Heroes & Goats

[The Shadow]

Hawk made the play of the game at the end. It's a shame the guy with the bad angle overruled the sideline guy. If you noticed, those officials were yelling at eachother as they were conferring about the "DPI" that was called on Hawk at the end of the game. It was a clean play, he only made contact with Sproles after he made contact with the ball, and was playing the ball all the way. It was an incredible play, and I'm sad that some hotshot referee had to ruin the ending of an amazing game like that.

Agreed.
That was NOT interference, it was a fine play.

[Joemailman]

we saw this alot last year when finley was out, so i don't think we can put any blame on him

many times last year we came flying out of the gates and completely dominated the first half. then it almost seems like we take our foot off the gas and just try and hang on

we got the ball 5 times in the second half last night.

one was the cobb return.

one was the very long drive in the 4th after we stopped them on 4th and went 90 yards or so for a TD

one drive was 7 plays for 17 yards. took almost 5 minutes off the clock, we must have been running a lot then.

the other 2 series were 3 and outs

besides one drive in the 4th, we went away from what was working in the first half. and that's one thing that drove me ape shit bout stubby last year, come out completely dominating, then half way through we stop doing that and just cruise

its like usain bolt flying out to a huge lead over the first 50 meters, then jogging the last 50 and just holding on

When you score 28 points in the 1st half, defenses will make adjustments. Therefore, what worked in the 1st half may not work as well in the 2nd half. Williams is one of the best DC's in the league. Did people think the Packers would hang 60 on them? On one of the 3 and outs, the Packers threw the ball on all 3 downs. On the other, the Rodgers was sacked on 2nd down. The Packers did not stop throwing the ball in the second half. They did try to run it a bit more because the Saints were playing their safeties deep.

[Lurker64]

So Finley was a hero in the first half, but where did he go in the second?

He was double-covered on almost every play after the first quarter. It really reduced the number of blitzes that the Saints were able to run.

[KYPack]

He was double-covered on almost every play after the first quarter. It really reduced the number of blitzes that the Saints were able to run.

Yeah, I noticed that. They tried to play man on top of the blitzes in the first quarter and had to junk all that shit after repeated burns early on. I would love to see some all-22 film on this game.
William went all zone after the early going. He was playing it real soft on the weak side. Arod was climbing all over the soft weak cover when they got it. I remember one 3rd down to Jordy, the corner was singled up with Jordy. At the snap, the cb was steadily retreating.

Finley is a defense changer, no doubt.

It's happening already.

[King Friday]

watch that return again, i just did

cobb is running as hard as he can. jordy is ahead blocking, lee is moving faster, bush is catching up, quarless, green, and williams are just behind him and keeping up and if you watch real close you can also see crabtree keeping up just behind those 3

I'd love to see what you look like after 90 yards of sprinting...having to accelerate to full speed TWICE in the process. Even the fastest in the game always look run down by the end of a long kickoff return. 100 yards is a hell of a long sprint...that's why world class sprinters look just as athletic as anyone on the planet.

Cobb's top end speed doesn't seem to be elite, but his short bursts of acceleration are pretty impressive.

[mraynrand]

I personally think that KC and Tampa could both be tougher than the Falcons. The Falcons have some talent but last years record record wasn't indicative of their team IMO. But, maybe their luck just won't run out for 10 years like a certain team from Chicago.

I was just talking opponent offense versus Packer defense. NO could be the toughest offense they face all year.

[Harlan Huckleby]

BTW, I heard Korey Hall was a starter for N.O., didn't see him all night.

[mraynrand]

BTW, I heard John Hall was a starter for N.O., didn't see him all night.

The quick start almost completely eliminated any hopes the Saints had of pounding it from a standard I formation.

[Harlan Huckleby]

Is that all he is good for?

[pbmax]

Yeah, I noticed that. They tried to play man on top of the blitzes in the first quarter and had to junk all that shit after repeated burns early on. I would love to see some all-22 film on this game.
William went all zone after the early going. He was playing it real soft on the weak side. Arod was climbing all over the soft weak cover when they got it. I remember one 3rd down to Jordy, the corner was singled up with Jordy. At the snap, the cb was steadily retreating.

Finley is a defense changer, no doubt.

It's happening already.

That's the sign of a good coordinator. Spent an part of an offseason working on this stuff and when it wasn't working, even before the half, said we need to do something different and did it.

Guys like Williams are proud and stubborn but the good one's can still admit they were wrong. That game was just pure fun from a football perspective. I don't know HOW last year's snooze fest out rated it on TV.

[Lurker64]

Guys like Williams are proud and stubborn but the good one's can still admit they were wrong. That game was just pure fun from a football perspective. I don't know HOW last year's snooze fest out rated it on TV.

People tuned in to see the Saints beat up the Vikings QB like they had in the NFCCG.

Are you sure last year got better ratings, though?

[pbmax]

People tuned in to see the Saints beat up the Vikings QB like they had in the NFCCG.

Are you sure last year got better ratings, though?

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/sports/129523338.html

Yep. 17.2 nationally for this year, 17.7 for last year. 3rd best total audience in Primetime for the last 15 years, behind Saints-Vikes in 2010 and Packers-Cowboys in 1996.

[mission]

I heard 60 mil this year and 57 mil last..

[gbgary]

maybe the team should put a shock collar around his neck and when he starts to get complacent maybe someone like rodgers or kevin green can hit the button and give him a little jolt to wake him back up

yup. took his foot off the gas. needed to pile up first downs and get points but he thought a few minutes off the clock was more important. nearly cost him the game. i was hoping he'd got over that. running the ball should be a change of pace call to keep d's honest, a tool in the right situation, a forth option after pass-short, pass-medium, pass-long. we can't get bogged down trying to run when we have a license to kill in our passing game.

[Brandon494]

that's one thing that drove me ape shit bout stubby last year, come out completely dominating, then half way through we stop doing that and just cruise

Thats the one thing I cant stand about MM and why I don't think hes a top 5 coach. I mean the no huddle offense was damn near impossible to stop, why go away from that just because we are up? The Pats and Colts don't take their foot off the pedal with Brady and Manning and we shouldn't either with Rodgers especially against the Saints offense.