TNF Game Day Thread: Saints @ Packers

[Rey]

I think the Packers were not going to be fooled on play action either. If you watch the play, two of their LBs (Hawk was one) were cheating towards play-action at the LOS.

I didn't say anything about play action. Brees was hot and had driven them all the way down the field with some awesome throws. I'd have stuck with the one who brought me.

I would have spread them out shotgun, one back and let drew decide whether he wanted to check run or pass. I understand that you expect your o line to get a yard, but the packers geared up for that and had multiple guys diving over the line to meet Ingram.

Brees is your best player and the qb, let the action go through him.

Again, this is just my opinion. There is no wrong and right here. I'm just saying what I think would have worked better.

 

[ChampionTexan]

Yeah, I texted a couple people that the Saints were borrowing pages from "Frank Bush's Special Defense".

There was actually several things about the Saints that reminded me of last years Texans - including getting the rug pulled out from under them at the last second (or if you prefer - pulling the rug out from under themselves).

 

[eriadoc]

Minus that sack, his numbers beg to differ with your analysis, and it wasn't 'padding stats' numbers.

See, this is a classic case of the numbers not telling the story, IMO. There was that sack play. There was another play where he essentially did the same thing. The Saints were at the Packers' 6 yard line, and it was 4th down. So Brees got pressure, scrambled backwards (awkwardly), and managed to dump the ball off to his back, who luckily dropped it, or the Packers would have had the ball at the 20 or 21 yard line. Because of that drop, the Packers had to drive 94 yards for a TD instead of 79 or 80. That they did drive that far for a TD is a different problem, LOL.

Aside from that, he had at least three balls that I can think of that could have just as easily been intercepted as knocked down. He threw the ball into triple coverage, threw the ball into situations where he was baited, etc. So all told, it was probably 6-8 bad plays from him, but they were really amateur. Their offense is good enough to overcome that, but Brees ran off a good stretch prior to last year where he didn't make too many mistakes at all, much less rookie-type mistakes.

It just stood out to me is all.

 

[gary]

I would have had Brees run to the outside and score on his own or an underneath pass to the RB or the TE.

 

[Double Barrel]

Man, that Matrix play by Randall Cobb on his 108 yard KO return was amazing!

It made me have crazy thoughts, like anything can happen this season...

 

[GP]

The Packers sold out at the LOS to stop the run on the 4th down play to end the game.

I know it's hindsight to sit here and say this, but the Saints went down the field with passing (thanks to a very gracious Packers defense allowing them to) and then tried to Power Run from 1-yard out on the last play. Why did they do that?

The Packers loaded up on the line. 11 men in the box, IIRC, or practically all 11 men (for all intensive purposes). Mark Ingram's big knock thus far is that he can't get the tough yards (That's why I didn't draft him in my FFL, but went with Sproles instead, only to use as insurance--Not as one of my primary backs).

Mark Ingram was doomed from the beginning because the Packers sold out to stop the run. Every single Packers player dove to the middle. Add to this the early indications that Ingram has problems making his own luck out there, and it was a catastrophe.

I think Brees made good plays. He made a few great plays. But he also had problems with protection breaking down at wrong times, too. He was sacked, he was getting knocked down, he was moving backward a lot. The Saints blocking was not handling Capers' 3-4 defense.

Let's see how Wade's 3-4 defense treats him.

 

[The Pencil Neck]

I'm just going to throw this out there but...

These were two great teams and two great QBs and two SB winning head coaches.

There were decisions made on both sides and plays made by both QBs that, if they were made by our players and coaches, people here would have been pointing to those plays and saying that's why this guy or that guy should be fired.

Drew Brees taking sacks, the choices to go for 4th downs, some questionable non-spiking 2 minute drive logic, running into the pile at the end, Gregg Williams' totally passive zone defense on the Saints side; tentative play calling with the lead, prevent defense, blowing a 3rd down conversion when they needed it for the Packers.

 

[mugrakers]

I never realized just how big of a beast Clay Mathews is from the Will Linebacker. The dude cannot be stopped one on one. It's amazing. He has to be on the juice.

 

[brakos82]

I never realized just how big of a beast Clay Mathews is from the Will Linebacker. The dude cannot be stopped one on one. It's amazing. He has to be on the juice.

Funny, my friend said "He looks like a woman."

I kinda had to laugh... he kinda does, yet he's an all-pro linebacker.

 

[bah007]

If you could overturn or reverse just one of the rule changes, which would you pick?

For me, it's the most recent change regarding not being able to pop a WR going across the middle. This whole "defenseless WR" thing is the worse thing ever. Worse than when they instituted the "Illegal contact" rule which took away bump-and-run coverage.

There is really too much there for me to even pick just one. I'm fine with the helmet to helmet stuff. I have no problem if a guy gets flagged for that.

But a good example of what I'm talking about would be the personal foul that Danieal Manning got called for against the Colts. Where the hell was the penalty?

I would do away with the defenseless WR rule. That's a BS rule. The league supposedly cares so much about protecting defenseless players, but it's okay for a guy to get blindsided and decleated by a blocker when he is chasing down a punt return. That right there tells me what the NFL is really after. They don't care about protecting defenseless players. They only care about protecting defenseless offensive players.

I would also do away with the illegal contact rule. A WR can put his hands all over a DB and even push off, but if a DB puts a finger on him after five yards then he gets flagged.

Faceguarding also needs to go. I don't care if a guy is looking for the ball or has his back completely turned to it. If he defends the pass without interrupting the offensive player's right to go after the ball then it should be legal.