Saints sign Antowain Smith (not 4-1 joke)
 

mutineer10 --

I\'m kinda confused as to what some of you guys are suggesting.

It seems like some of you are suggesting we need to \"air it out\" to compensate for a terrible defense?

I totally diagree with that approach.

First of all ... if we have to score 30 points per game to win ... then we aren\'t going anywhere regardless.

Second: If we are successful at running the ball then how could anyone disagree with running the football?

If we are successful at running the ball, then it keeps the defense off the field. It takes pressure off of the offensive line. It creates a very favorable situation for Mike Sheppard when calling plays. And it will open up the passing game.

Third: If we aren\'t succesful running the football, then you will see an offense much like last years. That is, unless the offensive line is much better at pass blocking then maybe Brooks will have more time to find an open receiver.

Ask any coach, besides Mike Martz, and they always want to run first and pass second. Even the Colts don\'t pass as much as we do.



[Edited on 2/4/2005 by GumboBC]

Saints sign Antowain Smith (not 4-1 joke)
 

I\'ve said I\'m happy with the commitment to the run, and I sincerely hope it\'s a successful endeavor. My only question is: What happens if we don\'t put points on the board with our new offensive philosophy?

Thus far, there\'s little reason to believe our defense will drastically improve from last season to the upcoming one. We can control the ball and clock-drag all we like, but if the opposing team is still scoring on most drives, how will our offense compensate? We\'re still gonna have to resort to the \"throw and go\" if the defense doesn\'t hold up it\'s end of the bargain.

Do you think the defense is up to the task? I have my doubts...

Saints sign Antowain Smith (not 4-1 joke)
 

If our defense allows too many points, then obviously we are going to have to pass the ball more. I mean, that goes for any team.

But what does that have to do with anything?

I\'m just a little confused here. Haslett said he wanted to run the ball more. Haslett never said he was going to keep running the ball more if we were down by 17-points.

Is your only concern that our defense will force us away from running the football?

I hope that\'s not the case but if that is indeed the case, then it\'s going to put a lot of pressure on our passing game and the only way we can get back to scoring 27-points per game is if our offensive line improves drastically at pass blocking.



[Edited on 2/4/2005 by GumboBC]

Saints sign Antowain Smith (not 4-1 joke)
 

I\'d love for our running game to be like it was 2 and 3 years ago. When Deuce was tearing it up, then play action bombs to horn. If our O can play like that, and our D step it up (and i dont see why they cant) then i think we can have a killer team.

Saints sign Antowain Smith (not 4-1 joke)
 

natedog your right thats what we need. if we can establish the run really effectively we can really have our passing game get going. one of the biggest problems we had last year before the final 4 games was being out of it so early that teams could just pin their ears back and come after us. they knew we were going to pass. plus early on we were running that one back set too. that didnt help that much either

Saints sign Antowain Smith (not 4-1 joke)
 

C\'mon Billy, that\'s kind of a myopic view, no? Yes, the Saints attempted more passes LAST SEASON. Who attempted more over the last 5 seasons? Look at the run/pass ratio over the last 4 or 5 years. Moreover, if the Colts ATTEMPT fewer passes, it probably has something to do with the fact that the Colts are more succesful. See, when you actually complete passes, you don\'t have to keep trying. :)


The point with the running game isn\'t that the Saints shouldn\'t establish it and rely on it. Not at all. Deuce has been the key to the Saints\' success the past few years - they are far more successful when he runs for 100 or more. The thing that is disconcerting is that the general strategy is reliant on a good defense, something the Saints DO NOT have. When considering the fact that they only signed one player of any relevance on that side of the ball so far this year (unless you believe Fisher is our savior at LB), it\'s hard to get behind a strategy that says - let\'s try to be less explosive on offense while our 32nd ranked defense which almost set records for yards and points allowed gets raped.

Saints sign Antowain Smith (not 4-1 joke)
 

Running the ball has NOTHING to do with the defense. The only thing a succesful running game will do is HELP the defense.

If the offense is successful at running the ball ... you know where our defense will be? Yep ... sitting on the sideline where they are most effective.

The opposing offense will have less opportunites to score. And you have a problem with that, WhoDat?

Please!!!!!!

Saints sign Antowain Smith (not 4-1 joke)
 

I would like to see Deuce and Stecker get on the field at the same time....MIX IT UP!!!!!