Offensive line deteriorating

Discussion in 'New Orleans Saints Forum' started by mctiger, Sep 22, 2013.

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  1. mctiger

    mctiger RIP, and thanks for the music Staff Member

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    The Cardinals have it figured out; they are stacking the line and daring us to throw. Run game is non-existent and the pass blocking is fading fast.
     
    mctiger, Sep 22, 2013
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  2. diamondheadtiger

    diamondheadtiger Founding Member

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    Not a good idea daring Drew to throw.
     
    diamondheadtiger, Sep 22, 2013
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  3. fanatic

    fanatic Habitual Line Stepper

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    They played better in the nd half, but definitely the Achilles heel of the team. First half, in no way, resembled a playoff team, much less a Super Bowl team, but great adjustments by Payton at halftime. The D is for real though. It took them that first series for figure out what the Cardinals were doing, then shut them DOWN the rest of the way. D-line getting pressure without having to blitz. Really impressed with them.
     
    fanatic, Sep 22, 2013
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  4. mctiger

    mctiger RIP, and thanks for the music Staff Member

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    Defense is improving weekly. O-line protected Drew better in the second half, but they barely even attempted to run. The late running success was mostly due to their defense being worn out, IMO.
     
    mctiger, Sep 22, 2013
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  5. fanatic

    fanatic Habitual Line Stepper

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    Good thing is that FailCons lost today too, so we have a 2 game lead on everyone in the division.
     
    fanatic, Sep 22, 2013
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  6. fanatic

    fanatic Habitual Line Stepper

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    Defense is too tired to defend run late in the game and allow us to run out the clock? It's not ideal, but as bad as this line has been so far, I'll take it. We did end up with over 100 yards for the day, but we need to work on our short yardage offense. When you can't even pick up a half a yard on 3rd down is pathetic. Check that - to call it pathetic is too nice.

    But we're 3-0 and have a 2 game lead on everyone in the division, so it's kinda hard to complain.
     
    fanatic, Sep 22, 2013
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  7. mctiger

    mctiger RIP, and thanks for the music Staff Member

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    @fanatic Don't get me wrong; having the opposing defense worn out in the final minutes of the game is awesome. But CSP is right when he talks about the importance of a balanced offense. We're going to see teams down the line where we'll need that running game all day, not just the 4th quarter. But as you say, we're 3-0 and it looks good. There's time to improve.
     
    Last edited: Sep 22, 2013
    mctiger, Sep 22, 2013
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    fanatic likes this.
  8. fanatic

    fanatic Habitual Line Stepper

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    Absolutely agree with you. When we won it all in '09, we were unstoppable because the opposing D had to respect the run and we would play action for big plays. Now, the offense is stagnant at times, like in the first half, because we have no running game. I'd hate to see where this team would be if we didn't have the best QB in the NFL.
     
    fanatic, Sep 22, 2013
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  9. islstl

    islstl Playoff committee is a group of great football men Staff Member

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    Word to the wise. Never post a thread in the middle of the game. Usually comes back to bite you on the backside.

    Saints ended up with 31 points and almost 450 yards of offense. Against a decent defense.

    Concerning the running game, the "Saints Tonight" show last night talked about how Arizona ran a "Bear front", with 5 men constantly on the LOS, the entire first half and part of the 2nd half. They finally backed off of that scheme later and that's when the Saints attacked with the running game, and very successfully (Pierre had a couple of nice runs, Sproles with the 15 yarder and of course Khiry Robinson looked great).

    110 rush yards in the 2nd half.
     
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2013
    islstl, Sep 24, 2013
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  10. fanatic

    fanatic Habitual Line Stepper

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    I saw that too. I think they backed off of it because of the adjustments that were made at half time. Payton said that some of the short passes they ran were an extension of the running game designed to attack that front and force them out of it. Factor those in and we had a lot more then 11o in the 2nd half, even though they were added to Drew's passing yards.
     
    fanatic, Sep 24, 2013
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