(Btw, of course, I'm Simba in there watching it in disbelief of what I saw and Timon is basically the chap trying to put things in perspective for me)
Sure, it sucked. Sure, we lost. But hey, let's face it, this team looked like they were getting big headed in the 1st half of the Dolphins game, did we not? This team is still very good and very talented in my observation. We got humbled yesterday. Simply put. Our explosive offense got beat by a team that kicked field goals all night. Our best running back (and one of the best) was held to about 2 yards a carry. Cooper was shut down pretty much all night. And NOLA is a tough place to play. Also, the Saints are no slouches. Even without Brees, they went into Seattle and beat the Seahawks. That's hard to do.
Additionally, We have a young OC in Moore who probably needed a game like this to learn a hard truth about the NFL. You can't just do what you want all game every game every week. You have to learn how to change your strategy during the game. You have to understand that things can change in a game. And, simply put, Payton has been calling plays since before Moore was in college. Payton learned under Bill Parcells. Moore has learned under Garrett and Linehan. Coaching advantage there, Payton. Moore was going up against a more experienced playcaller and coach. Naturally, as a coach progresses, he'll hit a few bumps in the row. Moore is smart though. I think he probably saw what Payton did this game and will try to incorporated it into his game plan. As a chess player, one thing you learn is you learn more from losing than you do winning (unless your name is Jason Garrett).
Frankly, I think this is where the fun will really begin. We've met our first real bit of adversity, so it's time to see how this young team develops and learns from it. It's time to see how Moore learns from this. McVay hasn't gone 16-0 at any point in his career. He had bumps in the road along the way. He just got served a dish of humility by the score of 55-40 against the BUCCANEERS in Los Angeles. Moore's first loss as an OC came at the hands of Sean Payton in New Orleans in a very close game. Just to put the loss in perspective. So yeah, Hakuna Matata for now. No worries.
@ myself
