Saints vs Buccaneers Post-Game Observations
 

Phew! Thank the Lord above that we shut down all the dream team talk about the Buccaneers right out of the gate. Drop your game observations here.

For me, UDFA DT Malcolm Roach was an excellent addition. The team clearly envisions a big role for him this season as he played A LOT. Ryan Nielsen’s eye for these undrafted DT’s has been incredible.

I’m not going to dwell on any negatives because it just feels good to win. However, can anyone please explain why the run game with Kamara is so bad? It seems to always be a one or two yard gain if not a loss and then Murray comes in and picks up four or five. Are we blocking differently for Kamara? More zone instead of power?

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Bucs are better but look unpolished for sure. They really needed a pre-season. Saints looked like a more gelled team, but I was STILL frustrated with some of the playcall after we went up 24-7. We made up for it, but man I was getting angry.

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Agreed.

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Anybody left who believes the preseason doesn't matter?

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Yep, Payton even acknowledged it:

Re: Saints vs Buccaneers Post-Game Observations
 

Granderson, Hendricks. Solid performances.
Defense overall played well against one of the league's top offenses.

Peat was toasted a few times more than he should have been.
Easton filled in nicely.
I think we ran fairly well considering the defensive front Tampa presents.

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Special Teams kicked ass

Donte Harris Long returns
no block in the back penalties
a blocked kick
drop kick recovery’
Defended an onside kick
perfectly timed nailed tackle / no gain on a punt
the rest were fair catchs or minimal gain
Morstead’s punts were nearly all around the 10 yard line
2 field goals and all extra points

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I think having a camp comprised of glorified walkthroughs and no preseason is going to have more of an effect on teams than people want to admit. Usually by game 3-4 you know your teams identity. This year It’s going to take 5-6 games before we see a lot of these teams start to click. We are a bit ahead of the league because of our roster but what we saw today wasn’t anything close to what we will be like once things start clicking.
We played hard but Tampa did shoot themselves in the foot with penalties and poor execution.
It was a fun, low stress game and that’s just what I needed.
Hope Thomas is ok. Payton has a bad habit of leaving our star players on the field when the game is well in hand. Thomas shouldn’t have been in there on the second to last play of the game.

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Where were the receivers?
Tampa defense was very stout

Thomas was seeing Corner Safety doubling
Didn’t work the slot at all

Sanders opened it up later

Drew showed great arm strength on the long dart to Jared Cook

Re: Saints vs Buccaneers Post-Game Observations
 

No offensive or special team penalties!

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While TB got away with several. 2 PI’s and offsides from what I could tell.

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Well said...

NFW... Popeyes Sammich Peat got beat?

Re: Saints vs Buccaneers Post-Game Observations
 

- Special teams was the standout today
- Great job by the Jackrabbit jumping that route for a pick 6, what an exciting play!
- Glad our defense didn't tighten up and question their ability with the Dome empty. They really settled in nicely.
- The ticky-tack PI penalties (most which went against us) annoyed me

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Got that right: no way MT should still be in the game or any other can't-be-replaced star. Especially one who plays a position that always gets hit.

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Rumor is the um “hefty” sean payton is back? That can only be a good sign.

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Marshawn Lattimore is a GREAT CB. It's not a reach to say he's the best CB that the Saints ever had since they rarely have a good CB, but I love these matchups with Evans. He owns Evans.

He should smarten up when Evans gets angry. He's too good to feel the need to retaliate when Evans hits him with a cheap shot.

This secondary is very good. I don't get to say that often. The whole defense is good.

If all three phases stay hot this team will be extremely difficult to beat.

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Okay, just got through watching the game, sans commercials and BS politics, though Payton, ever the show(off)man, jumped in on the act at the end of the game...

• Payton was right about one thing, he called an awful game; Drew looked old, rusty; Taysom's 4th quarter throw really contrasted that point...
  
  
• I'd like to know why the star of training camp, P.J. Williams, wasn't active; talk about getting all you can out of Practice Squad Call Ups - Margus Hunt and Bennie Fowler were huge, should be active roster...
  
  
• The Tampa Bay Bucs are young, and they're for real - but the PreSeason/Team Continuity was today, and will be a factor first half of the season - it was the real difference in the game...
  
  
• Cam Jordan really got stuffed against the pass, but looked awesome vs the run...
  
  
• Gonna suck we developed T-Rex and we won't be able to afford him; he had some real drive-killing plays; he'd had a second sack if not for an intentional grounding...
  
  
• Know some are praising Jared Cook, but I gotta tell you, while stats says there were two drops, there were missed opportunities that would mean more in tighter games - need to get Trautman some live reps...
  
  
• Defensive Big, and I mean Big Plays, minimized some of other errors; in football, defense is usually ahead of offense at this time, and both sides have gotta lot of cleaning up to do...
  
  
• Was glad to see Payton use Latavius Murray to kill clock and let our big offensive linemen dispense some punishment on those defensive linemen; thought Nick Easton showed his value today...
  
  
• We are not where we need to be on the offensive line; Covid, Injured Rookie Center, it's gonna be a big deal when the Pack comes to town and the schedule gets tougher vs Alpha Predators...
  
  
• Lattimore does a great job to get in the heads of his opponents, but geezhus, he doesn't need to move in with them...
  
  
• There were concerns of New LBer Coach Michael Hodges assuming duties from Mike Nolan, and while less than one year out, the transition looks seamless, and On that note,
  
  
• Payton should have promoted Mike Nolan to DC; that BS Corner blitz, pulling a CB who effectively shut down Mike Evans is the kind of crap why Dennis Allen should've been relieved in the off-season...
  
  
• Agree with comments re: DL Coach Ryan Nielsen, a signing I hyped; watching Roach make Rankins expendable, I'd go one step more, Nielsen needs to be in on Draft & Free Agent Prep, Evaluations...
  
  
• One more coaches note, if the Specialist Unit has more games like today, Darren Rizzi will be one hot commodity; that was one of the best performances ever by a Saints ST unit, even with the circumstances...
  
  
• Thought Patrick Robinson looked solid in relief on the boundary; Marcus Williams is underappreciated; still don't see why we signed Jenkins who looked slow compared to Vonn Bell last season...
  
  
• Two player injuries to watch for this week - WRx Michael Thomas and WRs/RB Ty Montgomery...

Re: Saints vs Buccaneers Post-Game Observations
 

Look who is waiting to rub it in back in Tampa

http://rivalscentral.net/index.php?a...2427-gif.8020/

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Can you copy and paste the image here? Really don't want to create an account just to see this.

SFIAH

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Its the opposite mostly and depends on which aspect you are referring to. While it does take longer for offenses to gel internally, defense is reactionary and at the start of a season defenses do not have any tape to see tendencies or what changes an opponents offense makes in the off-season.

Rarely do defenses start a season strong and then get crappy unless there is injury, generally you see your stronger defenses emerge after week 3-4.

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Did anyone notice all the shots that Tom took at our secondary yesterday? That is what QBs know of the Saints secondary, throw it up and if your receiver doesn't catch it there is a high probability of a pass interference call to move the ball.

In true form, we led the league yesterday in DPI and kept NE in the game longer than they should have been because of it.

Defensive Pass Interference in the League Week1:
Saints = 4
One team = 3
Four teams = 2
Eleven teams = 1
Eleven teams = 0

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I agree with JP that Tampa is real but it all comes down to how fast they can gel. If they aren’t on the same page soon it’s going to be a steep climb to get on top In this conference.
I could also see the team give up on Brady. They looked like were doing just that at some points in the middle of the 3rd.
It’s got to be frustrating releasing your starting QBs because of interceptions only to turn around and have a HOF QB do the exact same thing week 1.
Could it be that Tampa’s receivers are poor route runners and are a big factor in all the interceptions that seem to plague them? Maybe it’s not really as much of a QB problem as it seems?

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Agreed on Dennis. I'm simply not a fan of his play calling.

As for Coach Nielsen .. that was a damn good hire. His D line has been stout his entire tenure in New Orleans. The Roach kid could become a dawg for us. I was extremely impressed with his performance on yesterday.

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Carl Granderson is a big dude. He definitely bulked up over the offseason because I kept seeing #96 and wondering who that DT was lol.

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Drew looked old, rusty; Taysom's 4th quarter throw really contrasted that point...

Not sure how you can say Drew looked old and compare it to Taysom's throw which was short and had to be waited on. The Bucs D is legit. I agree the play calling was terrible but can't see your assessment on Drew.

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Yea Drew was off. One of his worst games. This was a glimpse of what the Saints will look like post Brees. This is encouraging because we now have a complete team where offense, defense, and special teams are playing at a high level. Pair that with the talent we have and we won’t need a HOF QB to play at a high level.

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Rivers, Brees, Golden Boy Brady ... definitely not their best performances on yesterday.

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- 1-0. The rest of the NFC South 0-1.
- Harris, coming off a Pro Bowl rookie season, is vastly improved. Quick, decisive and elusive. The best returner in the game. Bad man.
- Hendrickson is a legit NFL DE. Not just a role player.
- Brees was average.
- Kamara looks quick and explosive again.
- Cook is a big weapon.
- Sanders will only get better in this offense.
- Roach has the talent.
- The whole D-Line is active and disruptive.
- Hill should get a series here and there at QB to energize the offense and/or as a change of pace. Not a fan of the QB sweep call. Like the RPO calls better.
- Murray won't show up in the highlights, but his runs were important.
- Kudos to Payton for calling the pooch kick from the 50. Have seen many just kick it out the endzone.
- The NFL should never play another preseason game and they should keep the PS high to develop the players that may have made the team due to preseason games.

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Re: Saints vs Buccaneers Post-Game Observations
 

1. This is the last year we’ll have with Drew Brees. Enjoy it. Teams will continue to sit on the underneath routes and everything in front of them due to our inability to push the ball down the field.

2. If we’re going to run this West Coast offense we need to do a better job of creating and exploiting mismatches. Where are the Texas routes with Kamara and Montgomery? Smash combinations? Double slants? Indeed, playcalling is and has been atrocious.

3. Taysom Hill gives the offense so much more life. Everytime he touches the ball it feels like a big play waiting to happen.

4. The entire secondary was excellent. I could care less about those ticky-tack pass interference calls. We already know the refs love to throw flags on us. It is what it is. I was extremely impressed with the defense as a whole.

5. Dennis Allen? Big trash.

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- That QB sweep with Taysom on 3rd and short was absolutely horrendous.

- Love our DL. Love Cam.

- I wish we had 3 Demario's.

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I'll need to re visit the replay.

Didn't notice Ellis much. I was zoned in on that def front. David O, Cam, Trey and Roach were getting in.

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For all the hype about Gronk coming back, that dude is washed. He got chased down by Onyemata after catching a pass. Lol

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The football can be sloppy in week eight. Match ups make it look that way every week of the season. It's a simple safety issue for me. Just not worth the injury risks. Losing a star, a starter, or even a key special teams player in games that don't count is a waste.

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It's become too predictable. Payton and Carmichael need to develop an RPO package for Taysom when he's in the QB position. It would function as a triple option set where he could hand off the ball if the LB's take the receiver, throw the ball if the LB crashes the run, or take off himself.

Defenses will continue to pack the LOS until Taysom breaks the tendency to run. Pop the ball over the front 7/8's head enough, and they'll have to back off.

SFIAH

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For plays where Taysom is the QB, we should emulate what the Patriots did with Cam yesterday. Nothing fancy, just technically sound option football and execution, set up high percentage passes with the double mobility factor in the backfield.