The truth is Saints outplayed the Falcons (1 Viewer)

[triumph]

I mean, I'm not sure how you only get Bijan Robinson 7 carries and 4 catches in a game and only get Allgeier 8 carries and 2 catches against a Saints team without Tryann Mathieu for a large part of the game and without two of it's best LBs for essentially all of the game.

That's only 21 touches between them. That's about how many touches Robinson alone should be getting in a game like yesterday.

They didnt have the ball much. They only had the ball for 24 minutes. Kyle Pitts was shut out with only 3 targets.

 

[VPCajun]

The truth is Saints outplayed the Falcons​

You

play

to

WIN

the

game.

.

Saints failed.

.

 

[SaintsFanInLA]

at the end of the year, we will not be worrying about the Falcons or the Bucs. Saints are better than both. Trust the season. Barring injuries we will win this division by 2 or 3 games.

You really think so?

 

[Blazing Saint]

at the end of the year, we will not be worrying about the Falcons or the Bucs. Saints are better than both. Trust the season. Barring injuries we will win this division by 2 or 3 games.

Wanna put money on that?

 

[Blazing Saint]

No, we didn't outplay them. The problem is special teams plays count, and are usually MUCH more impactful than plays on offense and defense. Also, turnovers for DIRECT points count. They ALL count. And in the end, the Falcons made more important plays when they counted than we did. Now, what you could say is, if we eliminated the big play guffaws, we could have easily won. And that I'd agree with. You could also say, we made more consistent plays but none of that matters in the final outcome. Literally NONE OF IT.

For instance, let's say Team A had 10 possessions where they amassed 70 yards each for a total of 700 yards of offense, Team be had 10 possessions of 20 yards each for 200 yards of offense, but Team A had 10 turnovers all returned for TDs and lost the game 70-0. Can Team A say they outplayed Team B? Not really. This is exaggerated to illustrate my point.

Brilliant post. We're literally sounding just like Vikings fans after the 2009 NFCCG.

 

[SweetT]

I dont know about outplaying every team. I think the Eagles handled us but were hamstrung by their HC. Without efforts by their coaching, I don't think we sniff a chance at winning.

I think we've played pretty well and are exceeding the expectations that I had for the Saints.

In the Eagles game, for the first three quarters we forced two turnovers, blocked a punt, they gave the ball up on downs twice, and they punted once. They blew up for all 15 points in the 4th quarter.

 

[Artifactual]

Koo making a 58-yard walk off FG was against the odds. His career long prior to that was 54 yards. The longest in that stadium to that point was 57 yards.

To his credit, he made the kick.

There’s a lot of doom and gloom being cast about here after back-to-back last-minute losses in which the Saints outplayed their opponents throughout the games, games in which the Saints have held the lead in the waning moments, only to lose after surrendering a single desperation big play in each game.

Some of the threads and posts seem outrageous considering the Saints themselves have not been blown out in their two losses. Yet had the Saints won both games and started the season out undefeated at 4-0 the same folks would be here, albeit chirping a little lower, complaining about how the team performed.

The Saints blew out their first two opponents. They lost their last two games in the last few seconds, each one a result in a single critical mistake. One on a 61 yard reception on a 3rd and 16 play that 3 Saints players collided into each other. The other resulting from a 30 yard questionable pass interference penalty. Two end of the game plays, regardless of what transpired earlier, became the catalysts that ultimately prevented the Saints from winning. Two losses by a total of 5 points.

The Saints have played hard in all 4 games. Before the season began most people expected the Saints to be 1-3 at this point. Most everyone would have been happy with a 2-2 start especially when the Saints coulda, woulda, shoulda, be a 3-1 or a 4-0 team at this point. It's true that the Saints have suffered back-to-back embarrassing losses, not because they lost, but because of the way that they lost. The Saints have to find a way to close out and win close scoring games.

All teams have to deal with the injury bug. Some have it worse than others. The Saints were playing with 3 journeymen linemen, a rookie, and a project yesterday. Lemieux was playing Center for the first time in his entire life. For it to be a game in which he was starting in the NFL was way beyond belief. Young got his first career start playing Guard. This unit had a mere few days of practice time together. Considering that, they could have played a lot worse than they did.

Missing Demario Davis in the middle of the Defence was a bigger factor than what it appeared to be. It didn't seem so at first but then Gay got injured early and couldn't return. Pete was playing out of position the entire game and every other LB normally would have been watching from the bench. Even the Ho ey Badger watched from the sidelines in the 4th quarter.

With Taysom Hill in the lineup for 9 1/2 quarters the Saints 2024 offense has been unstoppable. During that span the Saints have only punted one time.

Without Hill in the lineup the offense looks out of sync with no rhythm and lacks the ability to oppose their will on their opponents. The Saints offense has to find an identity that works when Taysom is not on the field, whether injured or resting. To this point they haven't. We've seen enough to know this isn't a coincidence.

After 4 games we already have the panickers in thread after thread. Some threads wondering about a quarterback change and a coaching change. Ridiculous!

With that said, it's highly realistic to believe the Saints will lose this week against the defending SB Champs and undefeated KC Chiefs. Imagine the doom and gloom should that happen. Saints would be on a 3 game losing streak, falling to 2-3 on the season. The naysayers from this week will be back in full force with many more coming out of the woodwork. To hear it from that crowd, the sky is falling and the season is lost. Making the playoffs would only be a tease.

On the other hand, should the Saints, as a heavy underdog road team, travel into KC as wounded warriors set to be slaughtered, find a way to win against all odds, the naysayers will simply hide for another week waiting for a possible return the following week. Like rust, it never sleeps.

Jump off the Bandwagon if you will. True Saints fans will ride the Saints Express Train until the end of the tracks. It's a long season with plenty of football to play.

Enjoy the ride. There will be bumps along the way but there will also be some smooth sailing throughout the season.

It's not unrealistic to remain optimistic nor is it unrealistic to become pessimistic. It's up to you to decide where you want to place your emotions. To each his own.

Who Dat!

 

[Judge_Smails]

There is not really such a thing as a moral victory for an aging team that is cap strapped and claims they are still competing for a title.

 

[texasjefe]

I mean, I'm not sure how you only get Bijan Robinson 7 carries and 4 catches in a game and only get Allgeier 8 carries and 2 catches against a Saints team without Tryann Mathieu for a large part of the game and without two of it's best LBs for essentially all of the game.

That's only 21 touches between them. That's about how many touches Robinson alone should be getting in a game like yesterday.

Bijan went into the game with a shoulder and after the game he had a hamstring.

In Raheem's quick halftime interview before the 2nd half kick, he said "I told the team we gotta run the ball and we gotta stop the run." They did that as the Saints wore down.

I am not down on this Saints team and have not been since the draft. I believe Mickey wants Allen for a 4th year, Carr for a 3rd, and Kubiak for a 2nd year. The talent level is up. They did cut back on cap commitments and saved something. In players like Fuaga, Bresee, Taylor, and Olave you have recently drafted starters and reliable producers. Kubiak's scheme is great and maybe pray the hurt guys get back this year.

The injuries push a clock back for a developing team. I can't say this is a playoff team this year but I can say I think it is developing and improving which is what I needed to see first. I'd be shocked if Dennis or Derek would get to or win a Super Bowl, but I can live with next season being the make or break year, with a high bar.

That's a getting-younger team out there that has worked to learn a new offensive scheme. Guys are playing hurt already if they are not having to leave the game. The herpa-derps big and small are growing pains, because the players are hungrier to produce.

 

[Clintonrebel]

We are a couple of plays from being 4-0. I’m more worried about mounting injuries than I am coaching or talent. This is a good team if we can get healthy.