Re "playing to win", pulling Brees & others, resting Thomas, keeping Ivory/Graham/MJ on the bench, etc. etc. etc... (1 Viewer)

[brotherjohn]

Re "playing to win", pulling Brees & others, resting Thomas, keeping Ivory/Graham/MJ on the bench, etc. etc. etc...

I AM NOT GOING TO TAKE ISSUE WITH A SINGLE THING THAT COACH PAYTON AND STAFF DECIDED TO DO.

They seemed to handle similar situations pretty well last year. And for that matter, with the level of injuries we've had this year, they've handled juggling injuries, bringing in new players, etc. pretty damn well. We ARE 11-5, after all!

Admittedly, the road is tougher this year. But with the key players who are banged up, I do not for one second questions Payton's decision-making re resting players. I think PT could have gone today if need be, and I think Graham, MJ and Ivory could have all returned to the game if they were needed. I think most/all of them will be ready next week, when we really need them. Or at least the ones that can't will be the next week should (when) we win... when the game will be more difficult.

Trust Payton.

 

[WhoDat9to12]

In Payton, I Trust

 

[OutlawSaint]

I believe in Payton, he did the right thing by resting the starters at the end. But I think he should have pulled them out earlier.

 

[abnrgr]

Big picture dictated pulling the starters. As already said, Payton should have done it sooner. This game was meaningless once the Falcons were moving towards a 31-10 advantage.

 

[brotherjohn]

Maybe earlier, but I think the reason they didn't is b/c they were watching the Atl/Car game like a hawk (despite...

.. what the party line was. Carolina was actually hanging in there into the 3rd quarter. It was 21-3 and they were driving to make it 21-10. There defense was consistently stopping Atlanta. Offensively, Atl had only scored twice, and Car had botched a number of chances. I think it was midway through the 3rd that Car drove down to the Atl red zone... then fumbled.

THAT'S when I think Payton and co. began to think: "no, there's no chance at the 1 seed". But they wanted to be SURE. Imagine botching the chance to snag the 1 seed from under the Falcons' noses by giving up on it too early. They wanted to be SURE. They know from last year how important it is. It was worth the risk.

I believe in Payton, he did the right thing by resting the starters at the end. But I think he should have pulled them out earlier.

 

[SAINTS 12]

Big picture dictated pulling the starters. As already said, Payton should have done it sooner. This game was meaningless once the Falcons were moving towards a 31-10 advantage.

before the kickoff,I knew the panthers weren't going to beat the falcons..the threads about the Panthers were going to upset the Falcons, were meaningless too...I cant believe people thought that was going to happen,I said early in the week,that The Saints were playing a Bucs team,That had something to play for.I'll say this after monday night,How could you not think this Saints team can win it all ..This is a very good Saints team..IMO better than last year team,minus the turnovers.

 

[boutte]

12-4 was a worthy goal. Too bad it didn't work out that way.

 

[bobad]

12-4 was a worthy goal. Too bad it didn't work out that way.

True,,, I wanted the 12th win badly.

I think Payton and the team did too, but TB's pass defense was just too much later in the game when we had to pass.

 

[Nonreg]

Capital letters

 

[IceHot]

We had the Falcons game side-by-side yesterday.

I pretty much called it that Chase would be in once the Panthers got lit up, again.

Man they had no heart...Beason was awful....Lafell dropped some easy ones...it was just plain embarassing that I was routing for the Panthers.

 

[Saints 4 life]

We beat 3 HOF QB's on our way to winning it all last season. I think we can go on the road and win 3 games. Our Saints are a pretty good road team. I have faith in the coaching staff and the team.

 

[Sarcastic]

I believe in Payton, he did the right thing by resting the starters at the end. But I think he should have pulled them out earlier.

I wondered about the context of the game when it was 21-3. My play-by-play on my phone wasn't working for the first time this season. But somebody in the organization was watching that game like a hawk, and updating Payton. Nobody will EVER convince me otherwise. He said what he needed to say, but not monitoring that game would make him less of a coach.

I think he held on to hope a little too long. When the Panthers fumbled, it was time to pull Drew and some others. I was getting a little frustrated that he was still in there when it was 31-10. I saw Drew coming down on that shoulder every snap in my mind. You can give me a championship, but you'll never make me not a Saints fan

Anyway, all worked out in the end. Those injuries happened when the Panthers-Falcons was still in question. Bygones.

 

[bthomas1]

Jabari Greer

Seems to be struggling a little lately QB seem to be pickin on him

 

[gboudx]

True,,, I wanted the 12th win badly.

Don't worry, we'll get win #12 on Saturday.

 

[DavidM]

I think pulling the starters is a flawed idea that has really taken off over this Tampa game.

Maybe people say that and mean just a few certain key players?

But I've read it enough that it seems like there are some fans who actually mean it quite literally.

Which, because of the circumstances, wasn't possible.

There's a 45-man gameday roster. If you just started with 22 defined starters on offense and defense and three specialists (K, P, LS) you're left with 20 players.

But there aren't just 22 starters. Because of packages and rotations, there are several more players who have to be accounted for who play a significant role each week.

It's more doable if you enter the game with a higher number of reserves from the entire 53 man roster but the Saints went in to this game with the mindset of having something to play for, staffing the 45 man gameday roster with the best available players. This dictated the players available to sub.

In this situation, pulling starters would have amounted to having a number of key players out on the field mixed with reserve players in a game against an opponent giving it their all to keep their playoff hopes alive. And I'm not sure that's a better approach in terms of protecting players.

If what is meant is pulling Brees sooner, and maybe a very few specific other players, I better understand that. Or going into the game having made inactive more starters from the gameday roster, okay (though I wouldn't have agreed with that approach with the division on the line). That's about the extent of what Payton could have done differently because he went with a roster desiged to win the game. "Pulling the starters", at least the way some fans express it, wasn't a practical option.