The Patriots play at faster tempo with a lead in the 4th Qtr Then the Saints do when there losing. (1 Viewer)

[duckjr78]

Ok, so the opposite side of the coin is that they go no huddle, completely whiff on 3 straight plays, and punt. Game over.

We've all seen it many times.
1st down, slight miscommunication, incomplete pass.
2nd down the defense knows it's a screen or draw, -1 yard.
3rd down, tipped pass at the line or a sack.
4th down, punt.

You see, the thing when you are losing is, you HAVE to score. The time is important, but the points are imperative. If you don't score, who gives a rat's behind if you punted quickly.

There was plenty of time. A slightly better defensive call/performance on 3rd & 11 and Brees gets the ball back on his own 30 with 2 minutes left needing 3 or 7. That is an eternity.

In that moment, in that game, with the way the offense and defense were playing, on the road, against a divisional opponent, the right play was made.

Take your time, get the score. Ask the defense to make a play when they "know" what play is coming. Let the offense go get the tying/winning score. If you go up tempo and make one, just one, mistake, you lose.

Complain about something else, please.

 

[Winter]

Half the O-line is 30+(fatigue), while our WR are pretty young (experience), our D is still weak (the less they play, the less point you need to score), Brees harm may need more rest than before... I'm looking for reasons, but in the end that doesn't really bother me as long as it doesn't completely kill their chances to win the game.

Those are all valid points and possibly real reasons why this team is struggling with the hurry up/no huddle late in games. However, you HAVE to be able to do this. Every team has their 2 minute drill and the Saints the past decade have been one of the best at it. Are they pacing to keep the veterans breathing? Careful to call the plays for the young guys? Slow because Payton wants every play called and not improvised or audibled? These are all things this team needs to forget about and just execute. All those reasons are conservative notions and that is the exact opposite of what needs to happen in a 2 minute drill.

 

[bouxdag]

Ok, so the opposite side of the coin is that they go no huddle, completely whiff on 3 straight plays, and punt. Game over.

We've all seen it many times.
1st down, slight miscommunication, incomplete pass.
2nd down the defense knows it's a screen or draw, -1 yard.
3rd down, tipped pass at the line or a sack.
4th down, punt.

You see, the thing when you are losing is, you HAVE to score. The time is important, but the points are imperative. If you don't score, who gives a rat's behind if you punted quickly.

There was plenty of time. A slightly better defensive call/performance on 3rd & 11 and Brees gets the ball back on his own 30 with 2 minutes left needing 3 or 7. That is an eternity.

In that moment, in that game, with the way the offense and defense were playing, on the road, against a divisional opponent, the right play was made.

Take your time, get the score. Ask the defense to make a play when they "know" what play is coming. Let the offense go get the tying/winning score. If you go up tempo and make one, just one, mistake, you lose.

Complain about something else, please.

So you can't ask the offense to play up tempo, because they can't make a mistake, but you're forcing the defense to make essentially zero mistakes the entire 2nd half, to compensate for the offense, which already played poorly the entire first half. And last I heard, our payroll is dramatically geared to the offense. And our coach is an "offensive guru."

Makes sense to me.

 

[duckjr78]

So you can't ask the offense to play up tempo, because they can't make a mistake, but you're forcing the defense to make essentially zero mistakes the entire 2nd half, to compensate for the offense, which already played poorly the entire first half. And last I heard, our payroll is dramatically geared to the offense. And our coach is an "offensive guru."

Makes sense to me.

Not what I'm saying, at all.

I'm saying that going up tempo increases the chance of a mistake. Especially against a good defense, on a short week, on the road, against a divisional opponent.

Coach obviously felt that the odds were better asking the defense (which was playing great, "essentially zero mistakes" you said) to make 3 good plays against a struggling offense who were going to call very predictable plays than ask a struggling offense (again, your own admission) to play perfect up tempo offense for an entire drive where failure means you lose the game.

My point is that he was making a call based on the game tendencies and situation. Even with the loss, that doesn't mean it was the wrong call.

You HAD to have 2 scores. A miss anywhere (INT, punt, fumble, sack on 3rd down, etc.) ends the game. Take some time, get the first score or everything else is moot.
Then, you HAD to have a stop. This is the crucial point. Regardless of the time left, you were going to need a stop. You simply asked the D to do it the first time around, which they had just done 3 times in a row up to that point. Think about that. The Saints' D had forced 3 straight 3-and-outs, while the offense had struggled all game. Which unit do you think needed a little more time to make sure it got things right?

Complain about the ref'ing, complain about special teams (a lot), complain about injuries, complain about a host of other things, and I will support that.

But to complain about an offense that started at their own 24, down 10 points, knowing they had to have 2 scores and were only going to get 2 possessions, who went on to get the tough score (it's not like they settled for 3 after a 5 minute drive, they got the 7 pointer first which always helps) just because they didn't score in 3 minutes or what not, seems a bit harsh to me.

That's just, like, my humble opinion, man.