Armchair Quarterback: Saints vs. Ravens

Why do we have to keep going over this?

Every two weeks, it’s the same thing. Saints do something that gives us hopes, Saints let us down.

New Orleans got absolutely owned by Lamar Jackson and the Ravens 27-13 at Caesars Superdome Monday night. Let’s talk about some of the bigger things that stood out.

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Anything involving running the ball was bad

The New Orleans Saints ran the ball 15 times for 48 yards. Now, I’m not great at math, but 3.2 yards a carry isn’t bad. So, why get away from it?

Then, let’s factor in that the Baltimore Ravens got 188 yards on the ground, including 92 from Kenyan Drake. A guy that hasn’t been able to find a starting spot anywhere in the last few years nearly crossed the century mark while scoring two touchdowns.

Going into the season, the Saints defense was supposed to be the side of the football that we could hang out hats on. WRONG.

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Offense was terrible

The Saints had 11 possessions Monday night. Of those 11, 5 ended in punts and one of them was barely a possession because Justin Houston, who I didn’t realize was still in the league, picked Dalton on the first play. Let’s not forget that Houston also had 2.5 sacks on the night.

Obviously, the offensive woes can be blamed on the amount of injuries on that side of the ball. And you’re right. But when you have Chris Olave and Alvin Kamara as your skill players, how do you only score one touchdown? And that touchdown didn’t even go to either one of them. Whether it’s a shot in the arm or just a complete overhaul, the Saints have to do something to get this offense going.

Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

The coaching has struggled

The whole staff has been off this season, and Dennis Allen will get the brunt of that because he’s the head coach.

Play-calling has been incredibly suspect throughout the season, we’ve heard reports that Pete Carmichael didn’t even want to be the OC, we have too many hands and mouths in the defensive meetings, and so much more.

Not to mention, DA has a poor coaching record before his time as head man for the Saints.

We all knew this would be a struggle for the Saints to overcome the losses of Drew Brees and Sean Payton in back-to-back seasons. But don’t sell the Allen hire as the best way to keep our success going when you start the season 3-6.
You had tons of injuries last year and you were better than this. So, I don’t want to hear that excuse.

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