Category: Dennis Allen

7 takeaways from the Saints’ tough loss vs. Steelers

Andy Dalton, Saints offense looked hapless on Sunday. 7 takeaways from the 20-10 loss vs. the Steelers, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

Yet another tough loss for the New Orleans Saints, this time on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Saints will drop to 3-7 and therefore their postseason outlook, even in a hapless NFC South division, appears all the more bleak. New Orleans was again out-possessed on offense by more than fifteen minutes for the second week in a row and the same old tune can be sung about their struggles. Penalties, inefficiency on offense, coaching and injuries all share their part of the blame in the team’s seventh loss, leaving them just one loss away from last year’s total.

This is a team that was supposed to be better than last season’s/ A revamped roster, a familiar face at head coach and a schedule packed with inexperienced quarterbacks with their opponent’s teams. Instead, the Saints and head coach Dennis Allen look to be on a crash course to finish well beneath their expectations. What can save their season? A unified approach is a good place to start, but it all starts and ends with coaching and quarterback play. Two areas where the Saints have struggled and that open up our seven takeaways from Sunday’s 20-10 loss to the Steelers.

2 of Dennis Allen’s 11 career wins have come against Mike Tomlin’s Steelers

Here’s a stat for you: 2 of Dennis Allen’s 11 career wins as a head coach have come against Mike Tomlin’s Steelers, his Week 10 opponent

Here’s a stat for you. While Dennis Allen has only won 11 of his 45 games in the NFL as a head coach, he’s taken down Mike Tomlin’s Pittsburgh Steelers twice back when he was coaching the Raiders. Now he’ll get another shot when Allen’s New Orleans Saints team flies out to visit Pittsburgh in Week 10.

So what gives? Did Allen just figure out the perfect formula for handling Tomlin’s team? Let’s take a look at each of those meetings to see whether anything might carry over.

First, back in 2012, we saw the Steelers kick off against the Raiders in Oakland — and they controlled that game for much of the afternoon, going into the fourth quarter with a 10-point lead. But Allen’s defense shut down the Steelers offense in the final quarter, and a last-second field goal from Sebastian Janikowski sealed the 34-31 win. Pittsburgh had a good day on third down (converting 8 of 14 tries, plus both of their fourth down opportunities) and Ben Roethlisberger threw for 384 yards and 4 touchdown passes, only being sacked once. The Raiders had possession of the ball for just 23 minutes and 45 seconds in the game.

A year later, again in Oakland, the Steelers lost 21-18 but in vastly different circumstances. The Raiders scored all of their points in the first half, limiting Pittsburgh to just 3 points through the first three quarters. A furious fourth-quarter scoring output gave them a shot, but a botched punt return sequence set the Steelers offense up at their own 3-yard line without any timeouts. Allen’s defense showed up for this game, holding the Steelers offense to just 4-of-15 on third downs and sacking Roethlisberger 5 times while intercepting him twice. The Raiders offense ran at will with Terrelle Pryor (106 rushing yards and a touchdown run) and Darren McFadden (73 rushing yards with a pair of touchdown runs), throwing for just 88 passing yards.

So, no, there isn’t much to glean from this. And so much has changed over the decade since these games that it’s tough to take away much of it when forecasting this week’s Saints-Steelers game. Kenny Pickett is Pittsburgh’s quarterback now, and the Allen has a defense flush with more talent than he worked with on the Raiders now in New Orleans. Let’s see if he can make the most of it and recapture some of that success.

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Dennis Allen’s Saints team looks a little too much like his old Raiders squads

Dennis Allen’s Saints team looks a little too much like his old Raiders squads. He’s started out with a 3-6 record for the third time in four years as a head coach:

You don’t want to simplify things too much in a sport as complicated as pro football, but at the end of the day you are who your record says you are. And Dennis Allen’s New Orleans Saints team is looking a little too much like his old Raiders teams. Allen’s Saints fell to 3-6 on the season with an embarrassing loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night, and it’s the third time he’s started a season with that record in four years as a head coach.

See for yourself. Here are Allen’s records through nine games in each of his four stints as a head coach in the NFL:

  • 2012 Raiders: 3-6 (finished 4-12)
  • 2013 Raiders: 3-6 (finished 4-12)
  • 2014 Raiders: 0-9 (Allen was fired after starting 0-4, and the Raiders finished at 3-13 without him)
  • 2022 Saints: 3-6 (final record to be determined)

So that’s not encouraging. These Saints teams are far more talented than the squads Allen worked with on the Raiders, but it’s worth noting Hue Jackson took them to an 8-8 record the year before Allen was hired. So it’s not as disparate of circumstances as you’d think at first glance.

What’s to be done about it? Nothing yet. The Saints have eight games left on their schedule and there’s nothing to suggest they’ll make a change in-season. Allen is going to ride out this year, and likely next season, too. Obviously that could change in a hurry, and it probably should — Saints owner Gayle Benson okayed the decision to jettison former New Orleans Pelicans head coach Stan Van Gundy after his one year on the job proved he wasn’t the right fit. Maybe the Saints will take a similar approach if Allen continues to lose games with what they all thought was a playoff-ready roster. We’ll just have to wait and see.

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7 takeaways from the Saints’ Week 8 win vs. Raiders

The Saints rediscovered their swagger in shutout fashion on Sunday. 7 takeaways from their win vs. the Las Vegas Raiders, via @RossJacksonNOLA:

It was the first New Orleans Saints shutout since last year’s 9-0 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as they blanked the Las Vegas Raiders 24-0. This performance can be the one looked back upon in a few months if the Saints manage to turn things around successfully following their 2-5 start. Offensively, New Orleans operated near-flawlessly, the defense was at its most-stout all season and sans a missed field goal all special teams units operated with reliability. As complete a game seen by the team this season headlines six takeaways from the big win in the Big Easy.

Dennis Allen cautions against ‘microwave society’ of instant results after 2-5 start

Dennis Allen cautioned against a ‘microwave society’ of instant results, giving his team the weekend off after their lackadaisical 2-5 start:

It’s starting to feel like we’re piling on Dennis Allen, but the New Orleans Saints head coach isn’t doing himself any favors with more perplexing decisions and off-putting quotes in his press conferences. On Friday, Allen told local media that he’s sent players home for the weekend after a Thursday night loss to the Arizona Cardinals, opting to give them time to heal up and recharge before returning to a normal workweek on Monday.

Is that really the right call after a 2-5 start to the season, in which the Saints have lost multiple games to self-inflicted wounds? Missed tackles, penalties, turnovers, dropped passes, and gaffes in run defense discipline have defined the first few months of Allen’s tenure.

Allen did say that his players’ health is a priority, and it makes sense to take it easier on guys managing injuries: six starters and last year’s first round draft pick were banged up and unavailable against Arizona, with a couple of other players exiting the game with new injuries. But even if the Saints are down 8 or 9 players who can’t practice right now, there are still 60 other guys on the active roster and practice squad who need those reps. Instead of working on their craft with their coaches they’ll be training alone or kicking it at the house with their family and friends.

Time is running out. There is a lot to clean up, sure, but this can’t be stressed enough: the Saints only have 10 games left on their schedule, and if they go .500 from here on out (something they haven’t been able to manage) they’ll end up with a 7-10 record. So when Allen steps up to the podium and mouths off with something like “I think we all live in a microwave society where we want to see things changed right way,” while adding there’s no “magic pill or formula” that could change things overnight, it reads like a tell: he and his staff didn’t put enough work in from the first place, and now they’re reaping what they’ve sewn.

What message is this sending, exactly? When previously asked how the team was practicing accountability with so many things going the wrong way, Allen downplayed the criticism without offering an answer. If he isn’t changing the coaches calling plays or adjusting the lineup to take players liable for negative plays off the field, and instead giving everyone three days off after another mistake-filled loss, then how is anyone being held accountable?

The word we keep coming back to is lackadaisical. It means careless, lazy, unenthusiastic, and lacking determination, and that lines up with what we’ve seen from Allen’s team this year. They opened training camp at a low intensity level, and now that the chips are down and we’re almost halfway into the season, there still isn’t any sense of urgency surrounding the team. For what feels like the millionth time we’re saying this, they must get to work in a hurry and clean up those mistakes. That’s hard to do when you’re choosing to send everyone home after losing five of your first seven games.

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Dennis Allen had the worst halftime advice after Andy Dalton’s 3-interception meltdown

Dennis Allen had the worst halftime advice after Andy Dalton’s 3-interception meltdown against the Cardinals:

Things looked to be going well for the New Orleans Saints before halftime on Thursday night against the Arizona Cardinals. They were tied up 14-14 on the road, with a couple of minutes until the half and several timeouts to work with. Veteran quarterback Andy Dalton was under center ready to lead the two-minute offense with (as Amazon broadcaster Kirk Herbstreit weirdly insisted throughout the game) his calming presence.

Then Dalton threw a pass to wide receiver Marquez Callaway, which slipped through his hands and was interceped. The Cardinals defense returned it 38 yards for a touchdown. That’s painful, but not impossible to overcome. Reset and reload and try again — and then Dalton threw another pick-six, this one traveling back 56 yards for another defensive touchdown. It took 102 seconds of game time for the Saints to fall behind by multiple scores, their defense never even hitting the field.

It was his third interception in a first-half meltdown. Amazon sideline reporter Kaylee Hartung caught up with Saints head coach Dennis Allen as led his team out of the tunnel after halftime, and asked what advice he shared with his quarterback after a horrendous series. And he said maybe the worst possible thing he could have thought of in the moment.

“Nothing, just keep doing what’s he doing, you know?” Allen responded after watching his quarterback throw three interceptions in a single half of football. He thought for a moment, then added to his message: “Compete. Come out here and fight and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Okay, the coach speak at the end isn’t that bad. But what on Earth compelled him to double down (triple down? quadruple down?) on seeing such bad football? Why say that? At best it suggests he’s not getting caught up with the negative plays, choosing to trust the process and let his players play. At worst it says he’s really not concerned about it and dodging accountability in a big spot. It’s a terrible look either way.

But it’s not like the Saints have better options. Dalton is starting in place of the injured Jameis Winston, who also threw three interceptions the last time he conducted New Orleans’ offense. Neither of them are good options, and we know Taysom Hill isn’t going to hold down the full-time quarterback job, either. The Saints are in a really difficult spot, and Allen’s lackadaisical approach to times of crisis like this is beginning to define his tenure as head coach. Hopefully he’ll think of something better to say next time.

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Dennis Allen says he’s ‘confident’ in Jameis Winston, not ready for QB change

When asked whether he’d consider changing quarterbacks after Sunday’s loss, Dennis Allen voiced confidence in Jameis Winston, saying everyone needs to improve:

It’s been a rougher start to the 2022 season than anyone anticipated. The New Orleans Saints are 1-2, and Jameis Winston has thrown more interceptions (5) than touchdown passes (4) in his first three games. He’s fumbled a couple of snaps from under center and was just shut out in the first half by the Carolina Panthers, tying the number of first-half shutouts the Saints experienced with Drew Brees at the helm for 228 games.

But Dennis Allen isn’t ready to make a change, despite having invested in a veteran backup plan during the offseason. He made it clear that Winston, not Andy Dalton, remains his starting quarterback after Sunday’s game.

“There’s enough mistakes to go around that I don’t really want to go there,” Allen said when asked if he’d consider making a change at quarterback. “I feel confident with Jameis, certainly we all need to do better.”

Sure, there is a lot of blame to go around. Pete Carmichael’s play calling has had no rhyme or rhythm. Incomplete passes on first down are followed by short gains on the ground on second down, and then the Saints are stuck consistently facing third downs with six, seven, or eight yards to go. He’s increasing the degree of difficulty for everyone involved. Mental errors across the board — missed tackles on defense, penalties on special teams, miscues on offense — are costing this team games.

It’s really tough to be hard on Winston when he’s battling so many injuries. The ankle issue that limited him in training camp has flared up again, and he’s wearing four layers of padding to protect the fractured vertebrae in his back. Beyond the ways those issues are impacting his throwing mechanics, the constant, passing level of pain has to be influencing his mentals.

Still, he has to play better. It’s one thing if Winston is going through the normal struggles that come with inexperience in a system. It’s something else if he’s managing injuries that are impacting his performance. When he’s playing poorly and playing hurt, and his head coach isn’t ready to pull him out of action for his own good, it erodes a lot of the goodwill that Allen cultivated over the summer.

The Saints offense has too much talent, on paper, to be so mediocre in so many different phases. They can’t consistently create big plays through the air. They aren’t multiple enough to threaten teams horizontally. Winston has had three years to practice with Alvin Kamara and still can’t throw him a catchable football four or five yards away from the line of scrimmage, which is the sort of easy checkdown that quarterbacks around the league envy.

Would Dalton be more productive than Winston? Probably not, or he wouldn’t be looking for work as a backup in the first place. But he may be a better fit in the offense the Saints want to run that Winston has been so far. Dalton can at least get Kamara going and keep a cool head on critical downs. He can read the pressure pre-snap and adjust protections to account for it. Winston spent Sunday afternoon getting chased around because the Panthers learned he couldn’t, or wouldn’t, account for overload blitzes.

Winston is limited by his injuries. He’s also limited by his flaws as a quarterback. If Allen can’t see it, fine — but his opponents are, and they’re one botched Falcons fourth quarter away from an 0-3 start to their season.

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WATCH: Dennis Allen’s first postgame locker room speech as Saints head coach

WATCH: Dennis Allen’s first postgame locker room speech as Saints head coach

This is really cool to see. The New Orleans Saints shared video from their locker room after defeating the Atlanta Falcons in a record-setting fourth-quarter comeback, putting a lens on Dennis Allen’s first postgame speech to his team.

“I couldn’t be more proud of you guys for the way you fought and battled and competed, all the way to the very end,” Allen said, before pivoting to what’s next: a tough film study session on Monday. The Saints were only able to overcome a 26-10 deficit because they fell into it in the first place. They made a lot of mistakes and committed some self-inflected damage. There’s plenty to learn from and clean up as the season begins in earnest.

But Demario Davis stopped Allen before he stepped away to hand him a game ball in recognition of his first win as their full-time head coach. It was a great moment, and Allen used it to hammer home one of his core messages.

“It’s a big team, and a little ‘me’,” Allen responded, to drive that point home. “Everybody’s getting one.” The team gathered tight for one last cheer and then broke the huddle so they could clean up and gather their gear. They had a flight back to New Orleans to catch.

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Dennis Allen had the perfect take on thrilling Saints-Falcons fourth quarter

Dennis Allen had the perfect take on a thrilling Saints-Falcons fourth quarter, but he knows the toughest work is still ahead:

It’s not every day that you see a team rally from a 16-point deficit with about 12 minutes left in regulation, but that does seem to happen to the New Orleans Saints more often than most teams. And it’s what Dennis Allen experienced in his first game as the team’s full-time head coach, which he acknowledged after the 27-26 thriller concluded.

“I hope they are all not like that,” Allen deadpanned to reporters during his postgame media availability, reflecting on the intense late-game dramatics. He watched his offense struggle to move the ball for three quarters only to explode in the game’s final phase, with his defense coming up big in a few spots after being run over by the Falcons rushing attack. He was understandably exhausted.

Still, he recognized that the toughest work is still ahead. When asked about his comments to the team after their all-too-close win, Allen said that it’s important to “Enjoy the win but have tough skin tomorrow.” The team’s travel schedule typically sees them fly back from Atlanta to New Orleans late Sunday evening, regrouping Monday for a brief walkthrough practice and film study in positional meetings.

It’s impressive that the Saints rallied back from such a big deficit, but it would have been better to avoid that situation to begin with. They’ll get to work quickly on cleaning up their mistakes and addressing the vulnerabilities Atlanta exploited. Reviewing everyone’s work is the first step in that process.

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