My favorite play call of the game

[Awakened]

Second and 8 on the NO 14 yard line with 2:03 left in the game. Cowboys up by three. The conservative approach would have been to run it two more times and probably settle for a field goal. I was saying "please pass it into the end zone." NO was loaded up for the run, Cooper had single coverage. I love the call. Try to end the game right there. Don't play it safe and give Brees the ball with a minute and a half left in the game only down by 6.

Say what you will about Garrett and Linehan, but that was an aggressive play call. And it worked out, put the game on ice.

 

[LandryFan]

Second and 8 on the NO 14 yard line with 2:03 left in the game. Cowboys up by three. The conservative approach would have been to run it two more times and probably settle for a field goal. I was saying "please pass it into the end zone." NO was loaded up for the run, Cooper had single coverage. I love the call. Try to end the game right there. Don't play it safe and give Brees the ball with a minute and a half left in the game only down by 6.

Say what you will about Garrett and Linehan, but that was an aggressive play call. And it worked out, put the game on ice.

Yes, but that only happened because SP called a time out with 2:03 to go. Dallas had absolutely nothing to lose by passing in that situation. The clock was going to stop after that play, no matter the outcome. But I'll give Linehan credit for recognizing the situation and taking advantage of it. That said, my guess is that had Payton not called that TO, we would have come out of the 2 minute warning running the ball. That was a MAJOR blunder on his part.

 

[sean10mm]

Yes, but that only happened because SP called a time out with 2:03 to go. Dallas had absolutely nothing to lose by passing in that situation. The clock was going to stop after that play, no matter the outcome. But I'll give Linehan credit for recognizing the situation and taking advantage of it. That said, my guess is that had Payton not called that TO, we would have come out of the 2 minute warning running the ball. That was a MAJOR blunder on his part.

Yeah, NO calling time out with so little time before the 2:00 mark meant that, in clock terms, a run and a pass were identical. So them selling out against the run was actually just an invitation to complete an easy pass or draw PI.

 

[visionary]

Yes, but that only happened because SP called a time out with 2:03 to go. Dallas had absolutely nothing to lose by passing in that situation. The clock was going to stop after that play, no matter the outcome. But I'll give Linehan credit for recognizing the situation and taking advantage of it. That said, my guess is that had Payton not called that TO, we would have come out of the 2 minute warning running the ball. That was a MAJOR blunder on his part.

Agree but it was aggressive because the pass could have been intercepted

 

[ThreeandOut]

Yes, but that only happened because SP called a time out with 2:03 to go. Dallas had absolutely nothing to lose by passing in that situation. The clock was going to stop after that play, no matter the outcome. But I'll give Linehan credit for recognizing the situation and taking advantage of it. That said, my guess is that had Payton not called that TO, we would have come out of the 2 minute warning running the ball. That was a MAJOR blunder on his part.

That was a major blunder. If he had let the clock run down to the 2 minute warning, most likely we would have run the ball twice and they could have use the timeout for one of the runs. The most likely outcome being we kick the field goal and are up 6 with about 1:20 for the Saints to have one last drive.

 

[LandryFan]

Agree but it was aggressive because the pass could have been intercepted

True, but the risk of a TO is there for a run, as well. JMO, but I wouldn't worry about an INT any more than I would a fumble in that situation. Key is, just don't turn it over. The best part of that situation was that NO had to defend both the run and the pass. The situation didn't necessitate one or the other.

 

[LandryFan]

That was a major blunder. If he had let the clock run down to the 2 minute warning, most likely we would have run the ball twice and they could have use the timeout for one of the runs. The most likely outcome being we kick the field goal and are up 6 with about 1:20 for the Saints to have one last drive.

The stunning thing about that TO was that Payton was saving 3 seconds of play clock with that TO before the 2 min warning, and could have potentially saved about 35 seconds by calling it on the other side. I simply couldn't believe my eyes/ears when that TO was called. I immediately knew that the risk-free option for a pass (from the standpoint of potentially giving NO a clock stoppage) was on the table. Thank you, Sean!

 

[J12B]

If Lattimore had not held Cooper's arm it would have been a touchdown.

 

[THEHEREAFTER]

Second and 8 on the NO 14 yard line with 2:03 left in the game. Cowboys up by three. The conservative approach would have been to run it two more times and probably settle for a field goal. I was saying "please pass it into the end zone." NO was loaded up for the run, Cooper had single coverage. I love the call. Try to end the game right there. Don't play it safe and give Brees the ball with a minute and a half left in the game only down by 6.

Say what you will about Garrett and Linehan, but that was an aggressive play call. And it worked out, put the game on ice.

I couldn't agree more. We had to aggressively take the game. It wasn't going to be handed to us. I swear man, you can only hold Brees for so long and a crushing 17-16 could have easily been in our sights. We had to take a shot and we were rewarded with the DB being forced to grab at Coop. That was a Jimmy Johnson early 90's call and we had to have it.

 

[ThreeandOut]

The stunning thing about that TO was that Payton was saving 3 seconds of play clock with that TO before the 2 min warning, and could have potentially saved about 35 seconds by calling it on the other side. I simply couldn't believe my eyes/ears when that TO was called. I immediately knew that the risk-free option for a pass (from the standpoint of potentially giving NO a clock stoppage) was on the table. Thank you, Sean!

That call definitely opened up the play calling options for Dallas.

 

[Nova]

The stunning thing about that TO was that Payton was saving 3 seconds of play clock with that TO before the 2 min warning, and could have potentially saved about 35 seconds by calling it on the other side. I simply couldn't believe my eyes/ears when that TO was called. I immediately knew that the risk-free option for a pass (from the standpoint of potentially giving NO a clock stoppage) was on the table. Thank you, Sean!

I don't think the 'when' of the timeouts matters with regard to the time saved.

There would be at least one down where the play clock runs off 40 seconds either way.

 

[Swanny]

My fav play call was the double move deep throw to Gallup that Dak missed. Need more of that in this offense. The play call I mean. It was a great call but poor execution

 

[LandryFan]

I don't think the 'when' of the timeouts matters with regard to the time saved.

There would be at least one down where the play clock runs off 40 seconds either way.

Maybe my thinking is warped, but it seems to me that he used one TO to save three seconds on the clock (the clock would have simply run down to the 2 minute warning. Had he let those three seconds elapse and saved the TO for the other side, the potential existed for Payton to have that TO to prevent Dallas from running the entire play clock down before running a play. If I'm confused or wrong, my apologies.

 

[Nova]

Maybe my thinking is warped, but it seems to me that he used one TO to save three seconds on the clock (the clock would have simply run down to the 2 minute warning. Had he let those three seconds elapse and saved the TO for the other side, the potential existed for Payton to have that TO to prevent Dallas from running the entire play clock down before running a play. If I'm confused or wrong, my apologies.

There would probably be a difference, but not significant.

time out at 2:00+ sequence would look like this:

After 1st down; Timeout at 2:03 left
After 2nd down; 2 Minute Warning stops clock around 1:58ish or so left
After 3rd down; Saints have no Timeouts left, 40 seconds elapse before dallas snaps ball or takes a timeout to set up FG attempt-- 1:30ish left.

4th Down, maybe a few second elapse depending on what is chosen, but all in all Saints probably have about 1:20-1:30ish left here.


After 2:00 warning timeout sequence:

After 1st down; 2 minute warning 2:00 left
After 2nd down; Timeout, 1:55 left (probably minimal time on this play since it would have been a run for not much gain)
After 3rd down; Saints have no Timeouts left, 40 seconds elapse before Dallas snaps ball or takes a timeout to set up FG attempt-- 1:15ish left

4th Down, maybe a few seconds elapse depending on what is chosen, but all in all Saints probably have about 1:15-1:25ish left here.

 

[TheSkaven]

Yeah, NO calling time out with so little time before the 2:00 mark meant that, in clock terms, a run and a pass were identical. So them selling out against the run was actually just an invitation to complete an easy pass or draw PI.

Correct. And look how we had NO in a 3rd and 20 and they got a first down from a pass interference call. It drives me nuts that Linehan calls those swing passes or draw plays on 3rd and long.

In this penalty happy league there’s always a chance you draw a penalty like the one that ended the game yesterday.

 

[JustChip]

There would probably be a difference, but not significant.

time out at 2:00+ sequence would look like this:

After 1st down; Timeout at 2:03 left
After 2nd down; 2 Minute Warning stops clock around 1:58ish or so left
After 3rd down; Saints have no Timeouts left, 40 seconds elapse before dallas snaps ball or takes a timeout to set up FG attempt-- 1:30ish left.

4th Down, maybe a few second elapse depending on what is chosen, but all in all Saints probably have about 1:20-1:30ish left here.


After 2:00 warning timeout sequence:

After 1st down; 2 minute warning 2:00 left
After 2nd down; Timeout, 1:55 left (probably minimal time on this play since it would have been a run for not much gain)
After 3rd down; Saints have no Timeouts left, 40 seconds elapse before Dallas snaps ball or takes a timeout to set up FG attempt-- 1:15ish left

4th Down, maybe a few seconds elapse depending on what is chosen, but all in all Saints probably have about 1:15-1:25ish left here.

Good analysis, but what you left out is the TO before the 2 minute warning gave the Cowboys the low risk, high potential reward option to pass (and resulted the in high reward of PI). The TO after the 2 minute warning probably eliminates any chance the Cowboys pass at that point.

 

[Bleu Star]

Second and 8 on the NO 14 yard line with 2:03 left in the game. Cowboys up by three. The conservative approach would have been to run it two more times and probably settle for a field goal. I was saying "please pass it into the end zone." NO was loaded up for the run, Cooper had single coverage. I love the call. Try to end the game right there. Don't play it safe and give Brees the ball with a minute and a half left in the game only down by 6.

Say what you will about Garrett and Linehan, but that was an aggressive play call. And it worked out, put the game on ice.

Yes... Sadly it took Garrett 8 years to learn how to be that aggressive in that particular game situation. Baby steps I guess.

 

[Pantone282C]

Yes... Sadly it took Garrett 8 years to learn how to be that aggressive in that particular game situation. Baby steps I guess.

It's a process.

 

[Nova]

Good analysis, but what you left out is the TO before the 2 minute warning gave the Cowboys the low risk, high potential reward option to pass (and resulted the in high reward of PI). The TO after the 2 minute warning probably eliminates any chance the Cowboys pass at that point.

No I realize that. That was the dopey downside for calling it prior to the 2 minute warning.

Real heads up move and gutsy call by us to take advantage of our full playbook. Also I loved the formation they came out in there. Rather than some jumbo package, it was 10 personnel.

I've been wanting to see more 10 personnel for years. I think I remember seeing that we ran it only 2 times in all of 2016.

But it's a really hard personnel group to defend with a mobile QB, strong OL, and Strong RB.