Halftime Adjustments paying off huge dividends for Saints in 2009
by Malsby on Sep 28, 2009 7:27 AM CDT
24 comments
OK, since this is my first post here on CSC, just a quick intro about myself. Been a Who Dat fan since 1990, endured good and a lot of bad as a Saints fan over the years. The Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team(champs!) will always be my first sports love, but the Saints are a very close second. So, anyway, my article:
I've seen all 3 games thus far, and noticed among other things that Sean Payton is probably a really good coach. Why? Look at these splits as far as per-half scoring goes:
Week 1 vs. Detroit(maybe the worst example): Going into Halftime, 28-10, finished the game 45-27.
I would argue that the 17 points the Saints gave up in that 2nd half was largely self-induced. The defense still looked better as I recall and the offense became more balanced.
Week 2 @ Philadelphia: Going into Halftime, 17-13, finished the game 48-22.
Yeah...that's 31-9(thanks for the math headsup, Mtn) in the 2nd half by my count. They stole the ball off the opening kickoff in the 2nd half and scored. Then scored again. Then I drank a lot of beer and 48 was on the board at the end.
Week 3 @ Buffalo: Going into Halftime, 10-7, finished the game 27-7.
Buffalo looked downright punchless in that second half. The defense tightened up in a tough game and gave the Bills nothing. The Saints running attack went crazy and you know the rest.
So, let's see....carry the two....they've outscored their opponents in the 2nd halves 65-26. More than two to one. Whether it's an inspirational speech, a Reggie Bush breakdance or Jahri Evans just staring at people, the Saints come out of the locker room a much better team in the second half. This also means that the Saints are never out of a game. They've proven they can have things go bad early only to suck it up and come out on top in the end. Kind of exciting.
This FanPost was written by a reader and member of Canal Street Chronicles. It does not necessarily reflect the views of CSC and its staff or editors.
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great point
The last thing I need is more positives. Will somebody please come up with some negative comments to keep us grounded. hahaha
Seriously though, the Bills’ O-line is really young….
Besmirching the reverence of the sport of customer service since Aug 26, 2009
You want some negatives?
We have serious problems brewing on the offensive line. If Bushrod continues getting dinged up, we’ll be down to Stinchcomb and Strief. Both are good players, but we need depth behind them. Without a top offensive line to keep the orcs away from Drew, this offense will go from a Porsche to a Yugo. (Yeah, I know Pierre had a great game. Go Pierre. Do you think Pierre Thomas is going to carry us to the Super Bowl all on his lonesome?)
Super Bowl 44: "If you play in this league and it's not your goal, there's something wrong with you." -- Marques Colston
And by the way...
+1 Malsby. Excellent point…but it was 31-9 in Philly. Even better.
Super Bowl 44: "If you play in this league and it's not your goal, there's something wrong with you." -- Marques Colston
you're ruining everything
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by Dave Cariello on Sep 28, 2009 11:08 AM CDT up reply actions
Hey, the man asked for help
Super Bowl 44: "If you play in this league and it's not your goal, there's something wrong with you." -- Marques Colston
Pierre doesn't need to carry us
we’re getting great production from everybody who lines up back there. Even Reggie and PhotoOp had a strong first half from the backfield. The players stepping up when called upon is the most scarily hope-inspiring part of the season so far. Every aspect of the game looks sound, so far. God, I hope they can hold this together through the fall. They’re lining me up for a huge disappointment if they suddenly turn back into the Saints too early.
"Brees will kill you, but he lets you decide how fast he tightens the garrote." -Chris Brown
I gotta say, I’ve been very impressed by our O-line adjustment so far. Bushrod is playing exactly where anyone could hope(young, inexperienced O-lineman playing mediocre pass-protection, and good run blocking), and, more important, it looks like Payton is calling very sensibly. O-line weakness? Switch to the run, scramble right, and play the quick, underneath pass to combat the blitz. Minimal trick plays. Milk the playclock when you have the lead. Pull out the pizazz offense early, then play conservative, smart offense to maintain the lead.
Hopefully, Jammal Brown will be back and healthy after the bye, and maybe Bushrod will be 100% by then, as well. If we get the same playcalling balance against the Jets, and if the run can be effective early, and if we avoid any other serious injuries, I think we look pretty good going into October.
Rex Ryan is an undeniably great defensive coach, but he has to play in our house, and I doubt he will have spent as much time studying the Saints as the Pats. This game could easily go our way, and if we get to October 4-0, with a week off, we will be in a great position to make a run. This bye is looking like perfect timing right now. We can come off of it healthier at the line, and at running back, and maybe even at TE, than we were at the start of the season, if the cards can fall our way one more week. Hell, even a loss to the Jets, with no significant injuries, would leave us looking pretty good. I think the middle of the season is where we’ll need the most from our team this season, anyway. The Giants, Phins, then Falcons looks like a tough stretch. Hopefully, we can be close to 8 wins by the time we go up against NE, Dallas, and @Atlanta.
And then there’s that “beating the lesser team” thing, against Tampa, Washington, Carolina, and St. Louis. If they just win the games they’re “supposed to” win for the rest of the season, they could make the playoffs with that alone. Damn, I gotta go buy a pallet of Prilosec to get through this year.
"Brees will kill you, but he lets you decide how fast he tightens the garrote." -Chris Brown
For some reason I don’t see a sweep of Tampa. The Bucs always play the Saints tough and by the time those two teams play this year Tampa will most likely be using Johnson or a different QB and be a more polished team. Ditto with Carolina really.
Heart, Max Talbot has it by the mile. The Pens are your 2008-2009 Stanley Cup Champions.
Me neither
But on paper, we should win against them. Carolina is still up in the air, too. They may look bad now, but they definitely know how to play New Orleans. But we should beat them, handily. Those are, unfortunately, some of our easier games this season. The only freebie we have left on the schedule is St. Louis. I’d add Washington, but I think they’ll be competitive in December. Miami looks bad, too, but they’re not as bad as their record, they have a tight defense, and we are playing that one in Miami, so I think that one will be tough.
"Brees will kill you, but he lets you decide how fast he tightens the garrote." -Chris Brown
Tampa? Are you kidding?
Without serious injuries crippling the Saints, the only thing I see the Bucs can reasonably hope for is to lose by only three touchdowns both times.
Tonight will tell us about Carolina…but so far it’s looking the same.
Super Bowl 44: "If you play in this league and it's not your goal, there's something wrong with you." -- Marques Colston
And they are starting a new QB...
Josh somebody…not Freeman, surprisingly. There is no excuse for us to lose to Tampa as they are in total rebuild mode. I was listening to ESPN radio this morning and they said they didn’t get a first down until the third quarter and they thought they shot the cannon for the first down! I know the Giants defense is good, but that is pathetic!
As for Carolina, I can’t believe I ever thought that we should have kept Delhomme. Of course, we did have Aaron Brooks…loads of athletic ability, but no leadership skills at all.
by BlackandGold4ever on Sep 28, 2009 10:20 PM CDT up reply actions
Guarded Optimism
Bucs are a disaster, but we need to stay healthy though. No more Derrick Brooks and Ronde Barber cant cover everyone, Cadillac and Ward could have decent seasons, but Leftwich is a back-up, and a fat one at that hes probably gonna be pulled soon for who-ever and that new coach looks clueless….but hey they are div. games and shouldn’t be over looked…
You think you know, and you don't know, and you never, ever will know..Jim Mora Sr.
the dolphins
look awful. but not as bad as tampa. i was a doubter when everyone was saying how terrible tampa looked after the preseason, but man they’re bad. i’m interested in seeing how carolina plays tonight, as they may prove tougher than expected for us. but these two new york teams are all we should be worried about.
I was thinking the same thing
If we can sweep the Bucs and Panthers that puts us at 7 wins, a win against the horrible Redskins puts us at 8, the Rams are just as bad and should make 9, the Fins lost Pennington for the season, so the Dolphins should make win #10. If we could split the series with the Falcons we would have 11 wins for the season. That leaves games against the Jets, Giants, Pats, and Cowboys as just bonus games to show that we can beat anybody. And if you will notice, out of those 4 games I mentioned last, they are all in the Superdome. I’m not saying we’ll run the table, but you are right. If we win the games we are supposed to win we will be sitting pretty at the end of the season.
Thats what
Bobby Hebert said Undefeated …Yikes
You think you know, and you don't know, and you never, ever will know..Jim Mora Sr.
Two big negatives:
First, as previously mentioned, our o-line concerns me. I think they’re playing at 100% right now, but I’m really worried about going against teams like the Jets and Giants who can totally dominate a game along the line.
On the other hand, our d-line really proved they can play—unfortunately, it was against the most inexperienced offensive line in the NFL. Hope their confidence (and ability) carries over to our next few games against much better linemen.
Second, we saw how depressingly average Brees can play—not bad by any means, but very ordinary. The Bills’ D is definitely better than advertised, and I’m so glad we were able to adapt and pound the football in the 2nd half, but against a team like the Jets/Giants we might need Superhero Drew to save us. It was just a little scary to see the “inconsistent” offense of the past two non-playoff years (after scoring on our opening drive then the drought of successful pass plays)…
…but having a run game and a solid D definitely is something to be happy about, especially with our ability to close out games in the second half.
On Brees’ play, fair enough, not impressive, but that was a worst-case scenario for him, I think. Playing a defense that specializes in Tampa-2, his receivers weren’t running crisp routes for a lot of the game, and wet and windy field conditions(which probably affected his receivers, too). He’ll look a lot more like the Drew of virtually every other game the next two in the dome. The Jets have good cover corners, and Ryan-brand crazy blitzing schemes, which will probably screw us up a lot, but not for an entire game, and I don’t think our defense will be as lenient as Tennessee’s was yesterday. The Giants have great front-4 pressure, but an average secondary, and an overachieving passing game, so far. Bottom line, those will be two very tough, and very losable games, but the Saints should be in both of them all the way through. We also have the benefit of the ugliest “twelfth man” in the league. The dome will make both of those offenses have to play silent count football all day.
"Brees will kill you, but he lets you decide how fast he tightens the garrote." -Chris Brown
Let's not forget the wind...
Did you see the ball he threw to Henderson that was almost intercepted? Without that wind, that ball is completed for a TD. That is the Brees to Henderson dagger that we are all used to seeing at the most opportune times. This offense is going to be scary the longer the season runs (barring injury)
by BlackandGold4ever on Sep 28, 2009 10:23 PM CDT up reply actions
One thing to note about Brees in this game is that even though things went badly for us offensively
for most of the first three quarters (other than the opening scoring drive), he did not force balls into coverage or make a bunch of bad throws. Our defense kept them from scoring, so it stayed 10-7 for a long time even though our offense was not producing anything. Last year, the D would have given up some scores or Brees would have forced some bad throws and they’d have been picked off.
Smell Greatness
by HansDat on Sep 28, 2009 6:50 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
very good point
althought he was ordinary in TDs and yards, he was great in interceptions. Usually Brees throws for 1 a game on average I’d say. He just tries to fit the ball into too tight of a place and just a few fingers on the ball can make it pop straight up like in the Philly game(very good play by the defensive guy) and give him an interception. Anyways, good to see that our D didn’t throw all the pressure on Drew keeping us in the game.
Superbowl bound!!!...I know! do you?! Go Saints!!
by skinnykinney on Sep 29, 2009 5:18 PM CDT up reply actions
Last year
we might have lost both those (Buff,Phil)games, no blitzing no secondary, bad % on 3rd/4th and short….
You think you know, and you don't know, and you never, ever will know..Jim Mora Sr.
I'm really surprised at the comments
first of all 1) the O-Line was phenomenal vs. the Eagles. we ran the ball and passed and it all started with them
2) The O-line was great vs. detroit . We thought that wasn’t much of an accomplishment, but then we
saw Detroit beat Washington. Redskins aren’t a real strong team, but Detroit is not a horrible team
anymore.
3) The run blocking vs. Buffalo was excellent. No interceptions in the passing game. Only 2 sacks. given up.
This all happened because we had a conservative game plan on the road, at a stadium that is difficult to
win at- wet field, windy day….Buffalo has skewed their defense to stop the passing game first. you have
take what they give you first and also have some balance. the O-line has been phenomenal. Yeah,some
guys are dinged up and if we have injuries we have disadvantages, but this is the NFL and what team
does not have tht problem. We are just lucky we can lose RBs and WRs for a few weeks and we are ok.
Jamaal Brown should return soon after the bye. We are fine. We have to stay health, it’s true, but when is
that a non-issue? It always is. Injuries play a huge role in this league. We’ll be fine.
And, concerns about Brees? Cmon, who would you rather have? I wouldn’t take anyone over him. Let’s
not make problems where none exist.
"Indecision may or may not be my biggest problem" - Jimmy Buffet
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