Claude Coupee
GSEZ Correspondent
“Calvin Throckmorton.”
The guy who stepped in for his first NFL snap in the first quarter after C Eric McCoy went down and RG Cesar Ruiz shifted over to take his place. His first pro experience is getting tossed into the fire at RG in week one, and we don’t miss a beat.
Dude’s name sounds like the laughable rich-guy supporting character in a black-and-white romantic comedy movie set on Park Avenue in NYC in the 30s and 40s who chuckles a lot while always carrying a martini.
Meanwhile, here the biography on the Saints’ website:
“Throckmorton made 52 consecutive starts (right tackle-41, left tackle-5, right guard-3, center-3) for the Ducks and allowed just one sack over his final 3,224 snaps (45 contests). The Bellevue, Wash. native was a second-team All-American as a senior in 2019 as he opened 12 games at right tackle and two at center. He was also a second-team All-American in 2018, as he was the only FBS player to start at four different (right tackle, center, right guard and left tackle) offensive line positions.”
Not drafted. HTF did no other team really take a flyer on this guy at some point? And he ends up with us?
Witchcraft! Or this:
https://girodstreetendzone.com/no-rebuild-just-reload/
*****
As I am more of a couillon than The GOAT and have to fall back on numbers, I thought this was telling. Zach Baun (invisible last year) didn’t start but had five solo tackles. JT Gray (who plays mostly ST) and Malcolm Jenkins had three solo tackles. Eleven other Saints had two solo tackles. That’s a tremendous spread, and is a testament to the depth, and to the philosophy of getting everyone involved.
On the Packers’ first drive alone, which only had six snaps from scrimmage, we played eight different DL and four different LB. Everybody got a touch, everybody got a chance to get a sweat. Confident organizations and confident head coaches make sure the whole roster is involved, both for depth and for team chemistry. This wasn’t just about not getting tired in the heat. Everything has a purpose.
Also, BTW, if first round pick DE Payton Turner and second round pick LB Pete Werner, neither of whom saw the field yesterday, don’t make the Pro Bowl as rookies, this is their redshirt year. And third round pick CB Paulson Adebo’s going anyway.
Not to mention that we have top-shelf guys on rookie contracts waiting to replace in-their-30s Demario Davis and Cameron Jordan.
Witchcraft, I tell you!
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One more thought on the same theme:
Everybody was worried (with reasonable reason) that we were weak at DT. Sheldon Rankkins deservedly signed elsewhere, we traded Malcom Brown…and we were “left with” Shy Tuttle, Albert Huggins, Malcolm Roach and Christian Ringo. All of whom were either UDFA or journeyman castoffs?
Anybody see us get blown off the ball? Anybody see Rodgers step up calmly in the pocket?
No.
Packers got zero, nada, bupkis up the middle. They got 43 yards on 15 carries before they realized it was pointless, with three running plays in the second half, even when they were not so far behind that using the running game could change the momentum, get it back to a one-score game.
Feels like we are OK at DT for now, yes?
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The next time some announcer says that a defensive coordinator “dials up a blitz” I am going to stab myself in the temples with a knitting needle. Are these guys from the 1960s? Dial?? WTF is a dial in 2021??
Not to mention, it over-glorifies the authority figures and objectifies the players. THIS IS NOT A ******* VIDEO GAME. It’s the top-down, organizational hierarchy image the NFL depends on to sell its product, but if you’ve ever played team sports at any level, there’s a huge quantity of bullshit in how the reality of the interplay of the coaching and the players and their execution is delivered to the listening audience.
Just sayin’.
*****
Coaches hate negative plays, in ways that fans like me often fail to recognize. One reason this was a 38-3 blowout as opposed to a really good win was almost flawless Saints execution.
Always remember, football is not big plays. It is an accretion of tiny advantages, per play, per series of downs, per possession, per quarter, yadda yadda. Underlying all of which is roughly 11 performances on each side of the ball per play.
The Saints had 60 offensive snaps, and here were the “negative plays”:
False start in Q2.
Taysom Hill stopped for a one-yard loss and we scored on the next play.
False start in Q3.
Winston’s INT that was bailed out by a roughing call. (Yeah, technically it was a tough call on the defender, but (1) he was absolutely trying to ram Winston’s head into the ground and (2) if that had been Tom Brady, they would have grabbed the defender, tied him to the goal post and had him summarily executed by security guards.)
Offensive holding in Q4 when we were up by a million points.
Two kneel downs.
No sacks. No turnovers. No guys getting stuffed in the backfield. Nobody swinging out wide and trying to get cute and turning a one-yard loss into a seven-yard loss.
That’s incredible, and, my friends, is coaching heaven, even better than what you get at the end of an episode of Friday Night Lights. (I am looking at you, Grandmaster….)
*****
Enough for now. GOAT will come back later in the week looking forward to the summary execution of the Panthers.
WHO DAT FOREVER.