St. PJ
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The recent woes on offense have nothing to do with the skill players we do or don't have on the field. A seasoned veteran at WR may contribute for a few catches each game, but not having that guy isn't the culprit. When this offense is clicking, one element is what opens the field and forces a defense to defend every square inch - horizontally and vertically. The Saints have the "roles" filled at skill positions to accomplish that; the missing element is what allows this stretching to occur. Drew isn't the cause for concern either. Many have noted he has looked "off" the laft few weeks. Neither is Drew's arm fatigued, nor is Drew losing his touch or ___ fear concerning Drew. The problem with the offense started when Armstead went down. Dallas was the first team to take full advantage of this (they had the personnel to do so) and Tampa's defensive line matched up in a similar way. The missing element is pass protection. When the 5 starters are playing together, time exists for your speed guy to stretch the defense, allowing your possession and slot guy room to operate. No time to stretch the field means that veteran WR we were hoping to fill that 2nd WR role has to be damn crafty or explosive out of his breaks to get separation, because the safeties aren't playing as deep and his space to operate in is more congested.
Simply, Drew does not have the time nor pocket to pick apart a defense. He hasn't been able to step up and step into many of his throws. His internal clock has shortened a half second, and he's rushing to get the ball out; they aren't taking many deep shots at all (maybe 2 a game). Went through a similar few games last year when the offensive line was in flux. I remember a Panther game where they refused to throw the ball more than 20 yards and went almost an entire game without stretching Carolina's defense... maddening, but Payton/Brees were confident they'd pull out a win with a more conservative plan aimed at protecting Drew. We went through an entire season of not being able to stretch the field the year prior to Brandin Cooks, but that had much more to do with personnel at WR. That's not the issue this season; with time, Drew hits whatever poison the defense chooses, and someone is almost always open because #10 is a viable threat when Drew can take a 5 step drop, and defenses have to respect and defend that. Unless they have the personnel to get pressure with their front 4 consistently and quickly.
The good news is that Carolina does not have personnel to generate that kind of pressure consistently. And we get to play them twice, at a time when they are maybe imploding because they picked the wrong guy to be a "leader". The Saints can very well afford to hold a healthy Ginn back, and they can afford to let Armstead heal as much as possible before the playoffs start. The selfish part of me really truly hopes that Carolina decides to dedicate all their resources to taking Rhythm and Bruise away, so that the staff is forced to let Drew be Drew, because I really don't believe they can stop him, and I think he needs to have a few more vintage "put it on Drew's shoulders" games to secure what should be his 3rd or 4th MVP.
Simply, Drew does not have the time nor pocket to pick apart a defense. He hasn't been able to step up and step into many of his throws. His internal clock has shortened a half second, and he's rushing to get the ball out; they aren't taking many deep shots at all (maybe 2 a game). Went through a similar few games last year when the offensive line was in flux. I remember a Panther game where they refused to throw the ball more than 20 yards and went almost an entire game without stretching Carolina's defense... maddening, but Payton/Brees were confident they'd pull out a win with a more conservative plan aimed at protecting Drew. We went through an entire season of not being able to stretch the field the year prior to Brandin Cooks, but that had much more to do with personnel at WR. That's not the issue this season; with time, Drew hits whatever poison the defense chooses, and someone is almost always open because #10 is a viable threat when Drew can take a 5 step drop, and defenses have to respect and defend that. Unless they have the personnel to get pressure with their front 4 consistently and quickly.
The good news is that Carolina does not have personnel to generate that kind of pressure consistently. And we get to play them twice, at a time when they are maybe imploding because they picked the wrong guy to be a "leader". The Saints can very well afford to hold a healthy Ginn back, and they can afford to let Armstead heal as much as possible before the playoffs start. The selfish part of me really truly hopes that Carolina decides to dedicate all their resources to taking Rhythm and Bruise away, so that the staff is forced to let Drew be Drew, because I really don't believe they can stop him, and I think he needs to have a few more vintage "put it on Drew's shoulders" games to secure what should be his 3rd or 4th MVP.
