Random Thoughts™ on the Saints playoff game

[HawksSoc]

My random thought for the thread, does anyone else get a lil awed/intimidated watching Earl Thomas play football? He may not be as big as Kam but the dude just radiates hostility and anger on the field towards the other team, it rolls off him in waves. Its absolutely beautiful lol, what a player.

 

[Laloosh]

Thanks for the post, Kearly.

Curious if you think the sudden departure of Harvin completely threw a wrench in the game plan. Seemed like the offense reverted to it's less than amazing self as soon as he was out.

Also, that first little swing pass to Harvin to start him off seemed very telegraphed to me. Though I thought it was beneficial in other plays when they faked that to Harvin then handed the ball off to Lynch or Turbin up the middle. Both got a couple of nice cut backs for good yardage out of it.

 

[drdiags]

Random thought I had. Did anyone catch why Wilson decided to tuck and run up the gut when he had Harvin off to the right with 2 WRs vs 2 DBs with a lot of green grass in front mid-field?

There was a DE coming upfield but Harvin had no one around within 10 yds.

 

[mrblitz]

to me, the thing with bevell always seems to be borderline about the execution. is he a bad play caller, or is the offense failing to execute?

russell could have been more accurate.

on defense, we could have had more interceptions.

the run game picked up today, so that was huge.

superbowl all the way baby!

 

[mrblitz]

and you're right, hawkssoc... thomas is a special player.

 

[Hawkscanner]

I gotta admit Kip that my first gut/visceral reaction was basically the same as yours. Personally, I'm feeling fairly anxious about the offense at this point in time. New Orleans had the exact same obstacles as we did -- and look at what Drew Brees and that passing attack was able to do in the 2nd Half.

Percy Harvin (for the first 2 quarters) was as advertised and it looked like we might get a semblance of a passing game going. After he went out however, things really got bogged down again with the WR's. I believe it was Tim Hasselbeck who said that the majority of the problems associated with the offense has to do with the WR's and their inability to get separation. We certainly saw that in this game, as Wilson couldn't find anyone open after Harvin went down. I hate to be a Henny Penny here, but I'm not feeling very good about our chances if Harvin isn't able to go somehow.

For those who are wondering what Percy has to go through before he's cleared to play, here is an article from NFL.com explaining the 2013 NFL Protocols for Concussions ...

The initial treatment is rest, and the team doctors and athletic trainers begin monitoring to see when a player appears to have returned to baseline functioning. Do symptoms return when a player watches practice or when he watches film? Is there return of symptoms with physical activity?

Once symptoms have completely subsided, the player again performs more comprehensive neuropsychological tests interpreted by the team neuropsychologist. There are no pass-fail grades, only additional data for physicians to consider.

If the player is progressing, he would be become eligible for increased physical activity. The workouts would ramp up over a few days if no symptoms occur.

A player feeling normal one day after the game might pass cognitive testing Tuesday and begin a light exercise program, intensify their exercise routine Wednesday, participate in non-contact aspects of practice on Thursday and return to full practice Friday. But if a player has a history of concussions or isn't progressing as quickly as planned, the process moves accordingly.

The medical team increases the exercise regimen to full speed as the player proves he can handle the escalation without incident. Some teams stage controlled contact drills featuring, for example, one lineman blocking another the way they would in an unpadded practice.

"The thing that I think is important here is you don't manage concussions by a calendar," Dr. Herring said. "Some guys may come back in a week. Some guys may come back in six weeks. These steps don't have an expiration date on them. The player's history of injury and other issues come into play."

Once a team doctor signs off on a player's return, the player is evaluated in person by an unaffiliated concussion expert physician approved by both the NFL and NFL Players Association. This unaffiliated expert also must sign off on the player's health before he is allowed to return to play.

Source:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap20...ls-2013-protocol-for-players-with-concussions

There's a chance that Harvin can play next week, but there is no specific calendar or timetable on that, as Harvin's own medical history is going to come in to play here. If he's had a history of concussions, then he may very well be out for the NFCCG. If not and it looks like he's progressing well, he could very well play. We'll see.

Almost a bigger issue for me right now is Russell Wilson himself. I don't know what the heck is going on, but many of his throws were off target today. We've seen him be off target on many occasions over the past several weeks. I don't know what exactly he's got to do but I do know this ... if we can't get at least some semblance of passing game going, then I don't feel very good about our chances next week. I want to be wrong here -- please make me eat some crow there Russell.

 

[BobcatHawk]

Almost a bigger issue for me right now is Russell Wilson himself. I don't know what the heck is going on, but many of his throws were off target today. We've seen him be off target on many occasions over the past several weeks. I don't know what exactly he's got to do but I do know this ... if we can't get at least some semblance of passing game going, then I don't feel very good about our chances next week. I want to be wrong here -- please make me eat some crow there Russell.

I honestly believe that Russell is playing hurt and has been doing so for the past few weeks. Something's off.

 

[RolandDeschain]

Almost a bigger issue for me right now is Russell Wilson himself. I don't know what the heck is going on, but many of his throws were off target today. We've seen him be off target on many occasions over the past several weeks. I don't know what exactly he's got to do but I do know this ... if we can't get at least some semblance of passing game going, then I don't feel very good about our chances next week. I want to be wrong here -- please make me eat some crow there Russell.

He's in the process of being ruined by long-term poor pass protection, just like Marc Bulger when he was a Ram.

 

[scutterhawk]

I have to be honest with you, I took this journey in '05 and it sucked. No one remembers '05 completely fondly because of what happened at the end of it. Or '96 for the Sonics fans out there. Or '01 for the Mariners fans out there. Losing sucks whether it comes in the regular season or in the playoffs. I am tired of it. I want a championship.

I wasn't alive for '78, so I haven't seen a championship winning team ever. It's beyond old.

Ever think that maybe you hung your hopes and pride on the wrong team for the last ten Years or so?
Jeebus :177692:

 

[olyfan63]

Almost a bigger issue for me right now is Russell Wilson himself. I don't know what the heck is going on, but many of his throws were off target today. We've seen him be off target on many occasions over the past several weeks. I don't know what exactly he's got to do but I do know this ... if we can't get at least some semblance of passing game going, then I don't feel very good about our chances next week. I want to be wrong here -- please make me eat some crow there Russell.

I honestly believe that Russell is playing hurt and has been doing so for the past few weeks. Something's off.

That's my take too. Wilson is concussed, or hurt, or something... but the team isn't talking. Wilson hasn't been himself for over a month.

Wilson also doesn't have Sidney Rice anymore, and that doesn't help. Rice knew Bevell's offense inside out and drew #1 cover guys. Russell misses Sidney more than we realize.

 

[Exittium]

I think the BIGGEST reason is he's missing Sidney, because Sid used to draw some extra guys at times that would get Tate or DB open. Other times Wilson had that trust in rice to toss it up for him.. Now with out rice he's slightly regressed.

 

[Hawks46]

Tate got dinged in the head. He might have escaped the doctors, but the effects showed afterwards.

The Saints coaches were congratulating Bush after his cheap shot on Harvin. Bush league bullshit. IDK why he can't be back next week, concussion protocol is 6 days, with some practice allowed. I always kind of liked the Saints, but not after that shit today.

Didn't Keenan Lews get a concussion last week against the Eagles? He played today, on a day less rest then we'll have.

But look at how long Welker was out with the Broncos. No guarantee that he will be cleared in 6 days. Need him back big time but that rust is there between him and Wilson.

That wasn't the league, that was the Broncos shutting down Welker the rest of the regular season as he had multiple concussions this year and they had a stranglehold on the division and likely the 1 seed.

 

[Seanhawk]

Listening to Russell's post game presser, one thing really bothered me. One reported directly asked him about the 3 or 4 slant passes that he missed on and Russell did say they were on him, but also said that they were "no big deal" in the end. Sorry, but they were a huge deal! They all came on 3 and short to medium distances. They were huge plays Russell, you gotta convert those!

He never said "no big deal". He said it was something he needed to work on and he wasn't worried about it.

 

[Throwdown]

Gotta agree with most of what you said Kearly. Crazy breaks today all seemed to favor the Saints and we still won, which is great. However, the offense has just not been the same since we played the Saints the first time. Russell has been very inconsistent and the WRs have been unspectacular. I really hope that Percy can play next week or else we will be in trouble as the offense has become a HUGE liability.

Listening to Russell's post game presser, one thing really bothered me. One reported directly asked him about the 3 or 4 slant passes that he missed on and Russell did say they were on him, but also said that they were "no big deal" in the end. Sorry, but they were a huge deal! They all came on 3 and short to medium distances. They were huge plays Russell, you gotta convert those!

No big deal as in "they don't matter now", games over and we won. I agree with Russell on that.

But I can't help but shake the feeling that we got lucky that Colston is a dumb dumb... GOD! The sigh of relief I let out felt so good.

 

[sedrohawk]

i will say this that this was a strange game to watch it seems most breaks went against us in this one. maybe it was karma for everything going right for us in the first game. if breno doesn't get called for holding on that long turbo run or if russell throws to percy on that simple screen pass or if our db's come down with those int's were looking at a blowout in this game.

 

[Smelly McUgly]

I have to be honest with you, I took this journey in '05 and it sucked. No one remembers '05 completely fondly because of what happened at the end of it. Or '96 for the Sonics fans out there. Or '01 for the Mariners fans out there. Losing sucks whether it comes in the regular season or in the playoffs. I am tired of it. I want a championship.

I wasn't alive for '78, so I haven't seen a championship winning team ever. It's beyond old.

Ever think that maybe you hung your hopes and pride on the wrong team for the last ten Years or so?
Jeebus :177692:

Don't be thick in the head. I don't hang my hopes and pride on sports teams. On the other hand, I want to watch a championship team at least once in awhile if I'm going to watch sports. Crazy, I know!

Some of you people are so shook. "Someone criticized my favorite football team, so it's like they're criticizing me personally!" It'll be okay, snowflake. You can take it.

 

[CornerHawk]

Wait, so we're knocking Lynch for scoring a game-salting TD and we're knocking Harvin for being concussed by intentional head shots?! I must confess, I don't get it. Of all the things to focus on...

Problem was, the TD didn't actually seal the victory. It gave the ball back to Brees and Co. so that they had a chance with a score and a recovered onside kick.

If Marshawn goes down at the 1, we can run off the last 1:11 just by kneeling. Saints were out of timeouts; game over. Admittedly, it's not as dramatic as the TD, but it does secure the victory.

Did they decide to let Lynch score? Rather than run the clock out.

 

[sc85sis]

I guess some guys get off on a team getting talked about in the media a ton. If that's great for you, good. I guess some guys love regular season wins a lot. If that's great for you, good. Personally, I have had 30+ years of all my favorite teams never winning a championship and being the best at their sport, so that other stuff you mentioned is old hat for me. But if "Hey, we got mentioned more often on ESPN!" is the highlight of your sports fandom, I'll give you a slow clap.

I don't know if even Jesus can help you with that loser outlook you have going, but you can ask Him for help, I guess.

I'm a USC fan who is used to winning historically, and winning a hell of a lot under Pete. I agree with Si. Getting to the Super Bowl is incredibly difficult. It takes both skill and a dose of luck. Yes, it is the ultimate goal, but to say a season is a failure if you don't get there, and then win, negates all the steps it takes to get there. Why even bother playing the regular season? Just draw straws and whoever wins goes to the Super Bowl! Is Largent a failure? Tez? Big Walt? How about Dan Marino? Barry Sanders?

Control what you can control. Enjoy what you have.

 

[MontanaHawk05]

He's in the process of being ruined by long-term poor pass protection, just like Marc Bulger when he was a Ram.

So how do you explain the first Saints game? He looked great in the pocket just six weeks ago.

 

[Evil_Shenanigans]

A few observations. Our recieving corps is banged up to say the very least. That they are now even more so doesn't help. Kearse is not 100%, Harvin isn't, and now he and Tate may also be concussed. So the lack of separation is to be expected to some extent. Unfortunately i think the playcalling reflects the personnel deficits Bevell has to contend with. Thank God for the Beast! Wilson hasn't been playing his best football lately, that much is clear. So to that extent I agree with some of the comments being posted today. Factor in mother nature and a pretty good New Orleans defense and our passing game becomes the whipping boy. They limited their penalties, gave up no turnovers and controlled the clock pretty well, so damage control was otherwise a positive.

Defensively we were as oppressive as ever... for thee quarters. A lot of missed opportunities on D yesterday though. Again the weather may have been more of an issue than any of us know? One thing that concerns me is the frequency with which our db's are taking each other out like high school infielder's going for a fly ball. It happened twice yesterday and at least once in the Rams game, nearly taking out Sherm and Earl. Something to work on. Letting teams back into games in the fourth quarter is also an issue. I can't put my finger on it exactly but it lost us the game in ATL last year, and it has happened more than once this year. Could be conservatism, could be bad coaching, could be fitness. But it's something to work on.

Special teams were on point yesterday aside the Tate miscue. Hauschka has been great since the Cards game. Glad he got that out of his system. It would be nice to have two healthy returners,but as of right now we have none except for Turbin? So thats a concern, and another reason to get our offense on track!

We won a tough game, against a tough opponent. Did it ugly, did it when it mattered, and we are moving on!

Go Hawks!