Next up - Falcons at Saints

burningmetal · 10-28-2019, 09:27 PM

Originally Posted by CHA_CHING

Matt Ryan is not the problem there. He is essentially having the same kind of season that Brees had between 2014 to 2016.

People would make this same remark about Brees putting up "empty stats" when we'd lose and he'd have a high QBR and Dan Marino-esque numbers. 5 years ago, we would be going ballistic on Saints forums talking about stat guys dissing on Brees for putting up great numbers in losses.

I know we hate on the Falcons as a rival, but Ryan definitely is not the problem.

The game was close cause they were playing the Seahawks - a team that always plays down to their competition and looks underwhelming when they are big favorites. Seattle has won 5 of their 6 games by a combined 15 points. 7 of them were against the Falcons, and all of these games have been against trash teams.

Schaub isn't going to win them more games than Ryan would.

A few things here: I didn't say Ryan was THE problem, I said he makes a lot of mistakes and piles on the stats when the game is over. That has been accurate. It wasn't always that way with him, but over the last couple of years it is. He's had talent around him on offense, and yet he has been mistake prone.

And like it or not, Drew Brees did put up some empty numbers during those down years. I was on here during that time saying as much, and people didn't like me very much for it, or at least that was my impression. In no way, however, did I say that Drew wasn't still a top flight QB. It was just that he was chunking the ball around more than ever due to our bad defense, and I was trying to make the point that, as much fun as it was to see Drew put up numbers, and as much as we love the guy, it would be better to have a game manager at QB and a top 5 defense, than to continue to be bottom of the league in defense and continue to pile up yards on offense that weren't leading to wins. People took that as me blaming the losses on Drew, but they were missing my point, entirely. It wasn't his fault, and in a perfect world you could have Drew AND a great defense. The point was always that the Saints needed a better defense, and they would need more balance on offense to help control the ball.

And if you ever wanted to know what that would look like, we got to see it for five weeks with Teddy Bridgewater, a much improved ground attack, very limited turnovers, and a dominant defense... 5-0. Now that Drew is back, they are going to be even better. And over the last couple of years since the Saints drafted Kamara and put together a real defense, the team has been winning, even though Drew hasn't put up the same eye popping stats he used to. He's not playing worse. He's just FAR more efficient because he doesn't have to force the issue.

So the point about Drew back then was not that he wasn't good, it was that his numbers were inflated and somewhat misleading. With Matt Ryan, how often are the Falcons even in games? I don't remember the Saints being consistently blown out a few years ago.

I'm not saying Shaub will win the Falcons more games. I don't know if either QB will win another game for them this season. But sometimes having a veteran backup come in and just take advantage of what the defense gives them can help an offense who's starter is trying to be a hero and making things worse. Matt Ryan is not Drew Brees. The pressure of having to score 30 a game just to be competitive does not appear to be something he handles very well.

In no way does Shaub worry me. I just think he might be a little more settled at this point. He knows he's not going to get many more chances to play.

10-28-2019, 09:27 PM	#7
burningmetal 1000 Posts + Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 3,923 Blog Entries: 3	Re: Next up - Falcons at Saints Originally Posted by CHA_CHING Matt Ryan is not the problem there. He is essentially having the same kind of season that Brees had between 2014 to 2016. People would make this same remark about Brees putting up "empty stats" when we'd lose and he'd have a high QBR and Dan Marino-esque numbers. 5 years ago, we would be going ballistic on Saints forums talking about stat guys dissing on Brees for putting up great numbers in losses. I know we hate on the Falcons as a rival, but Ryan definitely is not the problem. The game was close cause they were playing the Seahawks - a team that always plays down to their competition and looks underwhelming when they are big favorites. Seattle has won 5 of their 6 games by a combined 15 points. 7 of them were against the Falcons, and all of these games have been against trash teams. Schaub isn't going to win them more games than Ryan would. A few things here: I didn't say Ryan was THE problem, I said he makes a lot of mistakes and piles on the stats when the game is over. That has been accurate. It wasn't always that way with him, but over the last couple of years it is. He's had talent around him on offense, and yet he has been mistake prone. And like it or not, Drew Brees did put up some empty numbers during those down years. I was on here during that time saying as much, and people didn't like me very much for it, or at least that was my impression. In no way, however, did I say that Drew wasn't still a top flight QB. It was just that he was chunking the ball around more than ever due to our bad defense, and I was trying to make the point that, as much fun as it was to see Drew put up numbers, and as much as we love the guy, it would be better to have a game manager at QB and a top 5 defense, than to continue to be bottom of the league in defense and continue to pile up yards on offense that weren't leading to wins. People took that as me blaming the losses on Drew, but they were missing my point, entirely. It wasn't his fault, and in a perfect world you could have Drew AND a great defense. The point was always that the Saints needed a better defense, and they would need more balance on offense to help control the ball. And if you ever wanted to know what that would look like, we got to see it for five weeks with Teddy Bridgewater, a much improved ground attack, very limited turnovers, and a dominant defense... 5-0. Now that Drew is back, they are going to be even better. And over the last couple of years since the Saints drafted Kamara and put together a real defense, the team has been winning, even though Drew hasn't put up the same eye popping stats he used to. He's not playing worse. He's just FAR more efficient because he doesn't have to force the issue. So the point about Drew back then was not that he wasn't good, it was that his numbers were inflated and somewhat misleading. With Matt Ryan, how often are the Falcons even in games? I don't remember the Saints being consistently blown out a few years ago. I'm not saying Shaub will win the Falcons more games. I don't know if either QB will win another game for them this season. But sometimes having a veteran backup come in and just take advantage of what the defense gives them can help an offense who's starter is trying to be a hero and making things worse. Matt Ryan is not Drew Brees. The pressure of having to score 30 a game just to be competitive does not appear to be something he handles very well. In no way does Shaub worry me. I just think he might be a little more settled at this point. He knows he's not going to get many more chances to play.
	If I had a nickel for every time I heard that, the NFL would fine and suspend me.