xwalker
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I reviewed all of the defensive plays but I'm just going to focus on the critical plays here.
I decided to look at all of the plays on defense that either had big gains or were 3rd or 4th down situations or fails on scoring plays.
The was really no specific player that failed always. They just need to be a little bit better in all areas. A little more pass rush. A little more cohesion with the LBs. A little better in terms of penalties. A little better tackling. A little better coaching.
The overall defensive issues were:
1. Can't defend the pick play. They did try a zone type switch-off once but they really really need to work on a solution to this play.
2. Penalties. Dumb hold on Carr negates an INT. Gachkar as 12th man on field result in 3 points. Hands to the face by Claiborne allows a 4th down conversion.
3. Mistakes. Nobody covers the TE in the end-zone. In OT Gachkar didn't go down when injured to stop the clock. Garrett didn't take a timeout. Wilson confused on coverage.
4. Scheme/coaching. Why are the backup DL in for a 3rd and 1, especially Wilber at DE? On 3rd and 13 the rookie Jones is put into a no win situation of covering the RB or staying back in zone. Either option probably fails due to the specific coverage.
5. The pass rush was almost good enough. They just need a little boost in this area. Some DL are playing too many snaps.
Listing of plays with big gains or failures in critical situations:
3rd and 11 at NO 30 8:26 - 1st) (Shotgun) D.Brees pass deep left to W.Snead pushed ob at NO 49 for 19 yards (B.Carr). Pass 16, YAC
Hole in zone between White and Carr. I think White needed to be deeper because he had Lee to help with underneath receiver.
2nd and 9 at 50 7:22 - 1st) D.Brees pass short middle to B.Watson to DAL 29 for 21 yards (J.Wilcox; D.Wilson). Pass 16, YAC
Church on TE. Middle is wide open. I think Wilson should have dropped into underneath coverage. Jones would have had a better chance to make this play but they were in base personnel with Jones off the field.
1st and 10 at DAL 29 6:39 - 1st) M.Ingram right end to DAL 15 for 14 yards (S.Lee)
Carr forced RB back inside but couldn’t make the tackle. Jones couldn’t shed block by TE.
3rd and 5 at DAL 10 4:34 - 1st) (Shotgun) D.Brees pass short left to B.Watson to DAL 3 for 7 yards (S.Lee; B.Jones). Pass 2, YAC
Carr and Jones covering WRs left. Saints #83 picks Jones.
1st and Goal at DAL 3 3:48 - 1st) Josh Hill Pass From Drew Brees for 3 Yrds Touchdown.
Either Carr or Church failed to cover TE.
3rd and 11 at NO 19 12:22 - 2nd) (Shotgun) D.Brees pass short left intended for B.Coleman INTERCEPTED by B.Church at NO 32. B.Church to NO 32 for no gain (B.Coleman). PENALTY on DAL-B.Carr, Defensive Holding, 5 yards, enforced at NO 19 - No Play
Carr holding.
3rd and 13 at NO 31 10:18 - 2nd) (Shotgun) D.Brees pass short left to M.Ingram to NO 45 for 14 yards (A.Hitchens; B.Church). Pass 3, YAC 1
Jones drops instead of coming up to cover RB. Jones in a no win situation. If he comes up too much then Brees likely just goes to the receiver behind Jones. I don’t like the coverage scheme on this play. Also, the DE might want to knock the RB off of his route in this situation with 3 pass rushers and everybody else deep.
4th and 10 at DAL 38 11:29 - 3rd) T.Morstead punts 27 yards to DAL 11, Center-J.Drescher, fair catch by C.Beasley. PENALTY on DAL, Defensive 12 On-field, 5 yards, enforced at DAL 38 - No Play
Penalty 12 men on the field (Gachkar running off).
3rd and 1 at DAL 39 5:25 - 3rd) M.Ingram left guard to DAL 36 for 3 yards (A.Hitchens)
On 3rd and 1, they have a DL of Wilber, Bishop, Irving and J. Crawford. Gachkar actually impedes Bishop from getting over to the hole. Hitchens comes around the outside and almost has him. Wilber at DE has no chance against double-team.
4th and 1 at DAL 45 10:07 - 4th) D.Brees pass short right to K.Robinson pushed ob at DAL 36 for 9 yards (B.Church). Penalty on DAL-M.Claiborne, Illegal Use of Hands, declined. Pass 0, YAC
Penalty on Claiborne. He inadvertently gets his hand on the side of Robinson’s helmet/facemask when jamming him at the line.
3rd and 2 at NO 23 4:32 - 4th) (Shotgun) D.Brees pass short left to W.Snead pushed ob at NO 43 for 20 yards (J.Wilcox). Pass 5, YAC 1
Pick play. This is a legal pick on Claiborne. The pass rush was close.
1st and 10 at NO 36 0:48 - 4th) (No Huddle, Shotgun) D.Brees pass short middle to W.Snead to DAL 47 for 17 yards (B.Carr). Pass 12, YAC
Carr can’t stay with #83 on the in cut. More pass rush is probably the only way to defend this play.
1st and 10 at DAL 47 0:31 - 4th) (No Huddle, Shotgun) D.Brees pass deep right to B.Coleman to DAL 17 for 30 yards (A.Hitchens). Pass 25, YAC
Deep pass, Patmon defending. Sometimes I would like for Marinelli to give the deep Safety the OK to cheat towards Patmon when his man goes deep, especially when it’s a big receiver.
Overtime
2nd and 10 at NO 20 14:47 - OT) C.J. Spiller 80 Yd pass from Drew Brees
Many issues preceded this final fail. They didn’t call a penalty on the blatant pick the previous play. Gachkar didn’t go down on the field when injured which would have stopped the clock. The Cowboys didn’t call a timeout.
Wilson got over in coverage but not far enough over. He looked back at the QB until the pass as if he was playing zone coverage but he needed to be playing man.
END GAME
I decided to look at all of the plays on defense that either had big gains or were 3rd or 4th down situations or fails on scoring plays.
The was really no specific player that failed always. They just need to be a little bit better in all areas. A little more pass rush. A little more cohesion with the LBs. A little better in terms of penalties. A little better tackling. A little better coaching.
The overall defensive issues were:
1. Can't defend the pick play. They did try a zone type switch-off once but they really really need to work on a solution to this play.
2. Penalties. Dumb hold on Carr negates an INT. Gachkar as 12th man on field result in 3 points. Hands to the face by Claiborne allows a 4th down conversion.
3. Mistakes. Nobody covers the TE in the end-zone. In OT Gachkar didn't go down when injured to stop the clock. Garrett didn't take a timeout. Wilson confused on coverage.
4. Scheme/coaching. Why are the backup DL in for a 3rd and 1, especially Wilber at DE? On 3rd and 13 the rookie Jones is put into a no win situation of covering the RB or staying back in zone. Either option probably fails due to the specific coverage.
5. The pass rush was almost good enough. They just need a little boost in this area. Some DL are playing too many snaps.
Listing of plays with big gains or failures in critical situations:
3rd and 11 at NO 30 8:26 - 1st) (Shotgun) D.Brees pass deep left to W.Snead pushed ob at NO 49 for 19 yards (B.Carr). Pass 16, YAC
Hole in zone between White and Carr. I think White needed to be deeper because he had Lee to help with underneath receiver.
2nd and 9 at 50 7:22 - 1st) D.Brees pass short middle to B.Watson to DAL 29 for 21 yards (J.Wilcox; D.Wilson). Pass 16, YAC
Church on TE. Middle is wide open. I think Wilson should have dropped into underneath coverage. Jones would have had a better chance to make this play but they were in base personnel with Jones off the field.
1st and 10 at DAL 29 6:39 - 1st) M.Ingram right end to DAL 15 for 14 yards (S.Lee)
Carr forced RB back inside but couldn’t make the tackle. Jones couldn’t shed block by TE.
3rd and 5 at DAL 10 4:34 - 1st) (Shotgun) D.Brees pass short left to B.Watson to DAL 3 for 7 yards (S.Lee; B.Jones). Pass 2, YAC
Carr and Jones covering WRs left. Saints #83 picks Jones.
1st and Goal at DAL 3 3:48 - 1st) Josh Hill Pass From Drew Brees for 3 Yrds Touchdown.
Either Carr or Church failed to cover TE.
3rd and 11 at NO 19 12:22 - 2nd) (Shotgun) D.Brees pass short left intended for B.Coleman INTERCEPTED by B.Church at NO 32. B.Church to NO 32 for no gain (B.Coleman). PENALTY on DAL-B.Carr, Defensive Holding, 5 yards, enforced at NO 19 - No Play
Carr holding.
3rd and 13 at NO 31 10:18 - 2nd) (Shotgun) D.Brees pass short left to M.Ingram to NO 45 for 14 yards (A.Hitchens; B.Church). Pass 3, YAC 1
Jones drops instead of coming up to cover RB. Jones in a no win situation. If he comes up too much then Brees likely just goes to the receiver behind Jones. I don’t like the coverage scheme on this play. Also, the DE might want to knock the RB off of his route in this situation with 3 pass rushers and everybody else deep.
4th and 10 at DAL 38 11:29 - 3rd) T.Morstead punts 27 yards to DAL 11, Center-J.Drescher, fair catch by C.Beasley. PENALTY on DAL, Defensive 12 On-field, 5 yards, enforced at DAL 38 - No Play
Penalty 12 men on the field (Gachkar running off).
3rd and 1 at DAL 39 5:25 - 3rd) M.Ingram left guard to DAL 36 for 3 yards (A.Hitchens)
On 3rd and 1, they have a DL of Wilber, Bishop, Irving and J. Crawford. Gachkar actually impedes Bishop from getting over to the hole. Hitchens comes around the outside and almost has him. Wilber at DE has no chance against double-team.
4th and 1 at DAL 45 10:07 - 4th) D.Brees pass short right to K.Robinson pushed ob at DAL 36 for 9 yards (B.Church). Penalty on DAL-M.Claiborne, Illegal Use of Hands, declined. Pass 0, YAC
Penalty on Claiborne. He inadvertently gets his hand on the side of Robinson’s helmet/facemask when jamming him at the line.
3rd and 2 at NO 23 4:32 - 4th) (Shotgun) D.Brees pass short left to W.Snead pushed ob at NO 43 for 20 yards (J.Wilcox). Pass 5, YAC 1
Pick play. This is a legal pick on Claiborne. The pass rush was close.
1st and 10 at NO 36 0:48 - 4th) (No Huddle, Shotgun) D.Brees pass short middle to W.Snead to DAL 47 for 17 yards (B.Carr). Pass 12, YAC
Carr can’t stay with #83 on the in cut. More pass rush is probably the only way to defend this play.
1st and 10 at DAL 47 0:31 - 4th) (No Huddle, Shotgun) D.Brees pass deep right to B.Coleman to DAL 17 for 30 yards (A.Hitchens). Pass 25, YAC
Deep pass, Patmon defending. Sometimes I would like for Marinelli to give the deep Safety the OK to cheat towards Patmon when his man goes deep, especially when it’s a big receiver.
Overtime
2nd and 10 at NO 20 14:47 - OT) C.J. Spiller 80 Yd pass from Drew Brees
Many issues preceded this final fail. They didn’t call a penalty on the blatant pick the previous play. Gachkar didn’t go down on the field when injured which would have stopped the clock. The Cowboys didn’t call a timeout.
Wilson got over in coverage but not far enough over. He looked back at the QB until the pass as if he was playing zone coverage but he needed to be playing man.
END GAME
