Great record but something is off (1 Viewer)

[Cajun Chat]

I'm thrilled as I'm sure most of us are with a 9-2 record and the possibility of clinching our division this coming Thursday. I can't figure it out but something seems to be missing with this team. I certainly don't have the same feeling as I did about last years team at this time.

Maybe it's the ridiculous NFC. That said I don't think we are playing our best football. Defensively we couldn't stop Kyle Allen today. Offensively, we did enough to win.

Overall, I'm thankful but something seems to be off.

 

[Saint Kamara]

We'll find out in 2 weeks where we stand.

If we go toe to toe with the 49ers and this offense can do damage against what now looks like an immovable object, then game on.

If it looks like Seattle 2013 during the regular season, then goodnight, the rematch in the playoffs will look like, well 2013.

Until we get Lattimore back, our defense will have issues.

Until we get back to being balanced on offense, we'll run into issues with offensive consistency.

 

[Saints 318]

If anything off it’s on the offensive side

 

[mdharper]

Drew said it best. We haven't played out best yet. Not by a long shot. We're just happy to get out with a win.

 

[OutlawSaint]

49ers and some of the other teams are doing what we did last season in that they are peaking right now a little too early. They will level out a bit come playoff time. We on the other hand have not played our best football yet with Brees as QB. Hope we are fully healthy and playing at our best come playoffs.

 

[Dago]

Allen played a great game. He protected the ball and played well despite being under a good bit of pressure. He even had some dropped passes

 

[Saint Spud]

You’re not wrong.

Losing Lattimore really hurt our defense. I expect well look a lot better when he gets back.

I’m curious to see how we play without Armstead. That was our offensive undoing last year. Atlanta’s pass rush isn’t very good (although they crushed us two weeks ago), but losing TA for San Francisco would require a significant shift in game plan.

We need to get back to how we were playing during the weeks without Drew. I think many of us figured that, once Drew came back, everyone else (D and O) would keep playing at a high level and we would just be adding a HOF QB to take us to a new level. It hasn’t played out like that so far.

Thankfully, we’ve got a few weeks to figure it out.

 

[sfbaysaint]

What's off is that saints haven't had a complete game yet... their wins are not convincing... like the Ravens or even the niners.
Saints are more like the patriots right now... defense and special team is keeping them in... and they pull it out at the end in large part due to the QBs.

Even today's game, the panthers kicker missed two extra points and a FG... that is 5 points. Saints have no margin of error. And that is what keeps the fans on the edge of their seats.

 

[dvdman]

9-2 and something is off. I know 24 NFL teams or so who would love to be “off” like us right now. Geeez

 

[SweetT]

Hopefully Lamar Jackson breaks the Niners will in the upcoming game. I’ll admit, the Niners have a good formula, but their weak link is their QB. Kill the head and the body will die.

 

[SAINT BIGAL]

49ers and some of the other teams are doing what we did last season in that they are peaking right now a little too early. They will level out a bit come playoff time. We on the other hand have not played our best football yet with Brees as QB. Hope we are fully healthy and playing at our best come playoffs.

One of the things I noticed while glancing at the game was the intensity level at which the 49ers were playing.

 

[duckjr78]

Meh, 8 weeks to go until the NFCCG. A lot of time for things to change, for better or worse, for our team and for about 15 other teams.

This was a very good team slightly off against a good team who was “on” and had the help of being called for zero “impactful” penalties. And yet the Saints were never behind and won the game.

 

[black_floyd]

I'm thrilled as I'm sure most of us are with a 9-2 record and the possibility of clinching our division this coming Thursday. I can't figure it out but something seems to be missing with this team. I certainly don't have the same feeling as I did about last years team at this time.

1. The refs are this looming dark cloud over every game now. Never mind if we're good enough to beat the other team. If it's a one-possession game in the final minutes, we have to play absolutely FLAWLESS ball to avoid getting screwed. The mental toll is severe.

2. No deep passing game is scary. Yeah, we get the occasional 20-25 yarder but having the other team have to play deep to prevent bombs to Ginn opened things up humongously in the middle of the field and was a big reason why AK used to be able to get 30+ yard gains almost every game.

3. Secondary is a heaping pile of **** the last few games. I complain about it regularly and still see no improvement but our DBs virtually never turn around to look for the ball. You're gonna be giving up completions at a horrible rate if you make it so that the only way you can break up a pass is if your head or back accidentally blocks the pass.

4. 3rd down play calling is predictable, lazy, and arrogant. SP's pride and ego have killed dozens of possessions the last few seasons due to his insistence on making 3rd and short harder than it needs to be. Whether it's pitching the ball to a RB 5 yards behind the line of scrimmage when we only need one yard or running the same two plays we've been using Taysom for over the last several games, teams always know what's coming cuz SP can't let go of foolish pride.

5. Brees' pocket awareness has diminished. Yeah, the O-line has been spotty as hell but how many avoidable sacks has he taken lately? It seems like at least once a game now (even 3 in some games) he'll take a sack where he either never heard the footsteps or he'll just be too ballsy and get taken down cuz he failed to adequately respect the impending threat.

We'll find out in 2 weeks where we stand...

...If it looks like Seattle 2013 during the regular season, then goodnight, the rematch in the playoffs will look like, well 2013.

The funny thing is that we were 9-2 going into that game as well. Probably the worst arse kicking I've ever seen a good Saints team take. Between that and the two playoff losses, they ended up as being neck and neck with the Vikings for my second most hated team right behind the niners.

49ers and some of the other teams are doing what we did last season in that they are peaking right now a little too early. They will level out a bit come playoff time. We on the other hand have not played our best football yet with Brees as QB. Hope we are fully healthy and playing at our best come playoffs.

There is literally nothing that proves this at this point in time. Some teams fall apart, some stay the course.

 

[black_floyd]

lol at the peanut gallery who are all Quick Draw McGraw to hit the negative reaction buttons but too afraid to speak their minds.

 

[Saviorbrees]

Panthers were no pushovers...They are a good football tram with their backs against the wall clawing and scratching the whole game to keep their playoff hopes alive, we got their best shot and beat them when we weren't even our best (and the refs lol)