Where’s the pass rush? Who’s at fault? Interesting numbers here: (1 Viewer)

I was screaming last year that teams don't let guys that rush the passer like that walk in free agency. "But we can't afford him and we have Davenport."
We couldn’t afford him.

I’m sure the front office would’ve loved to have kept Trey. But no way were we going to pay him what Cincy did and still be able to keep Shon, Ram, and franchise Marcus( to hopefully sign later this season). Trey had ONE mega season compared to the other three players, who’ve been consistently great to outstanding since their rookie years.

Even with Trey balling out, I still would want Loomis to make the same decision if we could do it again.
 
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Absolutely.

I have been banging this drum since Drew announced his retirement. I kept telling people that the ability to score quickly is important, but ball control will always be the most valuable asset an offense possesses. Keeping our defense fresh by keeping them sidelined and controlling the clock is how we win games. Scoring quickly can sometimes be more detrimental than helpful.

We saw this for several seasons (14-16), where we scored at will, but kept putting our woeful defense on the field too soon just to get methodically carved up by our opponents. By the time we’d get the ball back, Drew didn’t have much time to answer back.

We have to control the clock in order to assert our will over other teams and help out our defense. Typically teams who control TOP win the game. You can only control TOP by sustaining methodical drives.
And this is why our running game needs to be working reliably too. I know that everyone enjoys those beautiful rainbow passes for a quick score, but as you say the Saints need to be a threat to execute those 10-12 play drives using runs & swing/screen passes to work methodically down the field.

Nothing will hang a loss on a team faster than having a defense who is spent going into the 4th quarter. Even big leads can dwindle in a hurry if we can't keep our defense fresh to the end.
 
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We couldn’t afford him.

I’m sure the front office would’ve loved to have kept Trey. But no way we’re we going to pay him what Cincy did and still be able to keep Shon, Ram, and franchise Marcus( to hopefully sign later this season). Trey had ONE mega season compared to the other three players, who’ve been consistently great to outstanding since their rookie years.

Even with Trey balling out, I still would want Loomis to make the same decision if we could do it again.
Yeah it's hard to fault the team for letting Trey walk. Trey was a good rotational player and then boom, he puts up 13.5 Sacks in his walk year. He was one of the top free agents on the market. There was no way the Saints could've matched the Bengals offer.

The Saints decided keeping their franchise Corner and Tackle was more of a priority. Hard to argue with that.
 
I'm looking forward to third and long with Jordan, Davenport, Turner, and Onyemata all rushing the quarterback. Should be quite a handful.
 
We couldn’t afford him.

I’m sure the front office would’ve loved to have kept Trey. But no way were we going to pay him what Cincy did and still be able to keep Shon, Ram, and franchise Marcus( to hopefully sign later this season). Trey had ONE mega season compared to the other three players, who’ve been consistently great to outstanding since their rookie years.

Even with Trey balling out, I still would want Loomis to make the same decision if we could do it again.

Sure we could've. We chose to afford other players instead. I'd be interested to know the last time a 26 year old 13.5 sack guy was allowed to leave a team in FA. I'm going to be it's been a long time because they usually get prioritized.
 
Sure we could've. We chose to afford other players instead. I'd be interested to know the last time a 26 year old 13.5 sack guy was allowed to leave a team in FA. I'm going to be it's been a long time because they usually get prioritized.
Frank Clark and Dee Ford two years ago.

I get it, its a lot of sacks in a year. But if you look at the yearly top 10 sack leaders, half of them are great, and the other half are guys with one great year that drop off when they get more attention the next year. One big year wasn't enough to guarantee him a long term deal for the Saints. We can take our 3rd round compensation pick next year and hopefully spend it wisely.
 
My buddy is a Bengals fan, he obviously watches all their games and said Trey has been dominating in all aspects of the game. It’s a shame he had to be a cap casualty but it was probably necessary to keep Lattimore and Ram.
Lattimore and Ram far more valuable. Hopefully M.W gets a new deal and Ceedy gets that much deserved extension. Ceedys impact on defense is very noticeable. Hes talented and got that Junkyard Dog Mentality
 
Frank Clark and Dee Ford two years ago.

I get it, its a lot of sacks in a year. But if you look at the yearly top 10 sack leaders, half of them are great, and the other half are guys with one great year that drop off when they get more attention the next year. One big year wasn't enough to guarantee him a long term deal for the Saints. We can take our 3rd round compensation pick next year and hopefully spend it wisely.

They weren't let go as free agents. They were traded. Frank Clark was franchise tagged and traded for a 1st round pick. Dee Ford was traded for a 2nd round pick.
 
They weren't let go as free agents. They were traded. Frank Clark was franchise tagged and traded for a 1st round pick. Dee Ford was traded for a 2nd round pick.
Touche! I wonder if the Saints ever considered the tag and trade option for Hendrickson.
 
No way we could have afforded trey and kept the guys we have.

I get that pass rush is important but even with a poor pass rush our def is playing very good on a whole. Take out Lat or MW and a bunch of busted coverages and I'm not sure having an extra trey would have put us in a better position.

Our secondary is legit. When we get pieces back in the front 7, our entire def could be legit.

Also side node, pretty rough on turner rookie season. The most double teamed end in the league.
 
And this is why our running game needs to be working reliably too. I know that everyone enjoys those beautiful rainbow passes for a quick score, but as you say the Saints need to be a threat to execute those 10-12 play drives using runs & swing/screen passes to work methodically down the field.

Nothing will hang a loss on a team faster than having a defense who is spent going into the 4th quarter. Even big leads can dwindle in a hurry if we can't keep our defense fresh to the end.
Agreed. We’ve got to do a better job with time of possession, etc. But I think we’re starting to show signs of improvement here, n help is on the way.

Like the team, SP also had a nice bounce back game with his gameplan/playcalling against WASH. Goin into the game the Saints were 1st in the NFL in running on first down. So SP changed things up n started throwing a lil more on first down. He also passed a lil more outta a “run look” with the 2TE set.


Here’s an example:


With the team clinging on to a 5pt lead, it was easily Trouts biggest play so far for us this season! IMO, it was also the play the broke the WFTs D, as we later went on to score the TD to put the game away!


Obviously getting McCoy n TA back will help us big time esp in run blocking as we look to close games out. Another player I hope to see soon is TE Nick Vannett. He’s one big dude n a solid blocker. In the 2 TE sets, he can free up Trout or Juwan to get out on passing routes.

I also hope we can get a 💯 MT n TQS back soon! Both know the O. Both are very physical. Both are fearless goin over the middle, esp on those intermediate routes. These are the routes that some complain have been missing on O so far this season. Another complaint about our WRs has been lack of separation. Michael Thomas may not always get separation either, but he’s damned near ALWAYS open! 😂

My biggest “look for” from this duo once they return is how quickly they can develop chemistry with Jameis. Once they do, I’m hoping to see them help the O keep possessions by moving the chains, esp on 3rd downs!

We’ll see!
 
And this is why our running game needs to be working reliably too. I know that everyone enjoys those beautiful rainbow passes for a quick score, but as you say the Saints need to be a threat to execute those 10-12 play drives using runs & swing/screen passes to work methodically down the field.

Nothing will hang a loss on a team faster than having a defense who is spent going into the 4th quarter. Even big leads can dwindle in a hurry if we can't keep our defense fresh to the end.
The Saints need another viable RB that can not only spell Kamara as a rusher, but also do so effectively. Murray had the ability the last couple years, but he’s gone…
Jones Jr. flashed in the preseason, but he didn’t do much to start the season, and then he went to IR.

Ozigbo is a total unknown, but he didn’t even get a single touch last week… that’s a bit of a disappointment.

I like to see the Saints explore some more RB options during the BYE week, and maybe bring in someone to really push and test TJJ. A 2nd RB is a need.

Lots of folks have mentioned calling up the Texans and trying to get Ingram back here… but he’s their starter… I say call Houston and go for Phillip Lindsay or Rex Burkhead.. either would make nice compliments to AK41 IMO.
 
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Could be because we expected Heinicke to run with our secondary blanketing guys.
I remember one play from the Washington game, where Heinicke scrambled and ran… and a Saints defender (with his back to the action) was running alongside Heinicke! That’s the risk of running man coverage vs a mobile QB.
 

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