one day coach p may be as perfect as all of you.


the main thing to remember is YOU will never have a super bowl ring.

he already wears one.

The probability of getting 3 yards in two downs, is greater than the probability of getting 10 yards in 3 downs.

Also, 2nd and 3 is more like a play where the Saints will often take a shot. I thought for sure they were gonna find a mismatch and take a shot down the field on the second down there. Then they didn't. Oh well. There might have been two plays, a run and a pass called, and Drew saw something and checked into the run, we don't really know.


The other reason it also might have been declined, is because maybe Payton wanted to take the spot of the ball further up field, to get it outside the 20. Inside or around the 20, sometimes bad things happen to Drew's passes, like what happened with the fumble in Seattle last week, or the pick 6 Drew threw against Carolina last year, in almost the exact same spot on the field (except it was in Carolina). Given the probabilities, and that a turnover in that area at that point in the game would really suck, I don't think it was that bad of a call, to just take the yards and keep on going, we were moving the ball okay in the first half. 2nd and 3 the Panthers will show you a different defensive look and personnel than they will on 1st and 10 so maybe that was part of his thinking too. Who knows. I hope someone asks him about it this week because it was an interesting call, although I wouldn't call it a "brain fart" just because Payton doesn't do what you would have done.

2nd and 1, i can see taking the play and running for the first down, but anything beyond that, it's not a good thing for us to be attempting to run for a first down in my opinion.

Then you are second guessing the playcalling decision to run on 2nd down, which is a different question from the penalty decision to take the yards.

Take the penalty, it's first down, you have 3 downs to get 10 yards = you need to get 3.3 yards per play, from the 21
Take the 2nd and 3, you have 2 plays to get 3 yards = you need 1.5 yards per play and you're out to the 23. Better field position, lower yards to go, higher probability you'll get it in two tries.

It has nothing to do with having a good running game or not. It has nothing to do with your emotions about the Saints, wanting them to pass more or your opinion on not wanting them to run. It's about probability, which is easier/harder or more likely to be achieved -- 3 downs to get 10 or 2 downs to get 3. You're saying in that situation you'll "take" the 1st and 10, and that's fine, that's your decision, you're the coach -- but you are taking the harder path to achieve success, with a more difficult probability to get it.

Plus, when Brees is that close to our own goal line, it also makes sense to take the yards, to go forward, and keep going and get further outside the 20. Because that is the area of the field where fumbles and turnovers going the other direction are especially dangerous. Brees just had one the week before and he had thrown a pick 6 last year against Carolina in almost the same exact field position.

When Payton made the call and Collinsworth was questioning it I said "He won a Superbowl. I trust him."