Analysis Week 6 AMA (1 Viewer)

[TCUDan]

Reactions to the Saints' loss vs. the Chiefs?

Predictions for the Bucs game?

Does the offense change with Rattler under center? Can Kubiak get his mojo back?

What is up with all the busted coverages?

Shoot what you got my way. We may even dig into some film!

 

[Saint KayBee]

Why do you think people act so weird about the QB and coach, still?

 

[limeyjohn]

Baring in mind Carr could be out for several weeks, do you think we should continue to pursue signing Adam’s please ?

 

[Bayouboy]

Saints run defense used to be stout. What happened? We must be giving up 5 yards per carry at this point....

 

[Bill]

Is there any reason to suspect the Bucs' defensive coordinator will have a more difficult time game planning for a Rattler-led offense than for a Carr-led offense?

 

[TCUDan]

Baring in mind Carr could be out for several weeks, do you think we should continue to pursue signing Adam’s please ?

I do.

Part of resiliency is being able to adapt when you need to. The Saints are down Taysom Hill and 2+ OL. I like Mason Tipton and he has a bright future, but they should be treating him more like they did Rashid as a rookie, designing a specific package of plays and easing him into the system. It was clear that they liked the matchup with him vs. the Chiefs 3rd CB but weren't able to take advantage of it.

With Adams they get a great route runner who, while he isn't much taller than the Olave, Shaheed, or Tipton, has a good bit more bulk. He also plays bigger and is a guy with a large catch radius who the QB can throw open. He runs exceptional routes and with him you'll have that dirty yards guy the Saints just don't have right now.

Trying to line up in 12 and 21 pers and run the ball on 1st and 2nd down will be difficult to accomplish consistently with a banged up OL and no Taysom Hill. I have agreed with what Kubiak has been doing in the last 2 games--in fact, I called for it--using more 11 pers on learly downs, running the ball from spread looks, etc.

But their top 3 WRs are all kind of in the same mold. Shaheed has strong hands and plucks the ball well but the outside fade and 50/50 ball game isn't his specialty. He's more up the seam, splitting the safeties, snagging the ball on those posts and skinnies. Olave is good on contested catches, but it's much more finesse the way he goes and gets it and sometimes, you just can't go to him either because of where the pressure is coming from and who is covering him.

With Adams you got that guy who will body up defenders and go physically compete for those footballs. He also has 10 years in the league and will recognize some of those hot situations more and shorten his routes to space. What the Saints need right now on offense is some juice, and if that comes from bringing someone in, it needs to be the best player out there.

Adams fits that, and he also fills a needed role.

 

[Rouxble]

The Rattler experiment begins. At South Carolina, Rattler was in shotgun on 95% of his plays. Given Kubiak’s preference for under center looks (57% through week five), does the QB or OC need to adjust more going into the Bucs game? It seems like a lot of what Kubiak likes to do in his base offense (wide zone with PA rollout constraints) is challenging from shotgun looks.

 

[MarylandWHODAT]

Good morning! Spencer Rattler has been given the proverbial keys to this week and more than likely, next week.

What is the feeling in the locker room with regards to him being named starter versus Jake Haener? We know the players will say the "right things" but overall, what is the vibe in the room? Thanks for all your input!

 

[TCUDan]

Saints run defense used to be stout. What happened? We must be giving up 5 yards per carry at this point....

There's a few issues and I think some of has to to do with philosophy and formula... but I'm gonna state something now that might not be popular.

Demario Davis is not playing well. He does not look like the same player.

Understanding how unpopular this take will be, I'm gonna include some film (apologies in advance, I'm pulling from the broadcast in espanol b/c the NFL doesn't let you clip videos).


Here is Davis blowing an early assignment in coverage. The are in a 3-fire look (cover 3 with a 5 man pressure). Harris spins down to take that curl/flat/hot-to-2 responsibility. Davis is what we call the RAT--his job is to take away shallows, digs, and posts. The Chiefs do a great job formationally here with the delayed release by #3 to the flat, but even still, Harris should be passing off 2 and taking 3/playing curl/flat (which he does) and Davis should be sticking to his rat responsibility. Instead he expands and the middle of the field is wide open for an explosive play.


Here he is on the same drive, blowing another coverage assignment. The Saints are in man, which you can see right away with Taylor traveling with the motion. At the snap they sift Worthy behind the line for the backside flat route. Lattimore does the right thing and sticks with him the whole way. In no situation is Davis manned up on Worthy, yet he expands with him and gives up the delayed checkdown (to the TE)--which is literally his first responsibility.


This may be one of his most frustrating plays, as he comes through untouched on the blitz, with Mahomes dead to rights, and just misses him in a incredibly poor attempt at tackle.

I know the question is about run defense, and both in this game and the Eagles game, Davis was seriously lacking in that area too (a horribly missed fit/slow reaction by him was what gave up Barkley's long TD run). Obviously Demario Davis has earned himself some grace with how amazing he's been to the team over the years...

But, bluntly speaking, he is part of the problem right now. I'm sure some of it is injury, but those blown assignments are a result of freelancing and undisciplined play. It's so uncharacteristic of him that I am wondering if maybe Allen is asking him to do certain things, and yes--some of those plays were very well-designed and maybe the defense just wasn't prepared for them.

It's not the only thing ailing the Saints' defense, but Davis's screw-ups are really standing out right now, especially without Pete Werner on the field (who, conversely, is one of the most disciplined, assignment-sound players on the team). I hope that he can turn it around, because the defense and the team depend on him.

 

[TCUDan]

Is there any reason to suspect the Bucs' defensive coordinator will have a more difficult time game planning for a Rattler-led offense than for a Carr-led offense?

For sure. We've seen it before with defenses facing a rookie on their first outing. These games tend to go one of two ways: the rookie getting his welcome to the NFL, or the NFL receiving their welcome to him.

I don't want to be too optimistic and get out in front of my skis... but I am excited to see Rattler out there. There's a level of dynamic play he brings to the passing game, and while he's certainly not gonna be as savvy or polished as Carr, he is a bit more of gun-slinger. Carr has made some great throws this season, even under pressure, but a lot of them were designed. He has been more cautious as of late, and that seems to be more his baseline.

I think Rattler is gonna go out there and sling. He'll fit balls into tight windows and won't second guess some throws that maybe Carr would. He could finish the game with 3 TDs or 3 INTs... I really don't know. But after how the offense performed these last 3 weeks, I'm excited to see something different.

 

[RodneyGulley]

With Rattler getting his chance, if he balls out and we happen to win both games, does this put pressure on Allen to stick with him over Carr?

 

[TCUDan]

Good morning! Spencer Rattler has been given the proverbial keys to this week and more than likely, next week.

What is the feeling in the locker room with regards to him being named starter versus Jake Haener? We know the players will say the "right things" but overall, what is the vibe in the room? Thanks for all your input!

I have no inside information on what the vibe in the locker room is, but from my experience, when you lose your starting QB there and there's a rookie stepping in to replace him--you usually get a bit of the "rally around the flag" mentality.

I had the same thing happen to me this past season. Our import (American) QB went down on the 2nd drive of the 2nd game with a torn achilles. My backup was a local kid (European) who had never taken a live snap at QB. We had a team meeting where I informed the guys that we were gonna roll with him, rather than going out and signing someone else, and I challenged everyone else to step up.


He took us all the way to championship--in large part because the rest of the team knew they needed to study a little harder, prepare a little more. We didn't have our QB1 there to get everyone in the right alignment, to make the checks, to correct guys out on the field. Of course as a coach you change the way you prepare and call plays a little, but if the team doesn't rally, there isn't much you can do.

That's what I'm expecting/hoping for with the Saints. They know they have a rookie coming in under center. He's exciting, dynamic, but he's rookie. Everyone needs to pitch in another 5-10% so he can succeed and the team can win games.

 

[Bill]

For sure. We've seen it before with defenses facing a rookie on their first outing. These games tend to go one of two ways: the rookie getting his welcome to the NFL, or the NFL receiving their welcome to him.

I don't want to be too optimistic and get out in front of my skis... but I am excited to see Rattler out there. There's a level of dynamic play he brings to the passing game, and while he's certainly not gonna be as savvy or polished as Carr, he is a bit more of gun-slinger. Carr has made some great throws this season, even under pressure, but a lot of them were designed. He has been more cautious as of late, and that seems to be more his baseline.

I think Rattler is gonna go out there and sling. He'll fit balls into tight windows and won't second guess some throws that maybe Carr would. He could finish the game with 3 TDs or 3 INTs... I really don't know. But after how the offense performed these last 3 weeks, I'm excited to see something different.

I've seen Rattler make some of those Mahomes-like throws where it seems like an unwise pass but somehow gets to his target. If Rattler can develop that kind of skill level in Kubiak's offense, the sky could be the limit for this kid!

I'm trying hard not to expect the kind of magic that Patrick seems to pull off regularly. But it would be a welcome quality if he also could become known as a QB who can usually make something out of nothing and pull victories from the jaws of defeat. That's my dream, and I'm sticking with it!

 

[TCUDan]

Not to be to pessimistic, but I see the organization spinning their wheels at the moment and not moving forward. Are the players still in full support of DA or they just going through the every routine motions?

I really don't know. I have no inside info on the state of the team, but after the fast start, dropping 3 games in a row will undoubtedly have some guys grumbling.

I'll say what I've said before--what separates good head coaches from career coordinators isn't X's and O's. It's messaging/charisma, decision-making, and game management. I think it was during the Cheifs game where they showed a stat that DA was 1-7 in games decided by one score or less.

That is the difference between missing and making the playoffs both of the last 2 seasons.

That's the difference now between being 4-1 and 2-3.

During the Saints championship-contending seasons, Payton was great at closing out those tight games. Now, to be fair, he did have Drew Brees under center. But those handful of games every year are usually what makes the difference. The difference between 11-6 and 8-9. The difference between the playoffs and sitting home in January.

BUT--to be fair to DA, I did also see that his current win/loss record is around the same as Payton's during his first 3 seasons. So there's that. Important to note that had he not come out of the gates so hot, leading the Saints to that magical season in '06, right off the heels of Katrina--Payton probably would've been afforded less grace (and the fact that the Saints never really had an issue with offense under him, so the blame as also kinda laid elsewhere).

 

[TCUDan]

With Rattler getting his chance, if he balls out and we happen to win both games, does this put pressure on Allen to stick with him over Carr?

Eh... doubtful, but maybe. It's really hard to say. Carr hasn't really been bad even in the losses (he was ranked as the top-performing QB going into this game, I believe)... but the offense has been sputtering.

If Rattler wins both of these next 2 games, and he does so putting up a lot of points and with the offense getting back to the efficiency we saw early in the season, the Saints might have a decision to make. But short of that, I don't think Carr's starting job is in jeopardy.

I think Rattler would have be leading the team to wins in overwhelming fashion, putting up 30+ points on offense in each game for it to even be a conversation.