Is PC the real problem with offense?
The difference is Payton's body of work is proven and successful. Did he have some headscratchers? Of course. But Payton immediately established himself so there was a lot less questioning of his playcalling, because he clearly was a lot more right than wrong. In 2006, the Saints offense lead the league in yards and finished fifth in scoring. The situation here is also dramatically different. 3:58 left in the first quarter. Swing and miss on this and there is still more than 75% of the game left to play.
Payton did the same thing. Just picking 2017, on 3rd and short Michael Thomas was on the bench 21% of the time. In his place? Players like Ted Ginn, Willie Snead, Brandon Coleman.
Edit: here’s an example, down 10-0 early in a playoff game and MT13 is nowhere to be seen on 3rd & 1. Snead is in his place. We get stopped and have to punt.
The difference is Payton's body of work is proven and successful. Did he have some headscratchers? Of course. But Payton immediately established himself so there was a lot less questioning of his playcalling, because he clearly was a lot more right than wrong. In 2006, the Saints offense lead the league in yards and finished fifth in scoring. The situation here is also dramatically different. 3:58 left in the first quarter. Swing and miss on this and there is still more than 75% of the game left to play.