The "come clean" thread, dish out and eat your own crow (6 Viewers)

[RaginCajun83]

I said this team would be lucky to win 7 games this season, looks like I’m going to be wrong

 

[saint_drago]

Where is the "I told you so" thread? (not specifically, you, saint_drago, just in general) because I was dumbfounded by the Kamara talk. It just didn't make sense to me when we knew 1.) the line play was awful 2.) Carmichael was using him totally wrong. Even still, with everyone in the building knowing exactly what the call would be, Kamara still managed to look impressive on many runs last year. It was totally, totally not his fault. We all could see it and knew it. Yet, we somehow didn't believe it. Kamara has been the same guy this whole entire time.

Yeah and how sad is that? It's awful. Once in a generation talent and he had his prime years ruined by a bad scheme. He could've been doing some amazing things. Instead they were slamming him into a loaded box like he was Eddie George. He was the one guy who could absolutely gut a defense and so naturally they focused on him. It's amazing that he was able to be as good as he's been all things considered. Drew had prime years wasted because he didn't have a defense. AK had prime years wasted because he didn't have an offense. Such a shame.

But back to the crow. I thought we needed to bring in another TE. Juwan Johnson has been amazing and not even as a pass catcher. Dude is out there blocking like a legit NFL TE. He was always a willing blocker going back years to his Penn State days. He was able to bully DBs with his size. So heart and desire was never the issue. It was growing into the position and health. He's a dog and I feel like we are in good shape with him and Moreau.

And one more, I thought Jamaal Williams was absolutely done. Lol who is this guy? He's running like his life depends on it! What a beast. Turns out he wasn't washed, he just didn't have any holes to run through. Same as AK except he didn't have AK's ability to make something out of nothing like a magic trick.

 

[wnelson]

ive been a carr defender since he was in oakland but mannnnnn i was rough on penning and have been proven, so far, to be the most wrong ive been about a player ever.

i still think giving alvin the bag is a mistake, however.

 

[jahsoul357]

When you are looking at things strictly from a football perspective, you eat chicken instead of crow.....LOL.

But I will say this; the 10 games I had us winning just went up. Clicking on ALL CYLINDERS. The type of prep that we haven't seen the past 2 seasons.

Actually, Penning going out really didn't change much because when you go back through the games, you would see more pressure coming from the right side. The O-line really changed after the blowup between McCoy and Carr. I believe they simplified protections, as you saw Carr doing less at the line after that.

This was something that I made mention of when he first signed. One of Carr's weaknesses is throwing with timing and anticipation and a part of his intermediate throw issues is due to his horrible footwork but honestly, in today's NFL, that is not limited to Carr in the least. That's why the "modern offense" requires less skill from a QB and just require them to be "accurate."

I agree with you 100% in the fact that Carr needs "static" routes and this is one of the key reasons why he struggled with Josh McDaniels. If anyone knows anything about that offense, it is E-P to the core. Each side has a route concept to beat a defense, the QB must read correctly both pre-snap and post-snap, with options and choice routes built into a lot of plays. Looking at the Vikings during Kubiak's season there, I think Carr will do good in the system but it's all about how he picks it up.

That ain't how it works Naitch...you think people get passes for getting hurt behind a leaking OL? That's not what we do here...lol

Seriously, I have no expectations. 2nd year in a new offense for a QB who has historically been slow at picking up new offenses. I am just taking the season as it comes, enjoying the ride.

Agreed. I wasn't hard on Carr last season for the simple fact that coaching and playcalling were the primary issues that we had going into 2023 and a change a QB wasn't going to fix it, especially one that didn't match the skill profile for the offense (SMH@DA and the "bring in his guy" talk). That's why one thing I always say is I hope Kubiak figures things out early for Carr and that he actually lives up to the hype instead of riding the name.

 

[Scorpius the Allfather]

I've said I'm not sold on Dennis, Carr, and WIlliams, and stated that Kamara is winding down. Never was convinced that Penning was a bust, but was worried.

I'm having to swallow my pride and re-think all the above!

I don't know why people thought Kamara was done. He's not even 30 and it's not like we were running him into the ground with 400 carries a year. He's also avoided major injuries and is always in shape. Ingram was decent until he was 32. I think Kamara will be fine until around 32 as well.

 

[Judge_Smails]

Before the season I thought the Saints would be a 7 to 9 win team this year, but also thought there was a chance things would unravel. Through the preseason I said I wanted to wait to see how things unfolded with a new OC and scheme before going negative and I am glad I did.

Overall I was deeply worried about the OL, running game, and offense in general. I had no idea a new creative OC with a good scheme and coaching would totally flip the offense.

I didn’t like Carr’s attitude or play for most of last year and thought the last few weeks of 23 were fools gold against weak teams. He looks totally different this year so far and I think it’s great this system doesn’t require him to be hero of the offense. I think having him work in more of a game manager role (but one with an elite deep ball and better than average wheels) is the way to get the most out of him and put the least pressure on him.

I knew AK was still elite. He was a victim of Pete’s offense and I was one of the few blaming Pete for the bad offense since the Atl opener in 2022.

I would love to see us get more pressure with our front 4, but otherwise there is not much to complain about with the D.

My lack of faith in Allen was always based on his losing past as an OC, his willingness to stick with Carmichael for way too long, gutless calls he made in games because of our terrible offense, and all the dissent caused by the awful offense and failures in big moments we endured for Allen’s first two years. His hiring of KK and totally giving him the reins is a great move. I will be happy to be wrong about Allen if he continues to keep things going in the right direction.

 

[Madmarsha]

You guys eating your crow with Tony Chachere's?

 

[Madmarsha]

I don't know why people thought Kamara was done. He's not even 30 and it's not like we were running him into the ground with 400 carries a year. He's also avoided major injuries and is always in shape. Ingram was decent until he was 32. I think Kamara will be fine until around 32 as well.

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Plus his style of running is so different from ... anybody. He's not a grinder using up his lower body to get power and has amazing natural balance but also, I think, his regimen is geared towards maximizing that. Just my rank supposition but I think all of this -- plus that we're not using him up -- tends towards a longer career.

 

[67Saint]

My two swings and misses have been criticism of the Saints OL and not having enough talent (overall) to truly compete.

The OL is playing well above expectations. Congrats to KK who is putting his people in a position to be successful. Also, hats off to the OL coach who I'm hearing is a great mentor. Seems like he has done a great job with Penning.

As for talent, we obviously have the starting depth to compete. We'll see how it goes if we need to dig deep. Thankfully, we've stayed relatively well so far.

OK, dish up your own. To hell with your "hot takes" that appear to be wrong. Hating Allen and Carr for the sake of holding on, hoping you wil still eventually be proven "right" isn't the right path. Enjoy the season and root for your team!

I don’t post much and have no takes on record but I was thinking 6-11 preseason. They just didn’t seem to have much going on, although it seems pretty clear that injury permitting they had hit with the 1st rounder.

I absolutely didn’t see this start coming.

 

[solarbear88]

EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Plus his style of running is so different from ... anybody. He's not a grinder using up his lower body to get power and has amazing natural balance but also, I think, his regimen is geared towards maximizing that. Just my rank supposition but I think all of this -- plus that we're not using him up -- tends towards a longer career.

I've heard interviews about people trying to tackle him and he has a natural way of absorbing the blow. They think they have him but he just kind of absorbs it and flows with it for a few miliseconds then keeps going. Almost the opposite of Henry.

He has almost the ideal style for Zone running.

I thought after last year he might have lost a step or two as he had no big gains to give us hope. I'll admit to being confused as to his production the last 2 years as he looked as fast but was getting nothing. But I'll blame that all on Pete as you can see his influence on the Broncos - on paper they should be better this year but they are not, the big addition being Pete.

 

[whoami]

Last two years 2022 and 2023, I did not even bother to post. Was reading the forum occasionally. Did not know if Klint and his offensive coaches were the answer.

But watching this year's offense is making me hope that we at least go into playoffs this year. That is all, we can ask.
And once there, we can do some damage, let us see how much.

 

[Scorpius the Allfather]

Look, before this season, I predicted a 47-10 win over Carolina and a 44-19 win over Dallas and that Derek Carr and Alvin Kamara would be in the early discussions for NFL MVP. I also predicted that the OL would be a strength and Smurfs would be found to be real.

Smurfs are real, we just got the color wrong. How else do you explain Kyler Murray?

 

[FlySaint]

I was bagging on Penning pretty hard, and criticizing DA for not bringing in someone else at RT. Mea culpa. Glad to be wrong.

Let’s check back on this in January…

 

[SweetT]

I’ll come clean:

-I said the problem existed with Sneaky Pete’s offense and coaching. TCU just said all of our coaches are in sync.
-I never wavered on Trevor Penning
-I defended AK41 to the highest power
-I said a new offense would be good enough to get us at least 2 more wins over last year
-I said the floor should be 10 wins, but we should get 12. Not backing off of that
-I said that we didn’t need to bring Peat back
-I supported DC4
-I was right about Miller
-I’m looking pretty good on my comment about Cedrick being Blockzilla 2.0
-I said that we would have easy victories against Carolina and Dallas


My neutral stances:
-I was mum on Chase Young. I did have concerns about his neck injury but kept my mouth shut


Things I got caught up in:
-The Rattler hype. I’m still a fan and can see him as the future of this franchise
-The Justin Simmons talk. I really wanted a super elite defense.

Things I debated heavily on:
-I stood firm on my stance that we did not need to take two tackles in the draft. I also said that we needed to make do with all of the high draft picks that we already had. I didn’t freak out about Peat or Ram going away. I’m loving the Fuaga pick, but I said that we could’ve taken a WR with one of our high picks, but I did love the Kool-Aid pick. I still think the WR3 issue will arise eventually.

Things I’m waiting to eat crow:
-Grupe. I didn’t want to see that dude this year, but I’ve become quite the fan of his. He’s put in the work and he is a true weapon, regardless of what yall think of him.
-Visor dude obviously. I’m not getting caught up in all yall emotions about him bc he has yet to actually have to coach a game yet. Yes, I give him credit for targeting KK and waiting for him to become available, but until he is faced with having to make crucial decisions in close games, or having to have a mental chess match against a great opposing coach, then I can’t do it. The best thing that I can say is that he is maintaining his defense and he is staying out of KK’s way.

 

[DSnfla]

Where is the "I told you so" thread? (not specifically, you, saint_drago, just in general) because I was dumbfounded by the Kamara talk. It just didn't make sense to me when we knew 1.) the line play was awful 2.) Carmichael was using him totally wrong. Even still, with everyone in the building knowing exactly what the call would be, Kamara still managed to look impressive on many runs last year. It was totally, totally not his fault. We all could see it and knew it. Yet, we somehow didn't believe it. Kamara has been the same guy this whole entire time.

To be fair not many people said AK was done they said it was not wise to long term invest in giving a big multi-year contract to an almost 30yr old RB
And yes AK has looked great but this system is made to make decent RBs look good and good RBs look great, just look at Denver Inder M Shanahan and Hou under Daddy Kubiak