Tag: review

Saints free agent report card: Was Nathan Shepherd a good veteran signing?

Our next New Orleans Saints 2023 free agent report card: Was Nathan Shepherd a good veteran signing at defensive tackle?

Few positions looked as different last season compared to the year before as the New Orleans Saints’ defensive tackles. With their position coach leaving for a promotion, the Saints allowed the entire group to test free agency while bringing in veteran replacements and spending their top draft pick on a new centerpiece.

So how did they perform individually? We’re keeping our 2023 Saints free agent report card series going after reviewing Foster Moreau and Jamaal Williams. Which leads us to the next question: was Nathan Shepherd a good veteran signing at defensive tackle?

What went right, what went wrong for the Saints in 2023

What went right and what went wrong for the New Orleans Saints in 2023? And what’s the bottom line? Taking a look back before moving on to 2024:

You can’t move forward without learning from the mistakes in your past — and at the same time, the New Orleans Saints made some good decisions and did enough things well to end the 2023 season with a winning record. That can’t be overlooked (though it can certainly be overrated, which we’ll get to in a bit).

So with the calendar turning over to 2024, we’re taking a look back at the 2023 campaign to see what went right, what went wrong, and settle on the bottom line; as well as previewing what comes next for a Saints team that insists they’re closer to making some noise in the playoffs than many critics believe:

Dennis Allen won his first challenge of the 2023 season, but it didn’t count

Dennis Allen won his first challenge of the 2023 season in Week 18, but it didn’t count. Still, the Saints will take it, and the points that came with it:

Dennis Allen can’t even get credit for winning a challenge. The New Orleans Saints head coach was 0-for-3 on challenges going into Week 18’s regular season finale with the Atlanta Falcons, but he rightfully pulled out the red challenge flag early in Sunday’s contest.

Rookie Saints running back Kendre Miller rumbled into the end zone, eluding half a dozen Falcons defenders, but the officiating crew on the field initially said he was stopped short of the goal line. Allen challenged that result, and the play was overturned — but that’s thanks to an instant replay review from the NFL’s home office in New York, which radioed in the correct call at the same time.

Look, no one is complaining about this, but we have to acknowledge it’s at least a little funny. Allen has deservedly drawn a lot of criticism. That he hasn’t even won a coach’s challenge by Week 18 speaks for itself. And the fact that he would have finally got in the win column there against Atlanta is notable.

But we’ll take the points, and the extra challenge. Referee John Hussey agreed that this wouldn’t count as an official challenge from Allen so he still had both of his challenges for the rest of the game. Miller’s touchdown run helped tie things up with Atlanta, and it all broke out in New Orleans’ favor.

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Studs and Duds from Saints’ 23-13 win over the Buccaneers

Our Studs and Duds from the Saints’ 23-13 win over the Buccaneers highlight Juwan Johnson, Demario Davis and other standouts from Sunday:

It took a team effort to put away the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but the New Orleans Saints are left feeling pretty satisfied. This was a complete win with the offense, defense, and special teams units each pulling their weight.

But who were the standouts? Who made a difference on Sunday afternoon — for good or bad? Who stood out for positive and negative reasons? Let’s break down this week’s Studs and Duds:

WATCH: Breakdown of 2023 season shows how Saints benefit from poor schedule

WWL’s Doug Mouton has an excellent of how the Saints have benefitted from a weak schedule and what the results say about New Orleans.

“The Saints are better than the bad, but not as good as the mediocre.”

This viral video breakdown by WWL’s Doug Mouton does an excellent job showcasing how the Saints have benefited from their weak schedule. New Orleans remains in the playoff race without defeating a good team this year. That’s partially due to a weak division as well.

New Orleans has won every game against the scrubs, lost every game against the good teams, and lost all but one matchups against teams in the middle of the pack. So, where does that put the Saints? At the end of the season, the Saints could end with a winning record without having beaten a team worth bragging about.

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The 2023 Saints are now 1-6 against teams at or over .500

The 2023 Saints are now 1-6 against teams at or over .500. Dennis Allen’s squad can’t beat opponents who have a backbone:

This is brutal. The New Orleans Saints sold fans a vision of false hope with recent wins over the Carolina Panthers and New York Giants, but they fell crashing back to Earth on Thursday night in a loss to the Los Angeles Rams. And the numbers tell the story.

Having taken the field with the same 7-7 record as the Rams, you’d think the Saints were competing on equal footing; but they weren’t. New Orleans came up short against a quality opponent in what’s become a pattern this year. Head coach Dennis Allen’s team has a 7-8 record now, having gone 1-6 against opponents that went into Week 16 at or over .500 themselves.

In other words, the Saints caught the 8-6 Indianapolis Colts at a bad time and escaped with a win, but didn’t enjoy the same luck in losses to the 8-7 Rams, 10-4 Detroit Lions, 8-6 Houston Texans, 8-6 Jacksonville Jaguars, 7-7 Minnesota Vikings, and 7-7 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Saints have lost to teams with a combined record of 60-53 (.531).

Instead, the Saints have padded out their schedule by beating up on teams with losing records. The teams they have beaten are a combined 30-68 (.306) going into Week 16’s games, with just a single win over a team that’s at least .500. Allen hasn’t shown he has any answers when going up against opponents with a cohesive gameplan, competent coaching, and playoffs experience.

And that’s disappointing. What more does team management need to see to determine that this isn’t the answer? That there isn’t a path forward here? It’s much the same as it was last year when Allen struggled to lead the Saints to a 7-10 finish. With a winning record nearly out of reach this season, it sure feels like time isn’t on his side.

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Saints failed to change the narrative in prime-time loss to Rams

The Saints failed to change the narrative in prime-time loss to Rams. Dennis Allen’s team is exactly what their record says they are:

The New Orleans Saints kicked off against the Los Angeles Rams with everything in front of them. The stakes couldn’t be higher with the loser needing a lot of help to stay alive in the playoffs race. Dennis Allen’s team had every opportunity to change the narrative and prove they belonged.

A win would have dramatically improved their playoff chances by opening up a wild-card seed as well as the NFC South title. A loss would’ve made them long shots to even win the division. With celebrities like Shohei Ohtani and legendary former Saints quarterback Drew Brees in attendance and the game broadcast to a national audience, the stage was set for Allen’s team to prove their doubters wrong.

And they fell flat on their faces. The Saints lost 30-22 and were never in control of the game’s flow. Allen’s handcrafted defense started the night off by allowing an eight-minute, 95-yard touchdown drive to the Rams. Derek Carr wilted under pressure and threw an awful interception in the second half to set up a quick Los Angeles touchdown run.

When the Saints finally rallied back in the fourth quarter by blocking an L.A. punt to set up shop in scoring position, they were already down 30-14 with the announcers previewing the Rams’ next game.

It was a disaster. Allen’s odd decision to try an onside kick late in regulation made it all too easy for the Rams to run out the clock inside New Orleans territory. Both teams may have taken the field with a 7-7 record, but by the final whistle it’s clear they didn’t belong in the same company.

That validates all of the criticism Allen and his staff and quarterback have faced: that they can’t beat good teams (the Saints are 1-6 against squads at or over .500 this year), that they’re undisciplined and prone to penalties, and that they aren’t as competitive as recent wins over the lowly Carolina Panthers and New York Giants would suggest.

Allen carried himself with a bit of swagger after knocking out those two clubs. Now he has to face the music after coming up short in the most important game of the year.

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What went right, what went wrong in Saints’ Week 14 win vs. Panthers

What went right, what went wrong in the Saints’ Week 14 win over the Panthers? And what’s the bottom line?

It was another tough game to watch for the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, as they squeaked out a win against the Carolina Panthers. The day was defined by two quarterbacks, Derek Carr and Bryce Young, unable to find much that worked on the offensive side of the ball. Still, the Saints walked away with a victory and are tied for first place in the NFC South.

How did we get here? Let’s break it down by asking and answering three questions:

What went right?

What went wrong?

And what’s the bottom line?

Saints beat the Panthers in NFL’s least-convincing 28-6 victory

The Saints beat the Panthers in the NFL’s least-convincing 28-6 victory. Only a one-win Panthers team could have fumbled this game:

It’s not often a team win s a game with a 28-6 margin and is left asking a ton of existential questions, but that’s where the New Orleans Saints stand. Only a one-win Carolina Panthers team could have fumbled the opportunities the Saints gave them to pull back and steal a win on Sunday.

Derek Carr threw the ball 26 times and only gained 119 yards, with 37% of his yards coming on a single 44-yard completion to wide receiver A.T. Perry. Carr was sacked just once but pressured often, and he threw the ball away several times when he could’ve worked faster to make a play. He frequently threw behind his receivers and struggled with his ball placement throughout the afternoon.

Things weren’t much better defensively. A better coaching staff would have seen Bryce Young gain 40 yards on just three carries and dial up some designed runs to take advantage of that athletic mismatch with an old and slow Saints defense. But Carolina didn’t. They asked Young to throw 36 times and his inaccurate passes continuously fell incomplete if they weren’t broken up by a Saints defensive back. Young only completed 13 passes for 137 yards at 3.8 yards per attempt. Carr had 4.6 yards per attempt.

It may feel like nitpicking to look at a game the Saints won by 22 points and have so many complaints, but don’t lose sight of the big picture. The Saints are so, so fortunate to play in such a weak division with mismanaged teams like the Panthers padding out their schedule. A 6-7 record would have New Orleans in third or fourth place in every division in the NFL but the NFC South. Instead, they’re rewarded for their mediocrity with a tie for first place.

But let’s not be so negative. Maybe the Saints can build on this win, figure some more things out, and rise to the occasion to compete with better teams like the Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a few weeks. They don’t have any other option but to try.

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Saints’ second-half heroics can’t make up for mistakes in loss to Lions

Saints’ second-half heroics can’t make up for too many early mistakes in a devastating loss to the Lions

You can’t say the New Orleans Saints don’t have any fight in them. They rallied from a 21-0 deficit to keep it close with the Detroit Lions in the second half, but it wasn’t enough: that late-game effort couldn’t make up for their mistakes early on. The Lions left as victors with a 33-28 final score.

What went wrong? Derek Carr missed an open receiver to force the ball to his tight end on the first play from scrimmage, which was dropped and intercepted by the Detroit defense, setting up a short field on their next touchdown-scoring drive. Things got worse before they got better.

The Lions ran for 142 yards as a team and Jared Goff didn’t turn the ball over after giving it away six times in his last two games. Rookie tight end Sam LaPorta was unstoppable, finishing with 9 receptions (on 9 targets) and 140 receiving yards plus a touchdown catch.

It wasn’t all bad. Carr was surprisingly efficient after the end of the first quarter, though he threw too many off-target passes that asked a lot of his receivers. Fortunately Chris Olave (5 catches for 119 yards) was up to the task. Alvin Kamara ended the afternoon with 58 receiving yards and 51 rushing yards with two scoring runs. Taysom Hill impacted both phases, leading the team with 59 rushing yards and catching two passes for 15 receiving yards. Pete Carmichael made some clever play calls, picking up chunks of yardage on play action passes to Olave and Foster Moreau. They went 4-for-4 in the red zone.

But, again, it wasn’t enough. The offense showed too little too late to make a difference. Dennis Allen’s handmade defense was shredded. A 5-7 record is the best showing Allen has ever had after Week 13. This is his ceiling, and the Saints shouldn’t mistake it for anything else.

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