Saints September Review (1 Viewer)

[ELLIASJWILLIAMS]

- This is a better team than last years team, however they aren't so talented that they can overcome beating themselves.

-I've not been impressed w/ Shaheed in space. His running ability w/ the ball in his hands on jet sweeps and quick screens leaves a lot to be desired, in fact I'm surprised by his ineffectiveness relative to his return ability. He attemps to take a lot of plays wide and gets run out of bounds. He currently looks like a #3 option, not the #2 they were hoping he'd become.

-I've been impressed w/ the improvent of Olave, he's not much of a redzone threat but his ability to make big time conversions when Carr needs them has stood out to this point, especially in this last game.

-Taysom is a big part of their ability to create favorable matchups, so when we lose him we lose some of our effectiveness. We start to use more shotgun and 11 personnel and we're down a receiving threat to make that work. Saints will likely have to make a trade and I'd look for it to happen sometime this month.

-I'm disappointed in the ineffectiveness of Juwan Johnson. Perhaps it's because of the time he missed and because of that he didn't get worked in during camp, but it's inexcusable at this ponit.

- The Passrush isn't what we thought it would be and I think DA will have to blitz more, the issue is I'm not so sure the safety talent is deep enough to hold up. The CB's can live in that world but I don't fully trust our safeties in man coverage in those scenarios.

-The run defense....meh. The best run defense will be the offense giving us a 7-10 pt lead. We just aren't stout enough on the interior as we've been in the past and I'm beginning to not be fond of Todd Grantham as the DL coach. He's got time to turn it around but if were looking at last years production and then what we've seen now, they don't look improved in any specific area.


- Kendre has a bit more long speed than Kamara, the Saints can potentially generate more explosive plays sans Shaheed if they can get him going in the ground game. He's a guy that I think can get some chunk yardage if things are blocked up well enough.

-The 1-9 Record in tight games is interesting becaue only 3 of them have come with Allen has HC and he's responsible for the only win vs the Titans last year. A solution that I hope he employs is they add a bonus period during practice, much like he did w/ our Redzone woes last year. We saw immediate improvement after that.

 

[St. Widge]

- This is a better team than last years team, however they aren't so talented that they can overcome beating themselves.

-I've not been impressed w/ Shaheed in space. His running ability w/ the ball in his hands on jet sweeps and quick screens leaves a lot to be desired, in fact I'm surprised by his ineffectiveness relative to his return ability. He attemps to take a lot of plays wide and gets run out of bounds. He currently looks like a #3 option, not the #2 they were hoping he'd become.

-I've been impressed w/ the improvent of Olave, he's not much of a redzone threat but his ability to make big time conversions when Carr needs them has stood out to this point, especially in this last game.

-Taysom is a big part of their ability to create favorable matchups, so when we lose him we lose some of our effectiveness. We start to use more shotgun and 11 personnel and we're down a receiving threat to make that work. Saints will likely have to make a trade and I'd look for it to happen sometime this month.

-I'm disappointed in the ineffectiveness of Juwan Johnson. Perhaps it's because of the time he missed and because of that he didn't get worked in during camp, but it's inexcusable at this ponit.

- The Passrush isn't what we thought it would be and I think DA will have to blitz more, the issue is I'm not so sure the safety talent is deep enough to hold up. The CB's can live in that world but I don't fully trust our safeties in man coverage in those scenarios.

-The run defense....meh. The best run defense will be the offense giving us a 7-10 pt lead. We just aren't stout enough on the interior as we've been in the past and I'm beginning to not be fond of Todd Grantham as the DL coach. He's got time to turn it around but if were looking at last years production and then what we've seen now, they don't look improved in any specific area.

Nice post. My one quibble is your take on Shaheed. I don't think we have seen enough of him in the screen game or the Jet Sweep/RB role to know what he can do. I don't think he's there yet, but he has developed quite a bit over last year and I think he can still be a good option as a #2 WR. Having a good game as a WR against Atlanta (punt return aside since that isn't his WR role) after struggling against Philly showed me something and it wasn't just as a guy to blow the top off he was making catches and getting open on shorter routes. He's not there yet, but I see continued progression.

That being said, we do need to add a true contested catch/red zone target at some point. I'm just not sure that there will be a guy available on the trade market for a reasonable trade that will really be an upgrade for that role. Maybe Adams but he's likely going to make too much money and I think he goes to the Ravens, Chiefs, or Jets before us.

 

[DerrickB]

- This is a better team than last years team, however they aren't so talented that they can overcome beating themselves.

-I've not been impressed w/ Shaheed in space. His running ability w/ the ball in his hands on jet sweeps and quick screens leaves a lot to be desired, in fact I'm surprised by his ineffectiveness relative to his return ability. He attemps to take a lot of plays wide and gets run out of bounds. He currently looks like a #3 option, not the #2 they were hoping he'd become.

-I've been impressed w/ the improvent of Olave, he's not much of a redzone threat but his ability to make big time conversions when Carr needs them has stood out to this point, especially in this last game.

-Taysom is a big part of their ability to create favorable matchups, so when we lose him we lose some of our effectiveness. We start to use more shotgun and 11 personnel and we're down a receiving threat to make that work. Saints will likely have to make a trade and I'd look for it to happen sometime this month.

-I'm disappointed in the ineffectiveness of Juwan Johnson. Perhaps it's because of the time he missed and because of that he didn't get worked in during camp, but it's inexcusable at this ponit.

- The Passrush isn't what we thought it would be and I think DA will have to blitz more, the issue is I'm not so sure the safety talent is deep enough to hold up. The CB's can live in that world but I don't fully trust our safeties in man coverage in those scenarios.

-The run defense....meh. The best run defense will be the offense giving us a 7-10 pt lead. We just aren't stout enough on the interior as we've been in the past and I'm beginning to not be fond of Todd Grantham as the DL coach. He's got time to turn it around but if were looking at last years production and then what we've seen now, they don't look improved in any specific area.


- Kendre has a bit more long speed than Kamara, the Saints can potentially generate more explosive plays sans Shaheed if they can get him going in the ground game. He's a guy that I think can get some chunk yardage if things are blocked up well enough.

-The 1-9 Record in tight games is interesting becaue only 3 of them have come with Allen has HC and he's responsible for the only win vs the Titans last year. A solution that I hope he employs is they add a bonus period during practice, much like he did w/ our Redzone woes last year. We saw immediate improvement after that.

Fair

I think Johnson is just rusty due to time missed.

 

[Rexman100]

- This is a better team than last years team, however they aren't so talented that they can overcome beating themselves.

-I've not been impressed w/ Shaheed in space. His running ability w/ the ball in his hands on jet sweeps and quick screens leaves a lot to be desired, in fact I'm surprised by his ineffectiveness relative to his return ability. He attemps to take a lot of plays wide and gets run out of bounds. He currently looks like a #3 option, not the #2 they were hoping he'd become.

-I've been impressed w/ the improvent of Olave, he's not much of a redzone threat but his ability to make big time conversions when Carr needs them has stood out to this point, especially in this last game.

-Taysom is a big part of their ability to create favorable matchups, so when we lose him we lose some of our effectiveness. We start to use more shotgun and 11 personnel and we're down a receiving threat to make that work. Saints will likely have to make a trade and I'd look for it to happen sometime this month.

-I'm disappointed in the ineffectiveness of Juwan Johnson. Perhaps it's because of the time he missed and because of that he didn't get worked in during camp, but it's inexcusable at this ponit.

- The Passrush isn't what we thought it would be and I think DA will have to blitz more, the issue is I'm not so sure the safety talent is deep enough to hold up. The CB's can live in that world but I don't fully trust our safeties in man coverage in those scenarios.

-The run defense....meh. The best run defense will be the offense giving us a 7-10 pt lead. We just aren't stout enough on the interior as we've been in the past and I'm beginning to not be fond of Todd Grantham as the DL coach. He's got time to turn it around but if were looking at last years production and then what we've seen now, they don't look improved in any specific area.


- Kendre has a bit more long speed than Kamara, the Saints can potentially generate more explosive plays sans Shaheed if they can get him going in the ground game. He's a guy that I think can get some chunk yardage if things are blocked up well enough.

-The 1-9 Record in tight games is interesting becaue only 3 of them have come with Allen has HC and he's responsible for the only win vs the Titans last year. A solution that I hope he employs is they add a bonus period during practice, much like he did w/ our Redzone woes last year. We saw immediate improvement after that.

You wrote: "-I've not been impressed w/ Shaheed in space. His running ability w/ the ball in his hands on jet sweeps and quick screens leaves a lot to be desired, in fact I'm surprised by his ineffectiveness relative to his return ability. He attemps to take a lot of plays wide and gets run out of bounds. He currently looks like a #3 option, not the #2 they were hoping he'd become." A WR that you cannot depend on to do WR things, like catch contested balls is a problem. But like TCUDan said, his other attributes force him on the field, justifiably so. I agree that we need a solid #2 WR which would allow Shaheed to spell Taysom or play w/ TH. The challenge is to be able to scheme all of them on the field at once. Id say as a minimum we'd have to employ more 11 personnel. (assuming that we could acquire a legit number 2.) If say we signed Devonte Adams/or similar, we'd immediate return to the nightmare team to match-up against, with or without THILL on the field!

 

[SirLoinSaint64]

Smoked two bad teams. Came up short against two good teams. .750 talent. .250 Head Coach. .500 results.

 

[ELLIASJWILLIAMS]

You wrote: "-I've not been impressed w/ Shaheed in space. His running ability w/ the ball in his hands on jet sweeps and quick screens leaves a lot to be desired, in fact I'm surprised by his ineffectiveness relative to his return ability. He attemps to take a lot of plays wide and gets run out of bounds. He currently looks like a #3 option, not the #2 they were hoping he'd become." A WR that you cannot depend on to do WR things, like catch contested balls is a problem. But like TCUDan said, his other attributes force him on the field, justifiably so. I agree that we need a solid #2 WR which would allow Shaheed to spell Taysom or play w/ TH. The challenge is to be able to scheme all of them on the field at once. Id say as a minimum we'd have to employ more 11 personnel. (assuming that we could acquire a legit number 2.) If say we signed Devonte Adams/or similar, we'd immediate return to the nightmare team to match-up against, with or without THILL on the field!

I don't think we need to employ more 11 personnel, I think we need to be good at it when we do and it's obvious its a weaker package for us, especially with our TE's not contributing. Once we get knocked out of what we like to do, IE 22 and 12...we become a bit stagnant. So yes, I do agree w/ your assessment, we need another receiver, and I've said that since the off-season. It's just more obvious now.

OAN

Anybody notice that even when the yards are there Carr doesn't commit to a run until the absolute last moment? This is an offense designed for the QB to make plays with his feet when the opportunity presents itself and I see a lot of yards being left on the field. The offense is clearly missing a playmaker, Carr could be making more plays w/ his legs if he tried.

Nitpicky, probably but in the pre-season I saw it as a portion of his game that he could expand on and, he hasn't.

 

[SigFreudianSlip]

Nice write up.

Speaking of Miller and explosive plays, I was wondering while watching the game last weekend…when is the last time we had any running back bust off for a huge gain? Like the Barkley run against us…???

I may misremember but don’t recall seeing any of our guys hit a home run on the ground in years.

Back to Miller, I have zero faith that he will be back any time soon….listening to DA’s answer and tone about this yesterday and today hasn’t helped give me any more optimism on this.

 

[Rexman100]

I don't think we need to employ more 11 personnel, I think we need to be good at it when we do and it's obvious its a weaker package for us, especially with our TE's not contributing. Once we get knocked out of what we like to do, IE 22 and 21...we become a bit stagnant. So yes, I do agree w/ your assessment, we need another receiver, and I've said that since the off-season. It's just more obvious now.

OAN

Anybody notice that even when the yards are there Carr doesn't commit to a run until the absolute last moment? This is an offense designed for the QB to make plays with his feet when the opportunity presents itself and I see a lot of yards being left on the field. The offense is clearly missing a playmaker, Carr could be making more plays w/ his legs if he tried.

Nitpicky, probably but in the pre-season I saw it as a portion of his game that he could expand on and, he hasn't.

My bad, I agree, 21 not 11. 5 oline, 3wr, 2 TE and 1 RB. (or 22). I'm ok w/ Carr running it, but no more lowering the shoulder! lol

 

[ELLIASJWILLIAMS]

Nice write up.

Speaking of Miller and explosive plays, I was wondering while watching the game last weekend…when is the last time we had any running back bust off for a huge gain? Like the Barkley run against us…???

I may misremember but don’t recall seeing any of our guys hit a home run on the ground in years.

Back to Miller, I have zero faith that he will be back any time soon….listening to DA’s answer and tone about this yesterday and today hasn’t helped give me any more optimism on this.

It's been a minute, the screen to Alvin was the last big one but I suppose that counts as a pass. As far as Kendre, based on Underhill, it's suggested he's healthy. I think Allen's angle is they don't know how quickly he's going to pick up the scheme since he missed all of TC. He's an uknown to a degree, but he's definitely a talent if we're using the end of last year as glimpse of his potential.

 

[NUSaintsfan]

- This is a better team than last years team, however they aren't so talented that they can overcome beating themselves.

-I've not been impressed w/ Shaheed in space. His running ability w/ the ball in his hands on jet sweeps and quick screens leaves a lot to be desired, in fact I'm surprised by his ineffectiveness relative to his return ability. He attemps to take a lot of plays wide and gets run out of bounds. He currently looks like a #3 option, not the #2 they were hoping he'd become.

-I've been impressed w/ the improvent of Olave, he's not much of a redzone threat but his ability to make big time conversions when Carr needs them has stood out to this point, especially in this last game.

-Taysom is a big part of their ability to create favorable matchups, so when we lose him we lose some of our effectiveness. We start to use more shotgun and 11 personnel and we're down a receiving threat to make that work. Saints will likely have to make a trade and I'd look for it to happen sometime this month.

-I'm disappointed in the ineffectiveness of Juwan Johnson. Perhaps it's because of the time he missed and because of that he didn't get worked in during camp, but it's inexcusable at this ponit.

- The Passrush isn't what we thought it would be and I think DA will have to blitz more, the issue is I'm not so sure the safety talent is deep enough to hold up. The CB's can live in that world but I don't fully trust our safeties in man coverage in those scenarios.

-The run defense....meh. The best run defense will be the offense giving us a 7-10 pt lead. We just aren't stout enough on the interior as we've been in the past and I'm beginning to not be fond of Todd Grantham as the DL coach. He's got time to turn it around but if were looking at last years production and then what we've seen now, they don't look improved in any specific area.


- Kendre has a bit more long speed than Kamara, the Saints can potentially generate more explosive plays sans Shaheed if they can get him going in the ground game. He's a guy that I think can get some chunk yardage if things are blocked up well enough.

-The 1-9 Record in tight games is interesting becaue only 3 of them have come with Allen has HC and he's responsible for the only win vs the Titans last year. A solution that I hope he employs is they add a bonus period during practice, much like he did w/ our Redzone woes last year. We saw immediate improvement after that.

The entire DL has been underwhelming. The Saints played a statue in the form of Kurt Cousins playing on one leg and only one sack? C'mon man! That's absolutely putrid particularly with the investment the Saints have put at DE. There were multiple times where the commentary took note of the time Cousins had to sit back and throw the ball. If not for the corners portraying solid coverage skills, then the defense would be in a hurt locker. And even then, the CBs cannot be expected to stick tight for 6-8 seconds because the front line cannot get to the QB.

The rush defense has carried over from last year and I stand by my previous comments about Shepard and Saunders needing to be upgraded. The only interior DL we have worth something is Bresee though I have high hopes for the young lad the Saints drafted this year - Boyd - but it will take some time. Very few rookie IDLs come in and dominate.

The three groups I questioned going into the season were the OL, the DL and the safeties. The OL and safeties have shown glimmers of what can be but the DL has been cheeks which means the scheme has to cover deficiencies.

 

[Day1]

If 99 would fall on fumbles we may be 4-0