Mr. Scot

See above... Even with the limitations Bryce gives you, there were things that could have been done. There are certainly specific types of players that are geared toward attacking that kind of defense. We ran only a very few of them, which leads me to wonder if we're even practicing them. I already have questions about Canales when it comes to preparation. There are certainly things I like about it, but I really need to see more "chess" type thinking. I know we have some "mentors" on staff, but it's possible we need some different ones.

It was a problem today, for sure. Don't know if it's the problem. I have a hard time getting on board with dumping Canales without at least giving him a Chance to try a different quarterback.

Guys, no offense but it is way past time to let these fantasies of Newton coming back to save us go. We went that route once already. It got us a single win in a game where he was backing up PJ Walker. All five games he started, we lost, and he was even benched in one. That...was four years ago. It's... not... happening. The Newton era is over. Keep the good memories you have of it...and move on.

Same one as the last few weeks... Discussed it elsewhere, but the whole "keep doing what works until they stop it" approach only works if you have a backup plan for when they eventually do. We didn't.

First off, ouch Lemme say up front I'm not even gonna bother with any deep analysis of Bryce here. Seriously, what new insight is there on that topic? We all know who and what he is, so why spend effort rehashing it? Instead, I wanna look at other aspects of the game: Even accounting for the Saints focus on him, Dowdle looks like he's getting worn down. Using him as a workhorse may not be sustainable over the full season, especially not with the line playing like they did in this one. This is why it was premature to talk about shipping Hubbard. What we really need is for Hubbard is get healthy and return to form so that we have a genuine two back rotation. Otherwise we're gonna watch more games like today's. Regardless of who's running the ball though, we got whipped in the trenches. (on both sides honestly,but I'd say worse when we were on offense) Hunt is sorely missed. Corbett is probably done. Moton looks like he's either not fully healthy or has hit a wall. No exaggeration to say Nijman and Curhan looked better last week. Left side is still solid at least, but that's not enough. (certainly wasn't today) The Saints have a better overall set of skill players than us, and it showed, but they also enjoyed a little better blocking. Even with good play by Brown and decent defense from some others, New Orleans' blockers mostly did their jobs. Kamara had enough daylight to run, and Shough wasn't harassed nearly as much as he should have been. That's what you count on. They could. We couldn't. Mind you, the defense had its moments. Some admittedly owed to the Saints being ass, but more positives than the offense had. Even so, I still have a hard time staying with Evero at DC. Seven more games to evaluate, but I'm prepared to move on. There are some positive players on defense, at least. Scourton is showing up on a regular basis. Wallace has been good (defense got worse when he got hurt). And there are the known quantities of Brown and Horn, even granting the latter didn't have a good day. We're still lacking a game plan defining pass rusher of course, but that's not exactly news. Bottom line, though, what disappointed me most this game? Canales Genuinely felt like Canales went into this game planning to use the exact same game plan as the last few weeks. The Saints clearly were ready for it, and Canales didn't have any answers. That's checkers thinking, not chess. It was obvious from early on that the Saints plan was to stuff the run and force the Panthers to depend on Young's arm. For most of us, the automatic response to that is "duh" So if it's obvious to us, why does it feel like Canales and his staff didn't get the memo? You can argue that having Bryce limits his options, but even allowing for that, there were things that could have been done that weren't. I'd hoped to see more as the game went on, but instead it looked like the proverbial definition of insanity. "But Bryce" I hear someone saying... Yes, Bryce iis bad, but he's not solely to blame here. With Bryce running the show, there's a pretty strict formula you need in order to win. Injuries have taken away some of what that requires personnel wise, but for me leadership was the bigger weakness against the Saints. "Keep doing what works until they stop it" is a good mindset, but you still have to have a backup plan in place for when they do. Canales didn't. If I were to sum up up, I'd say we didn't lose this game on Sunday. We lost this game before it even started.

Yep. And he genuinely was a great player. Same deal for Leon Lett. He was genuinely great, but...

Straight run to Dowdle... The Saints defense has stuffed that kind of play all day. Why the hell is it being called at a crucial juncture?

This is basically one of those games where you're watching two sh-tty teams try to outsuck each other. Currently we suck worse...

Yeah, and it was a long run. Basically the longest safety in history. Later on, post football career, he was traveling somewhere and got on the wrong plane. Cemented his "Wrong Way" nickname forever

That was just an awful throw.

As if on cue

Feels like Nic Scourton consistently shows up for two or three pretty good plays a game.

He's kinda like Jim Marshall. Phenomenal defensive player, but primarily remembered for a boneheaded mistake. (two, in Lett's case)

Basically anytime the ball is being kicked (kickoff, field goal, etc) once the non-kicking team touches it, it's live. The catch on a field goal kick is it has to go past the line of scrimmage.

And there are plays that are tailor made to exploit that sort of thing. We haven't been running them, though we have at least tried a few things this half.

None of you guys old enough to have watched Leon Lett?

Rookie mistake by Horn negates the opportunity. Liked the play call, for what that's worth

Holy sh-t

Okay, gonna need to see some halftime adjustments...

I'm not a fan of expecting quarterbacks to be Superman... but When a team challenges you to win with your arm, you have got to be able to answer.

Kinda like when the quarterback lines up behind a guard. You have a guy going "something's not right"

Yeah. He just had a false start

Just me or did Young look kinda casual on that first play?

Boy did that turn into a sh-tty sequence