Saints: No Answers To Improve Money Down, Red Zone Issues

The New Orleans Saints must get over the hump on the money down and in the red zone.

HOUSTON - The tone of Sunday's press conferences with Dennis Allen, Cam Jordan, and Derek Carr was gloomy. Standing at the podium in a dark and damp room, Coach Allen had no definitive answers to give reporters. It was a precarious predicament to be in on Sunday. After six games, the team has not been consistent on the money downs (3rd down) and inside of the red zone. 

What exacerbated the problems in Houston was the weird performance by one of the NFL's best defensive units. No one would have thought the Saints would surrender 17 first-half points to a rookie quarterback without one of his more dangerous targets, Tank Dell.  The rebounded in the second half, giving their offense a chance by limiting the Texans to 3 points.

Oct 15, 2023; Houston, Texas, USA; New Orleans Saints head coach Dennis Allen reacts one the sideline during the fourth quarter against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-USA TODAY Sports

Allen on Fixing the Problems

"Yeah. Look. I wish I had the answer to that because if I had the answer, we'd have it fixed," Allen told the media. "So, we just got to continue to keep looking at it, continue to keep working at it. It's an area that has to get better. It was good last week. It wasn't good this week. And, at the end of the day, that ends up costing you games."

New Orleans moved the football effectively with 430 net offensive yards versus the Texans. Less effective were the third and fourth downs. The team came up short by converting third downs at 37.78%, ranking 20th in the league. On Sunday in Houston, New Orleans held over its average on the "money down," recording 6 of 15 (40%) conversions. However, neither of their two fourth-down attempts were successful. Albeit, going 0 of 3 inside the red zone - NO POINTS - is more troubling. The Saints are the 4th-worst team scoring touchdowns inside the red area at 33.33%. Only Pittsburgh and the two New York teams are more dreadful than New Orleans.

"Everything happens faster in the red zone. And so you can't be a yard off. You can't be on the edge of a block," Allen said in Monday's press conference. He continued, "From a coaching standpoint, we got to make sure that the player understands exactly what the potential looks, every play that you go into a game offensively, I mean, there's very few plays that are just here's the play call, and this is what we're doing. No matter what the defense does, most of them have some sort of potential check adjustment based on what the defense is doing. And so I think that communication has to be better. I think we've got to work on that with coaching staff. I think the quarterbacks and the receivers have to do a better job of making sure they're on the same page. But until we do that, we're going to continue to struggle down there in the red area. So that's got to get cleaned up."

Oct. 15, 2023; Alvin Kamara laments the New Orleans Saints losing to Houston Texans during the 4th quarter at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.; Credit: Kyle A. Mosley, Saints News Network

SUPER BOWL DREAMS WITH SAINTS ARE STARTING TO FADE

You wish better for players like Cam Jordan, Demario Davis, Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, Marshon Lattimore, and Jimmy Graham. All have and are playing inspired football deserving of being on a postseason contender. 

Can the Saints "fix" the problems that have been nagging them since last season? The NFC South title is still within reach; however, the red zone issues must improve for New Orleans.

Aug 13, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham (80) warms up before the game against the Kansas City Chiefs during the pregame at the Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

WHERE IS JIMMY GRAHAM?

Why hasn't Jimmy Graham been utilized more in the red zone?

Saints Hall of Famer Lance Moore said it best to Fletcher Mackel, "Some of those play calls down in the red zone on the last couple of drives are close to the red zone. The last couple of drives, I just don't understand what we're trying to do. The fact that Jimmy Graham isn't even on the field in those situations is beyond me."

Graham was in on 14 offensive snaps against the Texans.

Cam Jordan at the Post-Game Press Conference in Week 6

SOMETHING'S GOTTA CHANGE FOR THE SAINTS

NFL teams in the past have been buried by the season's end regardless of having abundant talent, a franchise quarterback, and great potential. C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans proved execution, communication issues, and penalties matter for a team to get over the hump. What alarmed me in our Q&A with Allen, Jordan, and Carr was Allen was pondering, Carr remained hopeful, and Jordan was clearly "POed!" He told Saints News Network, "We got to get this BLANK together!" Enough said.