Nick Underhill: Players organizing a Players-Only Meeting (34 Viewers)

[BayouSAINTJoe]

I knew someone would ask at some point, I should have known you would deliver.

A lil bit ago it was a bad thing that the QB didn't call protections. But I guess those goalposts shifted. Oh well whatever...no further discussion needed on that.

 

[BreesusSaves]

A lil bit ago it was a bad thing that the QB didn't call protections. But I guess those goalposts shifted. Oh well whatever...no further discussion needed on that.

Personally I think it is a bad thing if the QB isn't capable of calling protections. A big reason the Saints got away with having just about anyone on the offensive line in the Brees era was because he called all the protections.

I think the big "issue" is the majority of QBs in the league aren't capable of calling protections and also running the offense. With "Air Raid" college spread offense being so rampant now, even elite college QB prospects are often coming from a system that involved minimal thinking from the QB.

Belichick said the key to beating the Rams in the Super Bowl the Saints were robbed of, was he realized Goff couldn't read defenses or call protections. The Patriots defense didn't line up in their actual formation until the speakers to the coach were cut off. It turned Goff into a

 

[DaveXA]

THE issue almost everyone has with Rita was that she would either sell the team or move them

Yeah, and don't forget, she had some toxic relationships with the FO and iirc that was part of the reason Tom Benson fired her and cut her out of the Saints and Pels franchises in his succession plan. I know Gayle gets some grief on occasions, but we should thank our lucky stars that Rita never get her hands on the team. She would have destroyed everything Tom worked for.

 

[DaveXA]

A lil bit ago it was a bad thing that the QB didn't call protections. But I guess those goalposts shifted. Oh well whatever...no further discussion needed on that.

That's simply not accurate. Centers calling protections in the NFL happens on just about every team. The center is essentially the QB of the OL and the QB can change plays at the LOS, but the protections are still the responsibility of the center. That's the case now, and has been for many years.

 

[DaveXA]

Personally I think it is a bad thing if the QB isn't capable of calling protections. A big reason the Saints got away with having just about anyone on the offensive line in the Brees era was because he called all the protections.

I think the big "issue" is the majority of QBs in the league aren't capable of calling protections and also running the offense. With "Air Raid" college spread offense being so rampant now, even elite college QB prospects are often coming from a system that involved minimal thinking from the QB.

Belichick said the key to beating the Rams in the Super Bowl the Saints were robbed of, was he realized Goff couldn't read defenses or call protections. The Patriots defense didn't line up in their actual formation until the speakers to the coach were cut off. It turned Goff into a

Iirc, the center did call (basically relay what the OC and QB calls) protections along with Brees. Brees did a lot of the heavy lifting, but they still shared that responsibility. The center has long been responsible for relaying protection calls to the OL.

 

[BreesusSaves]

Iirc, the center did call (basically relay what the OC and QB calls) protections along with Brees. Brees did a lot of the heavy lifting, but they still shared that responsibility. The center has long been responsible for relaying protection calls to the OL.

Armstead's interview said Brees handled all of that, and when he retired McCoy took it over.

Brees did a lot, probably unfair for us to expect anyone to ever match that.

 

[DaveXA]

Armstead's interview said Brees handled all of that, and when he retired McCoy took it over.

Brees did a lot, probably unfair for us to expect anyone to ever match that.

No question. Brees certainly handled what the protections would be, but the center would still communicate those calls to the OL.

And yeah, I wouldn't expect anyone to duplicate that anytime soon. He was on a different level. That, and he and Payton had a unique relationship that made it all possible.

 

[B4YOU]

This morning on NFL Radio, they talked about Dungy (and other HC's that didn't call plays), and highlighted how some HC's (like Tomlin) are 100% invested in the role while others are only 50% in because they are too busy calling plays. Tomlin currently has the Steelers at 6-2 and 1st in the AFCN with a QB duo of Fields and Wilson, and he has never had a losing season as HC of the Steelers, even with Kenny Pickett as his QB.

Payton seemed to have a rare ability to be both coordinator and HC, but the hosts complained that most play calling HC's are too lost in their play sheets to manage the team during the game. When things are going well it isn't noticed, but when things are going poorly then the ship just keeps drifting further into the storm with the captain nowhere in sight. That seems to be where we are now.

Good find.

So 66% of the Top 6 HCs of the recent generation don’t call plays: Belichick, Reid, Tomlin, Carrol, Harbaugh, Payton. If you add McVey and Shanahan, then it’s 50%.

What’s more interesting, none of the top defensive HCs regularly called plays. Belichick did for a few seasons, but most of those guys give it up.

I suspect one of the errors DA made was not giving away play calling. It’s really difficult for an internal hire to go from the #2 to The Man. DA should have sought meaningful ways to transition from DC to HC by giving up some DC roles to take on greater team leadership roles.

Sometimes people hold onto things because they:

• can’t trust others
• don’t know who they are without that thing
• can’t do the new thing

It can be a combination of these three.

 

[DSnfla]

I think they care and they will certainly care if it starts to hurt ticket sales and game day revenue.

Gayle Benson fought off a car jacker on Carrollton Avenue. She's one of us an everyday New Orleanian. Who among us has not had to fight off a car jacker? (I was shocked but she was driving her own car.)

While she does get some credit it's not like she started wacking the guy with her purse, she screamed and told him to get out of her car. and the guy panicked and ran. Not much different than most women from Algiers would do

 

[DSnfla]

Wound up getting to chat with Mrs. B. after the meeting. Totally unexpected but very pleasant. I feel more encouraged than discouraged. The longer this deathspiral goes the more I find myself getting caught up in the hyperbole, but talking with her gave me some insight into how she likes to operate. She didn't say anything about anyone's fate, and I'm not going to ask for information that isn't given. She did acknowledge she is aware, she hears the fan sentiment and sees the state of the Dome emptying at halftime.

DA talks like a guy who knows he is not getting fired, yet at the same time you could also say he is talking like a guy who knows he is getting fired. The last time the Saints let a coach go mid-season was Rob Ryan, in fact I am pretty sure in the Loomis era, Rob Ryan is the only coach they've ever let go of mid-season?

Also, not a single coach who was a part of the 2009 season, no matter how badly they performed after, was ever let go mid-season.

I would not be shocked at all if they're already looking at Head Coach candidates for 2025 and what it would potentially take to get them here.

Could you please elaborate on how you got to have a chat with Mrs. B after a players only meeting?

 

[BreesusSaves]

Could you please elaborate on how you got to have a chat with Mrs. B after a players only meeting?

The company I work for is active in a charity Mrs. B is involved with, there was a meeting today discussing planning for the upcoming holiday season and she attended.

Also, you might be surprised by this, Mrs. B doesn't attend players only meetings. Shocking I know.

 

[DSnfla]

Good stuff.

For what its worth, Gayle fired Stan Van Gundy after 1 season because Griff told her it was the right/necessary thing to do. So we know she's not completely allergic to canning someone quickly if its not working. But obviously nobody on the football side is telling her to fire DA just yet. She may get there on her own soon enough.

If you think it was GB that fired SVG then you are delusional. That was all Griff. And it was ML that fired Demps . GB is going to do whatever Lauscha and ML say and she will NEVER fire either of them

 

[DSnfla]

The company I work for is active in a charity Mrs. B is involved with, there was a meeting today discussing planning for the upcoming holiday season and she attended.

Also, you might be surprised by this, Mrs. B doesn't attend players only meetings. Shocking I know.

Since the title of this thread is about the player's only meeting and you said you talked to her after the meeting and didn't specify a different meeting , it had me scratching my head

 

[DSnfla]

Personally I think it is a bad thing if the QB isn't capable of calling protections. A big reason the Saints got away with having just about anyone on the offensive line in the Brees era was because he called all the protections.

I think the big "issue" is the majority of QBs in the league aren't capable of calling protections and also running the offense. With "Air Raid" college spread offense being so rampant now, even elite college QB prospects are often coming from a system that involved minimal thinking from the QB.

Belichick said the key to beating the Rams in the Super Bowl the Saints were robbed of, was he realized Goff couldn't read defenses or call protections. The Patriots defense didn't line up in their actual formation until the speakers to the coach were cut off. It turned Goff into a

It's just better in almost every system for the C to call the line protections because he's closer to to see what going on. Like I said in a different post the QB can if he sees a blitz especially from the outside can override the C's call and he normally identifies the mike. In the Shanny/McVay/ KK system the idea is to take some of that off the QB so they can focus more on the read and react

 

[Mr. Sparkle]

If you think it was GB that fired SVG then you are delusional. That was all Griff. And it was ML that fired Demps . GB is going to do whatever Lauscha and ML say and she will NEVER fire either of them

So you think Griff fired the Pelicans coach after 1 year without getting Gayle's approval first? It cost her $20 million dollars. I know she's hands-off but she's not THAT hands-off.

I never suggested Gayle would fire Loomis or Lauscha - but she will fire a head coach, and has (or, to avoid any further confusion, she has authorized someone in the front office to do so lol) in the not too distant past.