Thoughts from the game (1 Viewer)

[tk421Saint]

First, Dallas is better than us. Two weeks ago I was watching reports (that I believed) they were ranked above both Green Bay and Tompa Bay.
So this was always going to be tough.

We lost again, that is bad. However, I was more positive after this game than the last 4.

A few things though:

1 - The first 3 quarters were the most fun I had watching a Saints game after Jameis went down.
The determination and fun - Payton called it "guts" - that Taysom plays the game with jumps off the page. I don't care who you are.

When Taysom runs I get excited ;-). And scared for him, mostly saying "get down man!" but football was fun tonight until mid-fourth quarter.

2 - We were competitive with this Dallas team until the 4th quarter. Not that we didn't make mistakes, but we remained competitive. All was not lost.
I take that as a positive.

3 - The last 4 weeks really makes you appreciate just how much work Jameis put in during the offseason with these terrible receivers we had. He was really able to elevate them to another level - not to Drew Brees level (let's be fair) - but above anyone else we've seen.

4 - Without Kamara this game was going to be hard. Dallas line was tough. Ingram has some juice, but he is not quite old Ingram to anyone watching.

It was clear to Payton and Taysom that Taysom was the only real juice on this offense, and to a lesser degree -- Deonte Harris who, the fact that I am bringing him up here tells you a lot.

Deonte would not be a top two receiver on most decent teams in the league.

5 - Early on I did see Taysom make quick decisions with the ball and find the open man, even on the run.
He missed some, and his receivers missed some.

6 - Taysom made some dumb decisions but he also hurt his finger. I almost discounted half his plays when he hurt his finger on his throwing hand.

It tells you a lot that Payton left him in after that - and didn't overrule him. We are in bad shape at QB folks
Siemian is nothing more than a servicable QB3, and Book is likely not versed enough to run enough of the offense (it would likely have to be severely limited).

7 - Defense was on the field too long. Offense needs to sustain drives. Bang bang football is not a winning formula without Drew Brees.

8 - Dallas playmakers are so fast. Faster than many of our defense, which is not a slow unit generally.
I thought Demario and Malcolm Jenkins got washed out a few times.

That's it for me. I'm not depressed about last night. I hope Taysom and our tackles and Kamara show up in 10 days and improve. That's all I want.

And I will have a lot of fun watching Taysom again, even if we don't win as long as we are competitive.

Get well Jameis too.

Go Saints.

 

[NeverGiveUP2]

This is the NFL and injuries are no excuse. That being said yours is an excellent post.

We all knew we would have to be fortunate from an injury perspective to be competitive this year. It didn’t happen and we are experiencing our medicine year for the years we chased another ring with Drew.

I am no fan of moral victories so I will leave it at the fact that we are not good enough.

Taysom is a valuable player for us. He is not our future at QB. The decision on bringing back Jameis or signing another QB or drafting our future will be a critical one for SP and ML. I really trust those guys

I am not going to suffer through the remainder of the year but rather sit back and enjoy Saints football whatever it may be over the next few weeks

 

[USM_Black_And_Gold_Saint]

Damn good post homie.

 

[Maik Jeaunz]

I agree that Dallas is better, but after watching the game last night, I feel pretty confident that they won’t last too long in the playoffs. Maybe even a first round exit. They’re not that special.

 

[RaginCajun83]

He may not be the best passer but it’s fun watching him run around, through, and over people. Losing with Taysom is much funnier than losing with Seimian. I hope he can keep playing.

 

[BoxerJoe]

A few things though.

7 - Defense was on the field too long. Offense needs to sustain drives. Bang bang football is not a winning formula without Drew Brees.

Excellent post. I am just going to speak on point #7 though. The Saints had the ball more than Dallas did.

Time of Possession:
DAL 28:06
NOS 31:54

If I remember correctly, the Saints had about a 30 second advantage at the half.

Certainly, there have been times in the past in which the Saints defense got gassed from being on the field too much and I can understand falling prey to having that automatic mindset of games, but last night's game wasn't such a case as they were on the sideline more than the offense.

 

[tk421Saint]

Excellent post. I am just going to speak on point #7 though. The Saints had the ball more than Dallas did.

Time of Possession:
DAL 28:06
NOS 31:54

If I remember correctly, the Saints had about a 30 second advantage at the half.

Certainly, there have been times in the past in which the Saints defense got gassed from being on the field too much and I can understand falling prey to having that automatic mindset of games, but last night's game wasn't such a case as they were on the sideline more than the offense.

I agree stats don’t tell this story but third down conversion does. We need to sustain drives. If we can’t sustain long drives our defense will get gassed.

Regardless of the stats IMO.

Even Lattimore mentioned the offense was bad.

 

[BoxerJoe]

I agree stats don’t tell this story but third down conversion does. We need to sustain drives. If we can’t sustain long drives our defense will get gassed.

Regardless of the stats IMO.

Even Lattimore mentioned the offense was bad.

The Cowboys, with their first string available players, were 2 of 13 on third downs.
The Saints, with their makeshift offense just to put enough bodies out there, were 5 of 14.