Fast start vs. Slow Start
 

We are notorious for having a slow start to the season. I believe it has something to do with the complex schemes that we employ on both offense and defense. I also think it has to do with the influx of young players we rely on to step up their first year and the growing process takes time. I will admit that I was worried about the trenches after Rankins went down and Okafor moved on, along with Unger retiring and the lack of quality depth on the O-line.

However, if we can give Drew a clean pocket and give us time to make things happen we should be just fine. It looks like Brown and Edwards can fill the gaps while we wait for Rankins without rushing him back.

You win in the trenches and if we get our timing down then I believe we can get a fast start.

Re: Fast start vs. Slow Start
 

We’re a counterpunch defense. We wait until the 2nd half to make adjustments and really start scheming. That’s fine later in the season when you have lots of game tape to give you an idea of tendencies. It doesn’t work so well early in the season. Think about how unprepared we were for what the Buccaneers threw at us in week one last season.

Re: Fast start vs. Slow Start
 

IMO we had a fast start after the first week. We were flying high and peaked in November before crashing down hard in December. The offense was never the same again after Dallas spanked them around and showed the world that it was possible to do if you focused on taking MT and Kamara out of the picture.

Looking back in hindsight, I think problems were visible with the Falcons game on Thanksgiving night. They looked sluggish in that game and we all know what happened the next week when Dallas pretty much gave them a butt whooping.

I don't know if we can afford a slow start this year. The first quarter of our schedule is pretty tough.

Re: Fast start vs. Slow Start
 

The schedule this year is just another in a long line of "F**k, You...No, F**k You!!!" exchanges between Goodell's Office and Saints Nation...

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Re: Fast start vs. Slow Start
 

There's no question that the years under coach Payton in which we've done really well, we have had a fast start and put the pedal to the floor and never really let up. 2006, 2009, 2011, 2013, were all fast starts where we were a hot team racking up wins right out the gate. The years where it's a slow start, battling above .500, win one, lose one, win one, lose one, just barely eking it out....those years hardly ever seem to end well for us late in the year.

The exception to this rule is probably last year, where things really didn't seem to start coming together for us until maybe the end of the Browns game, or somewhere thereabouts. But the defense and the offense just kept getting better and better, as things started clicking and the year went on. There were games that didn't look good, but Drew had his Drew face on and Sheldon Rankins danced the robot....even the games we lost, people kinda forget how close and "in it" we always were.

It's kinda agonizing to admit it, but you could almost say that literally the ONLY thing that has kept us out of appearing in the Super Bowl the past TWO FREAKING YEARS IN A ROW, has been two absolute freak, fluke plays, in critical playoff games, one of which wasn't even our fault.

The odds of it happening a third time? I honestly think that the more times that this crazy fluke stuff in Minny and against the Rams has already happened to us, the less likely it is for something absolutely crazy and random to happen to us AGAIN, the next time. The odds have to go down. You can't keep losing on one-in-a-million plays. If we keep trying, then eventually we will have a normal Saints game in the playoffs and really make some history.

Re: Fast start vs. Slow Start
 

The playoffs the last two years will not happen again for us. This is our year. It hurts to know we should have 3 Superbowl Rings and only have one but I am thankful for that one. It's vindication for the years of the Aints!

Re: Fast start vs. Slow Start
 

2019 NEW ORLEANS SAINTS REGULAR SEASON SCHEDULE

Sept. 9 Houston Texans 6:10PM ESPN :brood:
Sept. 15 at Los Angeles Rams 3:25PM FOX :mad
Sept. 22 at Seattle Seahawks 3:25PM CBS :mad:
Sept. 29 Dallas Cowboys 7:20PM NBC ;)

As someone is going to say... 4-0!

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Re: Fast start vs. Slow Start
 

No worries ....

4-0 to start the season ;)

Re: Fast start vs. Slow Start
 

We will at least start 3-1. We won't lose to the Cowboys this year.

Re: Fast start vs. Slow Start