hagan714

Ingram returns and in the end we need to have a solid running game. The key is how it is used and when it is used.

1) For team like ours it is key to keep teams honest on defense and not go all out to stop the pass.

2) To to have the ability to stuff the ball down a defenses throat in the final minutes of the game. Which to me is the best part of the game. It makes a statement. We are going to drive you into the ground and put the final nail in the coffin now. And there ain't a damn thing you can do to stop us. It is the ultimate humiliation on a football field.

To do this you need at least a top 16 running game in YPC not YPG. Given the fact of passing attack will be and has always been 60% to 70% of our game plan, anything higher is just icing on the cake

right now we are after 5 games

9th in NFL in YPG at 133
2nd with 5.2 YPC
3rd in TD with 7
1st in first down gained at 43. that is an unbelievable rate of 33.3%
All this with only 6 runs of 20 yards or more. The Saints may not be hitting home runs as much as living up to the old adage: "Pounding the rock" or "4 yards and cloud of dust". Three 4 yard runs equals a first down all day long.

We are right were we need to be.

Actually we are doing much better than we need to IMO. Having Ingram back is sweet but without him we are doing pretty good also.

So what is killing us?

29th in plays 20 yards or more .

This is a glaring drop and THIS MUST CHANGE !!!!

19th in plays 40 yards or more

This hurts also but not as much as the 29th in plays 20 yards or more. 15 to 30 yards is Drew's sweet spot. That is Drew deadliest range for passing and this is how defenses are game planning against us.

Blame does not rest with Drew alone. WR drops are killing us. It is not so much the amount of the drops (8) which is not to bad at 10th fewest in the NFL. yes dropped passes are controversial stats.

It is the particular location on the field of those drops. almost all of those drops are in that 15 to 40 yard range. drive killers for our style of offense and play calling. correct this and the 40+ will follow.

I can not leave Sean out this one. I think he playing around with to many cute plays also. Cook can be more than a quick screen or gimmick play receiver. Get this kid in the 15 to 20 yard range more than we have. Let him break some ankles in the secondary. I have no stats to back it up but when a fan kicked back in his barcalounger hammering Dixie can see it coming it maybe time to stop calling it so often

Besides most of the NFL plays 40 yards have a huge chunk come in YAC. 30 yard reception and 11 yards YAC and you got yourself a 40+ on a defender
I do like that term. YAC the defender

15th in in passing TDs

correct 20 yards or more and this too will follow

6 INT's in 5 games

Say what?!

love the fact Drew has only 2 sacks on him. But it is the always controversial stats of Quarterback hurries, pressures, hits or whatever you want to call them which are not an official NFL statistic. Coaches count them up watching tape for the most part and TV broadcasters try to do the same.

No matter how they count them up the harassment’s of Drew while in the pocket is way too high. Plus as any rookie coming into the NFL must learn. It is some times better to throw the ball away or take the sack than force the ball. Drew may be heading to hall but at times he tries to do too much. But that is also one of the things we all love about him also. double edge sword

The passing game needs to get it together.

2nd rated passing attack

Overall ratings do not paint the entire picture. Winning the battle between the 20s means nothing when passing is your bread and butter. That pass play of 20+ must improve.

So in a back handed way the same holds true when looking at a running game also. You gotta dive into the stats and swim around a bit and get a feel for whats going on.

The saints will right this ship on offense. I have faith.

Still working on a write up for defense but that is taking a lot longer and probably will not be done in time. the main thing with them is simple i think. They need to do a gut check and not so simple Rob needs to adjust as the game unfolds

"We may have lost the game, but you'll be hurting tomorrow." Doug Atkins

Saintsfan4ever

That's a pretty good analysis of the offense.
This Sunday should be a revealing test to see what kind of team we have, being that Detroit is a playoff contender. Both teams are coming into this contest missing a major offensive weapon, so that evens out. If we come out of Detroit with a W then I think there's reason to be optimistic going forward. If we lose... well... 2-6 is not good.

Defense:
I hope Sean & Rob have taken this bye-week to come up with better schemes for our defense to utilize the talent we have. I remember the Greg Williams' defenses would sometimes get scorched in the 1st half, but adjustments would be made and the bleeding would stop. I'm not seeing those kinds of adjustments in Rob's defense.

Saint4

foreverfan

Saints stop the sucking today.

foreverfan

Heck... I got a like from Danno... We have to win now!

neugey

GET A ROAD WIN

At this point, that is all that should be on the Saints' bucket list

dizzle88

Easy way to get a road win, Fire Sean Payton

hagan714

sorry that made me LMAO.