Deep Dive: What's worked, what hasn't for 2022 Saints and ways to fix in Year 2 of Allen tenure (1 Viewer)

[Bayouboy]

Only positive of "bring it all back" is we are certain to fail, even in a weak division. Whole staff will be gone & hopefully we have a shot at a franchise QB.

 

[BayouSAINTJoe]

Curious, what would be a good season for Olave? Among rookie WR performances in the SB era, he finished top 20 in yards per game and top 15 in receptions per game with Andy Dalton throwing him the ball.

For rookie performances in the past ten years, it would be 7th in yards/game and 8th in receptions/game.

Imagine how much better he would've been if he wasn't asked to constantly run 5-8 yard curls

 

[Rouxble]

Imagine how much better he would've been if he wasn't asked to constantly run 5-8 yard curls

I get it, but I think our offense was more complex than that, they had a couple of designs to get the ball to him deep in our last game.

On one he beat his man on an out-and-up but Dalton was too busy looking for a checkdown (Taysom was wide open in the end zone on the same play, two receivers deep and Dalton couldn’t see one).

On two other plays they used Shaheed as a decoy, one to open up a post for Olave (safety didn’t bite), the other time Dalton should have thrown the curl route to Shaheed because the corner bailed to the deep third and nearly intercepted Dalton’s pass.

On another play (not deep) Olave and Hill line up left side against two defenders in man coverage, they ran a slant flat combo and Olave runs into a square mile of green space, but Dalton committed to the swing pass on the other side pre snap.

As a result, we only seem to notice him catch curls because that’s what gets thrown.

 

[Rouxble]

What more can PC do on this play? The checkdown never gets open and we get an incompletion instead.



What about here? Hill’s defender creates traffic for Olave’s defender, and the only defender in the middle of the field is a linebacker who is in man on Kamara (who runs a swing to the other side).





I won’t say PC is perfect, but I’ve been a consistent critic of one QB who is allegedly overcoming bad play calling to make PFF’s top 5 list.

 

[BlueChimay]

Short and Sweet:

Dennis Allen stays in 2023 for these reasons:

• Saints made a commitment to winning now, to turn away from that would mean wholesale changes. The time to do that was after Payton's departure.
• The Saints don't have the picks or money to allow a new coach the freedom to mold the team through free agency and draft.
• The division doesn't have a clear cut stud, blowing the whole thing up would be saying "it can't be this team"

What worked

• Continuity on offense and defense. I think this helped the Saints drafting. Olave, Taylor and Penning will all be long term contributors, and this is because when you know what fits your systems, you know what types of guys to draft.

What didn't work

• The changes on defense! Swapping out safeties, co-coordinators + a play-caller, a shift to more cover 4 and disguise, trading away CJG. The defense lacked identity this year, that's why.
• The QB situation. Dennis Allen was quoted as saying "I don't like when Taysom is on the sideline" yet for the 1st half of the year it's where Taysom spent his time. Hill is part of the solution, Jameis being handed the reigns and Taysom being phased out to TE wasn't the right move.

The energy for next year isn't about upheaval, it's about planning, corrections, and adjustments. Minor tweaks can lead to better success in 2023.

On Defense:

• One defensive coordinator. Don't care who it is but only one person needs the title and play-calling responsibilities.
• Keep Tyrann Mathieu away from S responsibilities. He's a NB at this point in his career, just like at the start. As a young player he didn't have the recognition to play S full time, as an older player he doesn't have the range. He's CJGJ's direct replacement.
• Ditto for Marcus Maye who is more Roman Harper than he who must not be named.
• Rebuild interior D-line. We get beat up the gut on runs and we get no interior pressure without A-gap blitzing from LB's.
• Move Paulson Adebo to S. He's a more athletic Malcolm Jenkins with similar weakness and strengths.
• Replace pass-rushing talent lost since 2019.

Nothing major here. Adebo will be in his 3rd year in the system. You get a S who can play deep 3rd and it puts Maye/Mathieu in more natural roles for their talent. I get it, Allen wanted disguise ability and interchangeable safeties - sh** ain't work though. The two guys you married that thought to don't have the range, and the contracts say they'll be here another year. A rookie here would work, but the Safety class isn't great.

Sheldon Rankins, Trey Hendrickson, Tyeler Davidson, Malcolm Brown. All good players lost over the years, none replaced. Guys like Javon Hargrave (7 sacks), Siaki Ika, Yannik Ngkaoue (8.5 sacks) will be available in the draft and FA. Saints should take a long look at adding more "pressure players"


On Offense

• Help the offensive line by adding a more mobile QB and a power RB.
• Get Michael Thomas healthy
• Run 2 QB system and mix Taysom in as much as humanly possible
• Hire a senior offensive guy to collaborate with Carmichael

The long time myth has been proven a reality. Brees ability to get the ball out quickly made the offensive line look better. Ramczyk has regressed, Peat is below average, McCoy is a stud, Ruiz improved, and Penning will be a 2nd year rookie. The line isn't going to improve leaps and bounds in 23 but you can help it out. Winston after his knee injury is a statue, as is Dalton. Adding a young signal caller with the ability to escape with his legs is paramount. Have him mix in with Taysom for maximum effect. Yall know my choice, Gardner Minshew.

Ditto in the run game. Saints need a young power RB. Doesn't matter the mold (Chris Ivory or young Mark Ingram) but he needs to be a guy you trust to split carries evenly with Kamara and also bring the pain as an interior runner. I have a preference for the Ivory type, but I'm a fan of the RB in Michigan.

It's not time to give up on Thomas. He'll return as a perfect compliment to Olave who should see his duties expand in year 2, he's a stud. The hiring of a senior offensive voice just makes sense to me. The creativity and magic that was once a part of the offense is gone. Maybe Carmichael designed the plays and Payton had the balls to call them, not sure but minus Payton the flea flickers, the jet sweeps, the screen plays haven't been a part of the system. I know Ronald Curry was promoted to pass game coordinator and he should keep that, but there should be another offensive mind in the room, the offense looked stale.


From a depth chart perspective. Green is good, Yellow is Average, Red is upgradeable

QB - Yellow, Red, Red : The Yellow happens to be Taysom. I'd return Dalton as a #3 and swap Winston for Minshew.
RB- Green, Red, Red : It's Kamara and not much else.
FB - Yellow
WR - Green, Green, Yellow: Olave, Thomas, and Juice should return in 23.
TE - Yellow, Yellow: Both TE's are serviceable for another year and play their roles well
LT - Yellow: Arrow is pointing up here with Penning
LG - Red: Peat is horrible but his contract keeps him here for at least 1 more year.
C - Green: McCoy is a stud
RG - Yellow: Ruiz has improved under Marrone and is on a cheap contract. He returns
RT - Green: While he's regressed he's still the best o-lineman.

RDE - Yellow, Yellow : Davenport is a FA and arguably I'd bring him back, but swapping him for a pass-rushing talent wouldn't hurt.
RDT - Yellow, Red : Onyemata is approaching 30 and hasn't developed into a passrushing threat. Fits as a 1-tech more than 3 tech.
LDT - Red, Red : This is why your run defense is terrible
LDE - Green, Red: Cam needs rest and is reverting back to more of a run stopper. Someone who can rush from the LDE spot when he take a few snaps off would be ideal
WLB - Green - Warner is a stud
MLB - Green: Davis is still a stud, but you need to mirror what the Ravens did with Haloti Ngata and draft a big body to keep him clean.
SLB- Yellow: Kaden Ellis will be hard to keep but they should retain him as Davis insurance after next year.
RCB - Green: Lattimore when healthy is top notch
LCB - Yellow: Adebo is faster than Jenkins/P.J. Williams (two guys who switched to S) but struggles with double moves and deep in cutting routes. Name how many WR's Adebo "shut down".. now how many has Taylor "shut down" in his short career? No brainer to me.
Slot - Yellow: This is where Mathieu belongs, Not Adebo, not Taylor. Mathieu is your star dime back and Nickel at this point in his career. Not your starting SS or FS. Instant CJGJ replacement.
FS - Red: Arguably they have PJ Williams playing here to give Mathieu more freedom recently, he's upgradeable.
SS - Yellow: Maye is serviceable here but should no be playing deep safety and trying to get over the top of WR's. His play would improve by fixing the FS spot and letting him be the best Roman Harper he can be.


That's all I've got. Haven't done one of these in a while, and got inspired this AM. Drop your thoughts below and have a great weekend!

Great analysis. Thanks.

 

[cant]

My only silver lining is our youth continues to develop, and we hit on some more draft picks. As long as we have Ireland and Loomis I’m still confident in our scouting department.

Let them continue to develop and next year we get a new coaching staff. Then go after our QB.

Hopefully the former includes a few 1sts for Payton compensation