Evil_Shenanigans
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The Saints game has left a lot of folks pointing fingers and proposing a lot of “what if “scenarios. Aside from the last 7:30 of the game we had held them to 8 points and essentially eliminated their number one receiver from the game. Up until that point the offense had done a pretty respectable (not great, but respectable) job of moving the ball and the defense had done a good job of keeping Monsieur Brees in check. But then all of a sudden it was as though someone had thrown a switch and a series of miscues ensued to nearly end the season. So what happened, and what do we differently the next time were in that situation to eliminate the miscues?
7:23 to go Q4- What if Kam Chancellor catches that interception? Nothing to do here, Kam played it beautifully. Had he caught it, the momentum shift would have been huge and the game would likely have been over.
5:03 to go Q4- What if Chris Clemons hadn’t drawn that (questionable) holding penalty? Nothing to do here, Clemons got called on the most ticky tack holding call of the game. I thought he played Ingram well on this play. Had it not been called it would have likely ended the drive. Instead it gave them a drive sustaining first down.
4:30 to go Q4- What if Earl Thomas hadn’t tipped that interception straight into the hands of Robert Meechum? This one IMO we could do something about. Maxwell was in position to make the interception and he likely would have, ending the game. Instead it gave them a 52 yard reception to sustain the drive. IMO Earl should have played off on this one. This has happened more than once recently and it nearly took he and Sherman out of a game. Problem is its easy for guys like me to say he should have backed off, but I would guarantee that they are being coached to do exactly what he did.
2:40 to go Q4- What if Marshawn Lynch had slid, instead of scoring? Had he not run it in on that otherwise epic run and stopped short of the goal the game may very likely have been over. Saints were out of Timeouts and we would have had a first and goal with no way for them to stop the clock. But…I am not foolish enough to think you will EVER persuade Marshawn Lynch to not score when the opportunity presents itself.
1:03 to go Q4- What if Earl Thomas had layed off instead of nutting himself on Kam’s forearm? Likely nothing to do here, Kam had already done the job on Graham. As it was, Earl put himself out of the game for a play. See above. Earl is a monster out there and expecting him not to go for the ball in a situation like that is never going to happen.
:26 to go Q4- What if Earl had not nutted himself on the play above? He jumped for it, but came up short of stopping the ball from Finding Colston in the endzone. Nothing to do here either, Colston did a great job of getting in between Earl and Sherman, and Brees put it right on the money.
:26 to go Q4- What if Golden Tate had caught the onside kick? Game over. Not really much to work on here. I am sure the hands team practices on-side kicks, likely even in the rain. But you are never going to be able to simulate the pressure of a playoff game, combined with the rain, the wind, the crowd etc. 9 times out of ten Tater handles this one.
7:23 to go Q4- What if Kam Chancellor catches that interception? Nothing to do here, Kam played it beautifully. Had he caught it, the momentum shift would have been huge and the game would likely have been over.
5:03 to go Q4- What if Chris Clemons hadn’t drawn that (questionable) holding penalty? Nothing to do here, Clemons got called on the most ticky tack holding call of the game. I thought he played Ingram well on this play. Had it not been called it would have likely ended the drive. Instead it gave them a drive sustaining first down.
4:30 to go Q4- What if Earl Thomas hadn’t tipped that interception straight into the hands of Robert Meechum? This one IMO we could do something about. Maxwell was in position to make the interception and he likely would have, ending the game. Instead it gave them a 52 yard reception to sustain the drive. IMO Earl should have played off on this one. This has happened more than once recently and it nearly took he and Sherman out of a game. Problem is its easy for guys like me to say he should have backed off, but I would guarantee that they are being coached to do exactly what he did.
2:40 to go Q4- What if Marshawn Lynch had slid, instead of scoring? Had he not run it in on that otherwise epic run and stopped short of the goal the game may very likely have been over. Saints were out of Timeouts and we would have had a first and goal with no way for them to stop the clock. But…I am not foolish enough to think you will EVER persuade Marshawn Lynch to not score when the opportunity presents itself.
1:03 to go Q4- What if Earl Thomas had layed off instead of nutting himself on Kam’s forearm? Likely nothing to do here, Kam had already done the job on Graham. As it was, Earl put himself out of the game for a play. See above. Earl is a monster out there and expecting him not to go for the ball in a situation like that is never going to happen.
:26 to go Q4- What if Earl had not nutted himself on the play above? He jumped for it, but came up short of stopping the ball from Finding Colston in the endzone. Nothing to do here either, Colston did a great job of getting in between Earl and Sherman, and Brees put it right on the money.
:26 to go Q4- What if Golden Tate had caught the onside kick? Game over. Not really much to work on here. I am sure the hands team practices on-side kicks, likely even in the rain. But you are never going to be able to simulate the pressure of a playoff game, combined with the rain, the wind, the crowd etc. 9 times out of ten Tater handles this one.
