HB Breakdown - Game 3 2009 vs. Buffalo (1 Viewer)

NPs6724

Two Dat, Here We Come!
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Each series starts with the score before it began and the result of the drive. Each play involving significant play from a HB will include pertinent play information as well as comments on how/why the play happened the way it did and each series will be followed by general thoughts.

1st Series - 0-0 - Touchdown
1st-10 - NO 18 - 14:55 - I - Hamilton 4-yard run - Bush stacked left, LDE Chris Kelsay comes free (blocked by H. Evans) and disrupts, Hamilton cuts back right, J. Evans 2nd-level block, Hamilton breaks ankle tackle
1st-10 - BUF 34 - 13:10 - I - Bush 2-yard run - RDT Kyle Williams beats Bushrod insides and LDE Kelsay fights off Stinchcomb's block to make the tackle, Nicks 2nd-level block
1st-10 - BUF 12 - 12:02 - Single Back - Bush 3-yard run - Toss right; RDT Spencer Johnson pushes Goodwin to offensive-right into the hole, CB Terrence McGee fills the gap and trips Bush up
2nd-7 - BUF 9 - 11:26 - Single Back - Bush 3-yard run - Nicks pulls right, Bush goes in the middle and dives forward
1st-Goal - BUF 1 - 10:07 - I - Hamilton 1-yard TD run - Left side of OL (TE Thomas-Strief-Bushrod-Nicks) got very good push, H. Evans picked up WLB Keith Ellison, Lynell Hamilton's 1st career TD

--Good drive overall to start the game; Brees had several open receivers, the running game started slow but all yardage was positive; congrats to Hamilton for his 1st career TD

2nd Series - 7-0 - Turnover on Downs
2nd-6 - 50 - 5:37 - I - Bush 14-yard run - Hamilton was in the I, Bush was wide left; PA to Hamilton and end-around to right to Bush, lots of open space
1st-20 - BUF 46 - 4:32 - Single Back - Bush 17-yard run - Draw; Nicks sealed hole, Bushrod blocked RDE Aaron Maybin out of the play, Henderson stayed with his block downfield
2nd-3 - BUF 29 - 4:03 - I - Hamilton - 1-yard run - RDT Johnson got inside Bushrod and disrupted the play
4th-2 - BUF 28 - 3:22 - Strong I - Bush 0-yard reception - Bush counter left, Brees tripped over H. Evans' foot as Evans went out into flat, Stinchcomb had 2 guys to block

--Bush ran well on this drive; we keep running the PA TE screen but Brees is having to throw too early and it only nets 2-4 yards each time; Brees should've gotten the ball to Henderson on 3rd-2 but threw too softl; didn't like the 4th down playcall


3rd Series - 7-7 - Fumble lost
2nd-10 - NO 41 - Q2 14:41 - Single Back - Bush 6-yard run - Henderson blocks RDE Aaron Schobel just enough, Bushrod and Goodwin 2nd-level blocks, Bush falls forward
1st-10 - BUF 43 - 13:28 - I - Incompletion to Bush - Screen; Bush blocks S Whitner on blitz and then tripped over Stinchcomb's feet
3rd-1 - BUF 34 - 12:39 - I - Hamilton 2-yard run - Fake to Evans and toss left; Bushrod pulls left, defense pushed blockers back, Hamilton hit behind LOS but fought through tackle for first down

--Probably a good thing Bush tripped over Stinchcomb's feet because it wouldn't have gotten much if anything; good drive ended up stalled on a sack-fumble lost by Schobel


4th Series - 7-7 - Punt
1st-10 - NO 20 - 7:58 - Weak I - Bush 4-yard run - Sticnhcomb and Goowin 2nd-level blocks, J. Evans sealed hole, Shockey blocked LDE Kelsay, Bush kept pushing forward
2nd-6 - NO 24 - 7:23 - Single Back - Bush 4-yard run - RDT Williams shot into backfield, J. Evans blocked RDT MArcus Stroud away from the play, RDE Schobel pushes Shockey away and RDE Kelsay bounced off Stinchcomb's block to combine for the tackle

--3-and-out due to BS tripping penalty on Shockey on 3rd-2; Jenkins forced and recovered the fumble on the punt


5th Series - 7-7 - Field Goal
1st-10 - BUF 32 - 6:12 - I - Hamilton 16-yard run - Colston fake end-around from left; Nicks and J. Evans 2nd-level blocks, great blocking upfront, H. Evans and Stinchcomb sealed hole
2nd-10 - BUF 16 - 5:32 - I - Bush 3-yard run - Bush bounced outside left, SLB Kawika Mitchell came down and filles gap, Bush almost got the edge

--Turnover turned into 3 points; Brees couldn't find any open receivers and when he did, he was just a hair off many times


6th Series - 10-7 - Punt
None

--Penalty + sack = 3-and-out


7th Series - 10-7 - End of Half
None

--Kneel and go into halftime


8th Series - 10-7 - Punt
1st-10 - NO 3 Q3 12:59 - I - Thomas 1-yard run - 10 in the box
2nd-9 - NO 4 - 12:24 - I - Thomas 19-yard run - Strief (at LT) and Nicks seal hole, H. Evans continues blocking downfield, great run by Thomas
1st-10 - NO 23 - 11:46 - I - Thomas 13-yard run - Nicks and Shockey 2nd-level blocks, Stinchcomb and Goodwin seal hole, Thomas bounces outside at the end of the play for extra yards
1st-10 - NO 36 - 11:10 - I - Bush 5-yard run - Bush cuts back right and bounces outside right, H. Evans blocks LDE Kelsay
2nd-5 - NO 41 - 10:30 - Single Back - Bush -1-yard run - Meachem motions right to next to Strief - LDE Kelsay pushes right pasr Shockey to make the tackle, WLB Ellison also shot into the backfield
3rd-6 - NO 40 - 9:47 - Empty Back - Bush 5-yard reception - Bush motions wide right; Bush ran a curl right at the 1st-down marker, tackled immediately
1st-10 - NO 47 - 8:53 - I - Thomas 0-yard run - RDE Schobel beat Strief and got into backfield, S Whitner and WLB Ellison untouched for the tackle
1st-10 - BUF 35 - 7:30 - I - Thomas 1-yard run - Thomase cuts right, no push from OL

--Lots of running but the drive stalled; PT finally gets in there and tears it up; Several nice runs


9th Series - 10-7 - Punt
2nd-12 - NO 21 - 1:17 - I - Thomas 3-yard run - Small hole in the middle, Thomas ran right into Stroud
3rd-9 - NO 24 - 0:41 - shotgun 1RB - Bush 5-yard run - Draw; LDE Kelsay and RDE Schobel read the draw and bounced off Stinchcomb and Bushrod to combine on the tackle

--Another penalty knocked us back and not much running room this drive; if Bushrod and Stinchcomb don't let Schobel and Kelsay come right off their blocks Bush had a shot for the 1st down


10th Series - 10-7 - Punt
1st-10 - NO 38 - Q4 13:33 - I - Thomas 0-yard run - Henderson fake end-around from left; Stinchcomb beat inside by LDT Stroud for an ankle tackle
2nd-10 - NO 38 - 13:01 - Single Back - Incompletion to Bush - PA, Brees holds ball for a long time, throws wide of Bush

--Brees had some pressure that forced him to throw earlier than he wanted


11th Series - 10-7 - Touchdown
1st-10 - NO 34 - 11:01 - I - Thomas 5-yard run - Thomas bounces outside left, RDT Johnson beats Goodwin into the backfield
1st-10 - BUF 46 - 10:40 - Weak I - Bush 12-yard reception - PA; no one picks up Bush out of the backfield until after the catch, Bush breaks WLB Ellison's ankles on a juke
1st-10 - BUF 34 - 9:56 - I - Thomas 34-yard TD run - Thomas bounces outside left, Shockey blocks S Whitner out of play, Strief seasl RDE Schobel, H. Evans blocks WLB Ellison to spring Thomas, Thomas leaps over S Jairus Byrd, fights into EZ, Nicks and J. Evans kept trailing and blocking for Thomas

--Wow, just wow on PT's TD; Bush put a beautiful move on Ellison; What a stable of RBs


12th Series - 17-7 - Field Goal
2nd-10 - NO 34 - 7:15 - I - Thomas 1-yard run - 9 in the box, pushed OL back
1st-10 - BUF 37 - 5:59 - I - Thomas 9-yard run - Strief and Goodwin 2nd-level blocks, TE Thomas and Nicks seal backside hole, Thomas cuts back inside backside hole, Thomas fights forward
2nd-1 - BUF 28 - 5:14 - I - Thomas 15-yard run - Shockey 2nd-level block, Nicks opens up huge hole blocking RDT Stroud, Goodwin and Nicks seal hole
1st-20 - BUF 23 - 4:25 - Single Back - Incompletion to Bush - Bush ran a curl; Brees tried a jump pass and ball batted down
2nd-20 - BUF 23 - 4:20 - Single Back - Bush -1-yard run - pitch left; Strief pulls left and misses block on CB Drayton Florence and RDE Schobel pushes Shockey the ground, Florence makes contact with Bush at BUF 28, both defenders force Bush to reverse field to the right

--Drive started well but a penalty and miscues derailed it; PT was a man on a mission; how Bush didn't lose 5 on that final run I don't know


13th Series - 20-7 - Touchdown
1st-10 - BUF 25 - 2:15 - I - Thomas 6-yard run - H. Evans blocks S George Wilson and seals hole, good overall blocking by OL
2nd-4- BUF 19 - 2:10 - I - P. Thomas 19-yard TD run - LDE went after Brees, good overall blocking by OL, Stinchcomb 2nd-level block, Thomas outran 2 defenders inside, Thomas untouched to BUF 5, banged it into the EZ from BUF 5

--Bills took a TO beofre the 2-minute warning and PT made them pay with a TD; another beautiful run by PT


14th Series - 27-7 - End of Game
None

--Kneels to end the game


Stats:

Rushing
Thomas - 14 carries, 126 yards, 9.0 YPC, 2 TDs, 34L
Bush - 13 carries, 64 yards, 4.9 YPC, 0 TD, 17L
Hamilton - 5 carries, 24 yards, 4.8, 1 TD, 16L

Receiving
Bush - 3 receptions, 17 yards, 5.7 YPC, 12L, 7 targets


Runs for Loss
2 (Thomas 0, Bush 2, Hamilton 0)

Runs from 0-4 Yards
17 (Thomas 6, Bush 7, Hamilton 4)

Runs from 5-9 Yards
5 (Thomas 3, Bush 2, Hamilton 0)

Runs from 10-19 Yards
7 (Thomas 3, Bush 3, Hamilton 1)

Runs from 20+ Yards
1 (Thomas 1, Bush 0, Hamilton 0)

Runs for 2 Yards or Less
12 (Thomas 5, Bush 4, Hamilton 3)


Run Formations
I - 23 plays (Thomas 14, Bush 4, Hamilton 5)
Weak I - 1 play (Thomas 0, Bush 1, Hamilton 0)
Single Back - 7 plays (Thomas 0, Bush 7, Hamilton 0)
Shotgun 1RB - 1 play (Thomas 0, Bush 1, Hamilton 0)


Final Analysis
Wow, what a performance today by our run game! Buffalo had been tough against the run in their first 2 games and we imposed our will on them for most of the game.

Hamilton had some tough runs but most of his yards came off his one long run. I was happy to see him get his first career TD in the NFL and it was a good, strong 1-yard run. Exactly the kind of TD I like to see a bruising back like Hamilton score. If Bell's injury is worse, I have no problem with Hamilton getting some more carries.

Bush had easily his best rushing game of the year. Even if you discard his 14-yard end-around and just focus on how he did out of the backfield, he still averaged 4.1 per carry. He only had 2 negative runs today (both for -1) with 1 lucky it wasn't -5. Aaron Schobel and Drayton Florence shot right past the blockers and had Bush dead to rights but Bush made a few moves and got back close to the LOS (good blocking by Drew to help him as well). He was much more confident this week and he built off last week. 5 of his 13 runs were for more than 5 yards, which is a very nice percentage. Receiving-wise, Brees was off on several throws that Bush had no shot to bring in.

Pierre Thomas is healthy for the first time this season and he made up for lost time. Didn't get a carry until the 2nd half and he ended up with 126 yards. 7 of his 14 runs were for 5 or more yards with 4 being for 10+. That's INSANE. He just totally gashed Buffalo, especially at the end of the game. He singlehandedly put the game away. We didn't even get a chance to run the clock out because he kept breaking big runs. We're gonna hafta work on that with him :hihi:

The OL was exceptional today with only a few missteps. Most of our bad runs were due to 8 or more in the box and the defense gearing up for the run. But with Brees having an 'off' game, the OL and the RBs took it over and did what we couldn't do at all in 2007 and 2008: put a game away.

We attempted 29 passes and 38 runs (4 kneeldowns) with 7 passes and 11 runs (3 kneeldowns) in the 4th quarter. Before the 4th quarter started, we had a 45-55 passes-to-runs split and ended up with a 43-57 split. The way we ran all day and the way we passed, good gameplan by Payton to run a lot more than we usually do and big props to the OL and RBs for us being able to execute that plan.
 
good post...wow, thats dedication.

Post game audio from St.Chadwick, Payton mentioned PT had the flu and
didn't feel well enough to play till the second half.
 
Cool, did you happen to notice which one Strief was really grabbing jersey on? I'll have to rewatch it, but it was one of those classic ones where they slo-mo it and say, "great blocking here." Usually it ticks me off when it's the other team. Somehow when it's us, I don't get so mad that the refs missed it ;)
 
BTW, it's noticeable that the times Reggie is in the I, he's more likely to succeed as is true with Pierre. I think you brought that up before, and this game is proof that the singleback is much harder for any of our backs to run out of, but Reggie takes the brunt of those (all of them this game).
 
BTW, it's noticeable that the times Reggie is in the I, he's more likely to succeed as is true with Pierre. I think you brought that up before, and this game is proof that the singleback is much harder for any of our backs to run out of, but Reggie takes the brunt of those (all of them this game).

I know Payton likes the run-pass option he can have in Single Back with Bush, but he can have that in I as well with Evans and Bush together. I think we run much better out of the I overall but I don't think it would affect our passing. In fact, I think it'd make play-action that much better because we pass out of Single Back a lot more than we run.

You could have Colston, Meachem, Shockey, Bush, and Evans. There's more than enough playmaking ability right there whether it's running or passing. It's hard to question Payton since on a bad day we put up 27, but I think sticking Bush in the I a lot more will help him be a better runner and it'll keep him from being hit in the backfield so often. Both of his negative runs today were out of Single Back and both plays had defenders beating their blockers on the LOS.
 
I loved what I saw yesterday. I think any of our backs could have done what PT did in the 4th, because we wore down that DL which you don't see often from the Saints.

This game should help the confidence of our entire run game.
 
i just thought that we never really gave lynell hamilton a chance in the first half to really strut his stuff.


your breakdown confirmed my suspicion that we never even gave him 2 consecutive carries at any point.

when we gave pierre 2-straight carries he broke his second one for 19yards.



we can do better.
 
This is the 3rd time I've done this so I was wondering if some of you can weigh in on what you like, what you don't like, ways I could improve it. I want it to be informative and analytical without being boring and overly long. So any suggestions, critiques, etc. are welcomed.
 
This is the 3rd time I've done this so I was wondering if some of you can weigh in on what you like, what you don't like, ways I could improve it. I want it to be informative and analytical without being boring and overly long. So any suggestions, critiques, etc. are welcomed.

do you know how much reggie was targeted in the passing game?

he had three catches. what kind of patterns where they and out of what personnell groupings?
 
I haven't reviewed the game yet, but the Bills gameplan seemed to be to stop the pass, which their D did very well. When that's the case you need to rely on your run. and our O-line has been played great. Yeay, we can run the rock!!!!
 
I haven't reviewed the game yet, but the Bills gameplan seemed to be to stop the pass, which their D did very well. When that's the case you need to rely on your run. and our O-line has been played great. Yeay, we can run the rock!!!!

I agree, and I don't think the Bills will be the only team using that similar defensive strategy. Inside blitzes + cover 2 pass coverage seems to work against Brees if the team has some defensive talent. Lance Moore's possession receiving skills were missed yesterday, in my opinion.

With that being said, teams that employ that particular defensive strategy have little to no chance of slowing down Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell, especially with the line blocking as well as it is. Kudos to Payton for focusing on the running game more. He is showing that he's maturing as a coach as well. With a completely balanced offense, the Saints are a complete nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators.

Great post, it's a pretty interesting breakdown to read.
 
I agree, and I don't think the Bills will be the only team using that similar defensive strategy. Inside blitzes + cover 2 pass coverage seems to work against Brees if the team has some defensive talent. Lance Moore's possession receiving skills were missed yesterday, in my opinion.

With that being said, teams that employ that particular defensive strategy have little to no chance of slowing down Pierre Thomas and Mike Bell, especially with the line blocking as well as it is. Kudos to Payton for focusing on the running game more. He is showing that he's maturing as a coach as well. With a completely balanced offense, the Saints are a complete nightmare for opposing defensive coordinators.

Great post, it's a pretty interesting breakdown to read.



do you realize that with streif and nicks on the left side that we have close to 700lbs of blocking between two players on that side alone?
 

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