Why the Saints Lost: From the Bird's Nest

[CajunT]

http://espn1420.com/why-the-saints-l...he-birds-nest/

I agree SF set the tone of the game with the hit on Pierre and fumble, but it was not what cost the Saints the game. You don't score two touchdowns in the last five minutes of the game to take the lead twice and say that hit or fumble on the first drive cost us the game.We all agreed, well most of us last week that called in on the following:

1) Saints could not turnover the ball against the NFC's top defense- Oops, 5 To's
2) Saints must run the ball enough to keep the 49ers front seven off Brees- Oops, not only did the front seven bring pressure all day, they used bliztes as well...beat the crap out of Drew all day
3) Give Drew the ball in the fourth Quarter and let him do his thing- Check, he did
4) Make Alex Smith beat you, he hasn't done it in the past- Ooops, he did make the plays to beat you!
5) Yes, Williams blizted all season and all game is nothing new! But for God Sake, shame on him for not making adjustsment after getting beat on that same play twice. This is the NFL, the land of the best?


All the above is why the Saints lost, the hit and fumble where just the first act.

[SlappyCajun]

Because despite turning the ball over 5 times, the Saints lead the football game with a little over a minute to go. Regardless of the turnovers they had every opportunity to win that game.

So anything that did not happen on the last drive of the game was not a deciding factor. That makes no sense. They did have every opportunity to win on the last drive. If they didn't have five TO's they may have been up 17 by that point.

That's like saying that UL's stopping SDSU's rushing attack in the New Orleans bowl was not a deciding factor in the game, because with 35 seconds left SDSU had the lead.

[Turbine]

Saints lost to the 49ers for the same reason the Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana lost to the McNeese Cowboys.

TURNOVERS

You can't say 5 turnovers kept the defense on the field and then say the turnovers had nothing to do with the defense having nothing left.

[cajunhawk]

So anything that did not happen on the last drive of the game was not a deciding factor. That makes no sense. They did have every opportunity to win on the last drive. If they didn't have five TO's they may have been up 17 by that point.

That's like saying that UL's stopping SDSU's rushing attack in the New Orleans bowl was not a deciding factor in the game, because with 35 seconds left SDSU had the lead.

That's just playing the "what if" game. What if Pierre Thomas's jaw is not demolished on the first drive? What if Alex Smith grew eagle's wings and was able to fend off the blitz by hovering over the line of scrimmage? What if the ground became littered with ball bearings and no one could keep any footing. The fact is, the Saints were still leading with less than 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter DESPITE the 5 turnovers. Let's say the 5 turnovers do not happen, there is no guarantee that the Saints still win that game. The odd's are better, but still not 100%. Now with even better accuracy I can tell you that had the Saints stopped the Niners on the last drive, they would have won the game. I can say that with 100% certainty.

[cajunhawk]

Saints lost to the 49ers for the same reason the Ragin' Cajuns of Louisiana lost to the McNeese Cowboys.

TURNOVERS

You can't say 5 turnovers kept the defense on the field and then say the turnovers had nothing to do with the defense having nothing left.

Apples to Oranges, we did not lead the Cowboys with less than 2 minutes to go in the game DESPITE the turnovers.

[Bandwagon King]

I agree that having Pierre knocked out of the game had a pretty devasting effect on our offense & changed the Saints offensive game plan to completely take away our balance. I do not agree that the Saints weren't as mentally tough as the 49ers, because the Greg Williams defense that everyone is accusing of losing the game actually kept the team in the game until the offense could regain their composure & collect themselves. The fact that the Saints came back from 3 takeaways & two turnovers, was a testament to their mental toughness on the road.

I do agree the 49ers played absolutely as great of a game as they could, were great in the clutch, & Vernon Davis is a beast that has had the potential to do what he did Saturday & in fact has done these kinds of things before. He just hasn't done them consistantly in the past like he did Saturday. While Alex Smith was the difference for the niners, it should have come as no surprise to Saints fans. He played this way against us last year, & had it not been for us getting four turnovers in that game they would have whipped our behinds. The truth is the 49ers have been building this team for years. They just didn't have anybody to run the ship until Harbaugh. I don't like the niners, but I give them their due. They made plays when it counted & it wouldn't have mattered who we had covering Davis, just like it didn't matter who they had covering Graham. When guys with that kind of ability come out to play, there are no defensive backs in the game who can cover them.

[CajunT]

I agree that having Pierre knocked out of the game had a pretty devasting effect on our offense & changed the Saints offensive game plan to completely take away our balance. I do not agree that the Saints weren't as mentally tough as the 49ers, becasue the Greg Williams defense that everyone is accusing of losing the game actually kept the team in the game until the offense could regain their composure & collect themselves. The fact that the Saints came back from 3 takeaways & two turnovers, was testiment to their mental toughness on the road.

I do agree the 49ers played abslutely as great of a game as they could, were great in the clutch, & Vernon Davis is a beast that has had the potential to do what he did Saturday & in fact has done these kinds of things before. He just hasn't done them consistantly in the past like he did Saturday. While Alex Smith was the difference for the niners, it should hav ecome as no surprise to Saints fans. He played this way against us last year, & had it not been for us getting four turnovers in that game they would have whipped our behinds. The truth is the 49ers have been building this team for years. They just didn't have anybody to run the ship until Harbaugh. I don't like the niners, but I give them their due. They made plays when it counted & it wouldn't have mattered who we had covering Davis, just like it didn't matter who they had covering Graham. When guys with that kind of ability come out to play, there are no defensive backs in the game who can cover them.

Alex Smith hadn't put the SF team on his back in any playoff game period until he did against the Saints this past weekend. Why would anyone believe he was capable of doing it now, his seven years of outstanding numbers and come from behind wins?
I'm not buying it Kyle, he hasn't done nothing in his career until this season. Now, he has proven to me he can get it done in a big game. San Francisco reminds me of the Carolina Panther team that went to the Super Bowl with Jake Delhomme. Good offense, great special teams and defense.

[Bandwagon King]

Alex Smith hadn't put the SF team on his back in any playoff game period until he did against the Saints this past weekend. Why would anyone believe he was capable of doing it now, his seven years of outstanding numbers and come from behind wins?
I'm not buying it Kyle, he hasn't done nothing in his career until this season. Now, he has proven to me he can get it done in a big game. San Francisco reminds me of the Carolina Panther team that went to the Super Bowl with Jake Delhomme. Good offense, great special teams and defense.

Maybe because his team has never been in a playoff game until now? He did nothing in his career until now because he's had seven different OCs in his career until now. None of them knew how to bring out the confidence in him until Harbaugh. Like you, I was counting on there's no way Alex Smith can bring them back in the situation he was in, but the fact is he did. That guy got rocked all day long just like Brees did & when everybody was all in, he was money. IMO the biggest factor in this game was the clock. I don't doubt for a minute that had Brees had one more minute of time, he would have led the Saints back again, but he didn't. The fact is this isn't the last we'll see Vernon Davis do what he did in this game & the people who are so upset about GW need to think back on when we had GG. If Spagnola ior Nolan are the answer, then why couldn't they do it at St. Louis & San Fran? Harbaugh is already doing it at San Fran & Fisher will do it at St. Louis with Spagnola's players.

[CajunT]

Maybe because his team has never been in a playoff game until now? He did nothing in his career until now because he's had seven different OCs in his career until now. None of them knew how to bring out the confidence in him until Harbaugh. Like you, I was counting on there's no way Alex Smith can bring them back in the situation he was in, but the fact is he did. That guy got rocked all day long just like Brees did & when everybody was all in, he was money. IMO the biggest factor in this game was the clock. I don't doubt for a minute that had Brees had one more minute of time, he would have led the Saints back again, but he didn't. The fact is this isn't the last we'll see Vernon Davis do what he did in this game & the people who are so upset about GW need to think back on when we had GG. If Spagnola ior Nolan are the answer, then why couldn't they do it at St. Louis & San Fran? Harbaugh is already doing it at San Fran & Fisher will do it at St. Louis with Spagnola's players.

I won't knock Greg Williams because he helped this team win a Super Bowl. And I do think you have to give credit to SF and Harbough, that being said Williams was beat with the same call three times. He deserves some criticism because he failed to make adjustments after the first two time times Davis made huge catches against man coverage. Either way, Smith made great throws.

[SlappyCajun]

That's just playing the "what if" game. What if Pierre Thomas's jaw is not demolished on the first drive? What if Alex Smith grew eagle's wings and was able to fend off the blitz by hovering over the line of scrimmage? What if the ground became littered with ball bearings and no one could keep any footing. The fact is, the Saints were still leading with less than 2 minutes left in the 4th quarter DESPITE the 5 turnovers. Let's say the 5 turnovers do not happen, there is no guarantee that the Saints still win that game. The odd's are better, but still not 100%. Now with even better accuracy I can tell you that had the Saints stopped the Niners on the last drive, they would have won the game. I can say that with 100% certainty.

That's not the what if game. That's giving the other team 4 (TO differential) more chances to score than you do. That was the deciding factor. The deciding factor is not simply the last play before the outcome. That's like a baseball team losing on the last game of the season on a bloop single, and saying the relief pitcher was the deciding factor in the season. What if the team lost 20 straight games to start the season. That is more of a deciding factor in the outcome of not making the playoff than the relief pitcher.

A football game is 60 minutes long. A turnover margin of plus four in 99% of cases will be the deciding factor in the game.