Week 8 - Single digit passing attempts team vs. Old Man McGee

[David]

LET HIM THROW

 

Saints haven't looked bad this year. Gonna be a tough game, especially on the road. Win and you're .500 going into the bye, which is pretty good. Lose it and you're 3-5, which is probably better than most expected but not good.

[WrigleyField 22]

The "let him throw" sentiment might be a little overblown. Until the last drive to kill it, I'm counting 50/50 split on run/pass plays. We just weren't really good at passing when we tried 7 PA, 5 scrambles, 4 sacks, 1 penalty. And not very good at running either. So we didn't extend drives and Carolina did. Sure 50/50 is very run heavy in today's environment, but being run heavy is probably our best bet right now.

 

So yea, I want to see him throw, but we aren't very good at it either right now.

[David]

The "let him throw" sentiment might be a little overblown. Until the last drive to kill it, I'm counting 50/50 split on run/pass plays. We just weren't really good at passing when we tried 7 PA, 5 scrambles, 4 sacks, 1 penalty. And not very good at running either. So we didn't extend drives and Carolina did. Sure 50/50 is very run heavy in today's environment, but being run heavy is probably our best bet right now.

 

So yea, I want to see him throw, but we aren't very good at it either right now.

 

Even when they came they seemed to come in very predictable situations (3rd down), but my perception may obviously be off on that.

[NOLA]

Saints have looked really good so far. The defense is much improved with the defensive backfield actually being the strength. Lattimore at CB is close to being an elite CB and Breaux returns next week on the other side. Cam Jordan is having an All Pro type season.

 

Ingram and Kamara at RB have the offense more balanced than it has been in years. Snead and Armstead are back next week, too.

[WrigleyField 22]

The "let him throw" sentiment might be a little overblown. Until the last drive to kill it, I'm counting 50/50 split on run/pass plays. We just weren't really good at passing when we tried 7 PA, 5 scrambles, 4 sacks, 1 penalty. And not very good at running either. So we didn't extend drives and Carolina did. Sure 50/50 is very run heavy in today's environment, but being run heavy is probably our best bet right now.

 

So yea, I want to see him throw, but we aren't very good at it either right now.

 

Even when they came they seemed to come in very predictable situations (3rd down), but my perception may obviously be off on that.

Looks like 3 v 7 pass/run on 1st down prior to the last drive, fwiw.

[David]

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[davell]

The training wheels are going to have to come off now but because the Saints are going to put some points up.

 

Martavis Bryant went right back to complaining again after the game. Not sure if there's any other WR that can be had, but I'd really like Pace to do something.

[minnesotacubsfan]

Bryant just seems like a Keyshawn Johnson w/o the talent (i say w/o knowing much about bryant)

[minnesotacubsfan]

Sell me on mr bryant plz

[Ding Dong Johnson]

Sell me on mr bryant plz

http://bfy.tw/Ectj

[minnesotacubsfan]

So substance abuse but 15 tds in 3 years? Will a 6 rd do?

[Chocolate Milk]

The training wheels are going to have to come off now but because the Saints are going to put some points up.

 

Martavis Bryant went right back to complaining again after the game. Not sure if there's any other WR that can be had, but I'd really like Pace to do something.

I waffle on the WR quality and its impact. Clearly it will have some impact, but how much? The Bears cut Thompson last week and he was the leading receiver for the Bills this week with 100+ yards receiving. I didn't watch the game so maybe he got lucky but I'd like to think if he can get open in Buffalo, he probably could get open in Chicago too.

 

I think the Bears just turtled soon as they got the lead. Mitch was told not to turn over the ball so he was extremely conservative. They pass only when they have to - making it totally obvious to the opposing team. Also the tackles didn't hold up well yesterday from what I saw.

 

What I'm saying is that it's a rich tapestry of suck and I don't think bringing in a guy like Bryant is really going to do anything in the short term.

[minnesotacubsfan]

The training wheels are going to have to come off now but because the Saints are going to put some points up.

 

Martavis Bryant went right back to complaining again after the game. Not sure if there's any other WR that can be had, but I'd really like Pace to do something.

I waffle on the WR quality and its impact. Clearly it will have some impact, but how much? The Bears cut Thompson last week and he was the leading receiver for the Bills this week with 100+ yards receiving. I didn't watch the game so maybe he got lucky but I'd like to think if he can get open in Buffalo, he probably could get open in Chicago too.

 

I think the Bears just turtled soon as they got the lead. Mitch was told not to turn over the ball so he was extremely conservative. They pass only when they have to - making it totally obvious to the opposing team. Also the tackles didn't hold up well yesterday from what I saw.

 

What I'm saying is that it's a rich tapestry of suck and I don't think bringing in a guy like Bryant is really going to do anything in the short term.

 

 

Accute and true, but when you hit wr’s in the hands and they cant catch the ball......

 

I wonder how much of this is Fox/Loggains restricting in-play reads by wr and qb? That could limit what Trubisky reads as he works through progressions.

[We Got The Whole 9]

Warford is out for the Saints. That's really big for our DL.

[raw]

[We Got The Whole 9]

Obviously with the offensive struggles the defense has been put in precarious positions quite often. Our opponents average starting position is the 30.3 yard line; only the 49ers and Broncos have been worse, with the Broncos in a whole other galaxy at 32.5, while SF is right with us at 30.8. So how our defense has responded to that is pretty damn remarkable. We allow scores on 33.8% of drives, which is in the top half of the league and within spitting distance of top 10. We allow 26.3 yards per drive, which is 10th best.

 

Digging deeper we allow just 4.8 yards per offensive play, which is 6th best, while PIT leads at 4.4. We are also 6th in net yards per pass attempt, not quite in the same league as PIT or JAX, but right there with the rest of the top 5. We aren't really at the bottom of any categories, and sit around middle of the pack against the run. We are in the top 10 in sacks as well.

 

A lot to be excited about regarding the defense, which makes the whole season more enjoyable than the last few seasons, at least for me.

[UMFan83]

Think about how incredibly awful and talent devoid our defense was when Pace, Fox and Fangio took over and where it is now.

[raw]

Warford is out for the Saints. That's really big for our DL.

 

Akiem Hicks is playing out of his mind thru 7 weeks. Now, he gets to face the team that drafted and subsequently traded him....and they don't have their best and biggest lineman to block him with. Hicks without extra motivation is in the running for DPOTY, this week should be fun for him.

[Brian]

Think about how incredibly awful and talent devoid our defense was when Pace, Fox and Fangio took over and where it is now.

 

Yeah I was definitely not expecting the defensive turn around to be this fast, hopefully they don't go Angelo and wait till these guys are all past their prime to get an offense.

[jersey cubs fan]

Think about how incredibly awful and talent devoid our defense was when Pace, Fox and Fangio took over and where it is now.

 

Yeah I was definitely not expecting the defensive turn around to be this fast, hopefully they don't go Angelo and wait till these guys are all past their prime to get an offense.

I wouldn't call 3 years in, fast. Especially when they haven't improved the offense at all in that time. 3 drafts and 3 free agent seasons is plenty of time to make a unit above average.

[Thrilho]

Think about how incredibly awful and talent devoid our defense was when Pace, Fox and Fangio took over and where it is now.

 

Yeah I was definitely not expecting the defensive turn around to be this fast, hopefully they don't go Angelo and wait till these guys are all past their prime to get an offense.

I wouldn't call 3 years in, fast. Especially when they haven't improved the offense at all in that time. 3 drafts and 3 free agent seasons is plenty of time to make a unit above average.

It's fast when the most of the defense is filled with young talent, you have key young building blocks at RB and QB, and a solid to upper tier O-line with some youth.

 

It's one thing to turn it around with older FAs or short contract guys but the vast majority of the impact players on the team are young. The offense hasn't clicked partially because the QB just played in his second game, partially because the coach is junk and partially because one group (WR) is holding it back. Fixing one position is pretty easy. The whole rest of the team looks ready to beast and they could probably just resign guys and be good for a while.

 

I think it's time to give Pace some credit.

[minnesotacubsfan]

Think about how incredibly awful and talent devoid our defense was when Pace, Fox and Fangio took over and where it is now.

 

Yeah I was definitely not expecting the defensive turn around to be this fast, hopefully they don't go Angelo and wait till these guys are all past their prime to get an offense.

I wouldn't call 3 years in, fast. Especially when they haven't improved the offense at all in that time. 3 drafts and 3 free agent seasons is plenty of time to make a unit above average.

 

Its an adequate schedule, but its certainly not slow either. Pace and Fangino have methodically and expertly put it together. The worry is the offense lagging.

[jersey cubs fan]

 

Yeah I was definitely not expecting the defensive turn around to be this fast, hopefully they don't go Angelo and wait till these guys are all past their prime to get an offense.

I wouldn't call 3 years in, fast. Especially when they haven't improved the offense at all in that time. 3 drafts and 3 free agent seasons is plenty of time to make a unit above average.

 

Its an adequate schedule, but its certainly not slow either. Pace and Fangino have methodically and expertly put it together. The worry is the offense lagging.

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. They've done fine with the defense, but it hasn't been fast, and they haven't kept pace with the offense.

[Thrilho]

One thing you can't overlook when you talk about the offense is Trubisky. One path a GM could have taken was to keep Cutler, who would now probably be hobbling around the Bears sideline. Then a stop gap back up or maybe some 2-4 round QB, like Kizer or the twice cut already Brad Kaaya.

 

Instead, Pace did what many thought he wouldn't and traded up to get a QB. Then you've got Howard, Cohen, Whitehair, and potentially Shaheen as good young players that have been picked up in in the last couple years. Throw in Meredith too. That's a pretty good pile of guys.

 

And again, key to it all was getting this QB. I think just that will be as important as a handful potential defensive impact players. I've been out of the country so I've only seen highlights of the last two and can't totally comment on how Trubisky has looked, but nothing that happened these two weeks was going to change my opinion much anyway. I think he'll be real good and then the concept of Pace not stocking the offense should go away in fairly short order. It may take til next year to get a top half of the league offense but with a couple receivers this will be a top offense too, I personally think, and with most of this same personnel.

[jersey cubs fan]

One thing you can't overlook when you talk about the offense is Trubisky. One path a GM could have taken was to keep Cutler, who would now probably be hobbling around the Bears sideline. Then a stop gap back up or maybe some 2-4 round QB, like Kizer or the twice cut already Brad Kaaya.

He could have kept Cutler and drafted Trubisky.