in each case - and chances are many of the balls would have fallen incomplete regardless. It's worth stressing that the Washington Redskins secondary gave a fantastic performance, despite making the risky decision to spend most of the afternoon in man-to-man coverage.


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Mardigras9

They could start by catching the ball a little more consistently, lol.

Shoe.

Plenty of blame to go around.

Everybody needs to sack up and just not accept performing that poorly.

/thread

Rugby Saint II

This brings us back to the referees. The receivers being held throws off their routes. Yes, we didn't fight through the holding, but that is not in their job description.
The referees need to bear some of the blame here.
Godhell is cheap and won't pay the referees because he might have to ride in a smaller limo or hire fewer body guards.
Edit: We miss Curtis Johnson desperately.

Beastmode

I noticed this in preseason, not just the Saints but several other games where blatant holding, grabbing, was being ignored. Even when the refs were starring right at it. I think these crews will get better at calling it but right now they are not and that's something the Saints are going to have to deal with. I know I saw Brees kinda throw his hands up a little on a couple of plays where the holding was very clear. The real refs would call that stuff. On the other hand, they seem to do a better job, especially protecting players so I don't know...it could be a wash but in terms of passing receivers are going to have to fight much harder to break free.