Tag: timeout

Dennis Allen says he’s not at fault for bizarre timeout vs. Broncos

Dennis Allen says don’t blame him for a bizarre timeout against the Broncos. He threw Klint Kubiak under the bus for that one:

What was with the New Orleans Saints timeouts before halftime in Thursday night’s loss to the Denver Broncos? It was an odd move when the team was down by multiple scores and set up deep in their own territory with just 11 seconds remaining, and it led to some irritation both from fans in attendance and the broadcast booth; Amazon Prime play-by-play announcer Al  Michaels grumbled something about having to wait a little longer to check the catering spread.

And according to Saints head coach Dennis Allen, it was offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak who signaled for a timeout.

“He got a little excited over there on the sideline,” Allen said Friday, via Nola.com’s Rod Walker. “He and I discussed that. That won’t be a problem moving forward.”

It was an odd moment, complete with the broadcast cameras picking  up Spencer Rattler mouthing, “What are we doing?” on his way back to the sideline between plays. Kubiak was trying to will the offense into putting some points on the board before halftime, having fallen to a 16-3 deficit after a Wil Lutz field goal on the previous drive.

But after Rattler gained a single yard on his first pass to Alvin Kamara followed by a 5-yard pickup on his next checkdown, everyone was ready to just go into the locker room, catch their breath, and pick up where they left off. The Saints were set to receive the opening kickoff for the second time after the break anyway.

But according to Section 5, Article 1 of the 2024 NFL Rulebook, assistant coaches like Kubiak are not supposed to be able to signal a timeout. Not that it stops them from trying:

The Referee shall suspend play while the ball is dead and declare a charged team timeout upon the request for a timeout by the head coach or any player (not a substitute) to any official. If an assistant coach signals for a timeout and it is inadvertently granted, the timeout will stand.

So they’ll need to be more clear about who can request those timeouts in the future, as Allen said. But that doesn’t mean he should be throwing his play caller under the bus. Allen didn’t have to name anyone, especially since he could’ve defended his coach and avoided an admission about violating NFL rules in the process, but he chose to anyway. The Saints are in a bad spot during their five-game losing streak and what looks to be their fourth year out of the playoffs. Allen might be feeling the pressure.

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Sean Payton explains his ‘bonehead’ timeout vs. Chiefs

“It’s a boneheaded mistake by me,” Broncos coach Sean Payton said after he called timeout against the Chiefs on Thursday.

Denver Broncos head coach Sean Payton made a curious decision during a Thursday Night Football showdown with the Kansas City Chiefs last night.

Trailing the Chiefs by 10 points, the Broncos had the ball near midfield with 28 seconds remaining until halftime. After quarterback Russell Wilson was sacked on third down, Payton immediately called timeout, stopping the clock with 22 seconds remaining.

Denver then punted the ball to Kansas City, and the Chiefs drove down the field and kicked a field goal to take a 13-0 lead into the break.

So why did Payton call a timeout and save some time for KC? The coach explained after the game that it was a “boneheaded” mistake after he confused fourth down for third down.

“It’s a boneheaded mistake by me,” Payton said after an eventual 19-8 loss. “… I’m off a down, that was stupid.”

Payton noted that the Chiefs also had timeouts remaining, so they presumably would have used one of their own timeouts had Payton not beaten them to the punch.

It was a curious decision, one that can be attributed to being just a dumb mistake.

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