Somebody please explain how Matt Ryan went 23-30 for 343 yds and 2 TDs against us (1 Viewer)

[Bill]

All night long Ryan was getting mauled by the Pats defense before he could even make a decision of what to do.
You don't have to look beyond that stat to know why Matty feasted on us.

 

[Saint Taysom]

At the end of the day Dennis Allen is an average to above average DC with moments of brilliance and moments of stupidity. He's got one of the most talented defenses in the league and for the most part doesn't squander it. He's not Bill Belichick, Rex Ryan, Wade Phillips, etc. but he's also not Gary Gibbs or Rob Ryan either. Allen is one of those frustrating coaches because on one hand you know you can do better but on the other hand the odds are higher that you'll find a lot worse before you find better. Dennis Allen is good enough for the Saints to win a Super Bowl, but his defense isn't going to pull a Wade Phillips and carry a dead offense to a title.

This next offseason, the Saints will likely have to make a very important decision… Stick with Dennis Allen and his overall solid (if inconsistent) defensive coordinating -or- hand the mantle over to a young, up-and-coming defensive coach in Ryan Nielsen.

I do NOT want to see the Saints lose Nielsen… I believe he is a special coach and once he gets a DC job, he will flourish.

 

[blotch1]

Division games are weird.

Sometimes the better team loses just because ofthe level of enthusiasm from the opponent.

 

[ozwego15]

the saints defense historically makes average QBs look better than they should be

 

[Optimus Prime]

He always does

We have the better win/loss record against him but Ryan usually has good stats against us win or lose and if I remember right they are better than Drew’s stats against Atlanta

 

[football]

Give New England a lot of credit. I use to think New England defense was overrated and played just enough to win games, all due to Brady. But this year, they have been consistently very good. In my opinion the best defense in the league. I seen consistent quarterback pressures, something I wish we have. And their back end has been excellent. Praise Mac Jones all you want, but their defense is the real reason.

 

[Optimistic Ozzy]

ZERO pass rush. Period

 

[liveoakh]

All night long Ryan was getting mauled by the Pats defense even before he could even make a decision of what to do.
You don't have to look beyond that stat to know why Matty feasted on us.

It's the pass rush. As has been pointed out to me, by SystemShock. Its not just the lack of sacks totals. It being disruptive, it's the hurries, it's getting a push upfront, the putting your hands on the QB, it's the winning the battles. It's all of that. We miss Malcom Brown amd Hendrickson's production. Cam is no longer a difference maker againest Atlanta.

 

[mr.t]

That's definitely the starting point.

No pass rush and prevent defense.

 

[Saint Kamara]

All night long Ryan was getting mauled by the Pats defense even before he could even make a decision of what to do.
You don't have to look beyond that stat to know why Matty feasted on us.

So why does our pass rush head scratchingly vanish from game to game?

Not motivated? Terrible game plan?

 

[bclemms]

Our plan against Ryan was really bad. The way you beat him is play zone on 3rd down, leave the underneath guy open then rally to the ball after he checks it down.

Also, if we don't go after Cardarrelle Patterson really hard in the offseason then we are fools. He is Ty Montgomery on steroids and lining him and Taysom up next to each other in the backfield in short yardage situations would be so much damn fun. Plus he would be the 2nd best WR on the team right now.

​

 

[bclemms]

So why does our pass rush head scratchingly vanish from game to game?

Not motivated? Terrible game plan?

It's not by chance that the pass rush tends to disappear when the offense starts to struggle. We don't have the same impactful depth rushing the passer that we did last season and they can get worn down.

 

[Bill]

So why does our pass rush head scratchingly vanish from game to game?

Not motivated? Terrible game plan?

It's about being able to beat the man across the line of scrimmage from you.
Sometime we overcome their resistance and sometimes we can't. You have to win the small battles each game in order to win the war.

 

[Meachemdat]

So why does our pass rush head scratchingly vanish from game to game?

Not motivated? Terrible game plan?

We held them to 3 points for a whole half. Our defense did it’s job but the offense didn’t do jack until the 4th quarter. They just made plays we couldn’t. It was a fluke game and the rematch will be quite different like it always is.

 

[LordPoopington]

It's clearly Trevor Siemian's fault.

My serious answer is it's a mix of what people said here. Patterson had been great for ATL this year, but of course gets hurt AFTER we play him. Matt Ryan is quite used to playing Dennis Allen defenses and that sort of thing is why divisional matchups are always weird. A friend from Boston used to bemoan how the Pats in the height of Belichick/Brady would always seem to drop one game a year to Miami.

I also think a big reason is the lack of a CONSISTENT pass rush. It seems like we have bursts where we get a couple of sacks then long stretches where the QB has all the time in the world. We didn't pressure Ryan. The pass rush wasn't as awful as they were vs. NYG but they were pretty bad vs. ATL.

Lastly, I think our defense isn't bad but they're overrated a bit by some Saints fans this year (on this forum and in my social circles). We've given up over 20 points in 6 of 9 games and one of the games where we held the opponent to under 20 we were playing a backup QB in HORRIBLE weather conditions (rain + 40 mph wind gusts). We've blown two late 4Q leads at home to losing teams (including an 11 pt 4Q lead vs. NYG). I think we also benefited greatly from playing Mac Jones when he was still figuring things out. We also got extremely lucky on our pick six that game - the TE had beaten Jenkins by a few steps but the throw was slightly overthrown enough that the TE had to lunge but the ball was still in reach enough that he was able to awkwardly bobble it straight into the air while falling down so the late-to-arrive Jenkins could catch it perfectly in stride.

I would've gladly taken this defense in 2007, 2008, 2012, 2014-16. But I think some Saints fans exaggerate how good they are this year.