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Go to hardhidewhiskies.com. That's hardhidewhiskies.com. All right, everybody. Welcome to another edition of the Saints Happy Hour Podcast. It's time for a little instant reaction post-game edition. As always, we are brought to you by Hardhide, Ponchettula Strawberry Whiskey, and Chilton County Peach Whiskey.
I drank it all in this game. This is a stupid Saints game as I've ever seen. Put it in a stupid Saints game hall of fame. Saints won 34 to 27. They were winning 34 to 10. And then it went to shit. The world is going to tell you that this is Kellen Moore's fault that he pulled the starters and that it all went to hell because he pulled the starters. But that's not true.
The Saints win in 34 to 10. He pulled the starters. Second play, C.J. Donaldson fumbled. And I want to ask you a question. How many 10-yard plays did the Saints defense give up after it was 34 to 10? Do you know? Because I do. All of them. All of them. It was 10 of them. This defense nearly cost them this game. You want to yell at Kellen Moore about it, it's fine. But this defense was.
atrocious in the last 10 minutes of the game only the clock and the Saints special teams coach being smart and telling his kick returner to run the ball out of the end zone save their ass this game was full shenanigans funhouse I mean I'm happy they won because I guess but Jesus Christ this game because I guess yeah Go ahead. Go ahead. Yell at Kelly Moore. Who? Who? Who's supposed to talk to you first? You, you, Andrew. You're obviously salty. Just fucking jump in there, man. You don't need an invitation. Well, I feel like Ralph is the host and he's supposed to ask the question and then pass the next person with who speaks.
No, that was, that was, that was the old podcast before I started taking over. This is the new podcast is you just fucking talk when you're angry. I couldn't disagree with Ralph Moore. Absolutely absurd that he's blaming this just on the defense who, by the way, got four turnovers to help build this lead to begin with. But pretty much all you had to do to win this game is get one first down over the last four drives. One, one first down probably would have done it. They were not capable of getting a single one. Okay. And not only that you pull your starters and it's not just.
It's not just Rattler coming in. It's Marcus Murphy's in there. They got a bunch of clowns. Alave was yanked. Camaro was yanked. Like any dude that did anything in this game was yanked.
And we basically put in the B team to finish out the game. No surprise. They couldn't get a first down. They fumble. They give the ball back. And at that point, you basically told your entire team, hey, boys, we got this in the bag. Go ahead and throttle down. And that's when the Giants mount this serious comeback. And then you don't have anything in the playbook other than run right up the middle to run this clock out. So, like, you completely expose your defense. Now, look, like, the pass where the ball gets almost intercepted and it pops up. I mean, it was a fluke. It was ridiculous.
I will tell you this, the saints were plus three in turnovers and really like it went down to the wire. Like if the giant score, they should have gone for two and I think they would have made it. And neighbors was freaking open on that last play. If he makes that read and he makes that throw with a touchdown, I'm telling you neighbors was open in the end zone. So, uh, you know, They were this close to losing and they were plus three in the turnover ratio. So basically the way I see this game is like, there were some moments, you know, the saints turned it around. They got, you know, the offense kind of cashed in on some drives. I'll give them credit there. Like they did a good job of turning the game around, but make no mistake. The only reason we won this game is because Jamis gave it away. Jamis went full Jamis. He was throwing balls all over the yard. He was absolutely reckless with the football. And like, we barely won that game plus three in the turnover battle. Like if it's even the giants would have houses.
I mean, but also to, this is a serious question. I mean, to your point, Andrew, and to go against Ralph, because we all love to go against Ralph. I mean, does the Saints defense get a pass? Because I mean, all of, a lot of that yardage that they got and all those touchdowns they got in the game, that was with McCarthy. Like they were looking at a different quarterback. Like they didn't game plan McCarthy. They didn't have, like, I don't, I don't know how much tape they watched in McCarthy. Like, like does the Saints defense kind of get a pass because they were going against a different quarterback that they hadn't seen all day. And that like, that also kind of like changes things for them. I think that this defense deserves plenty of.
you know, criticism. How many yards do you think McCarthy had in this game? I'm not trying to defend. I can look it up right now. 233.
I'm not trying to defend the defense. I'm not trying to defend that they gave up a ton of huge, massive plays. So I'm not excusing the defense. They played awful down the stretch. The same, it was the Raiders game all over again. We, we deserve to lose it. Honestly, we deserve like, if the same thing that I was prepared for the loss and I was going to be like, we totally deserve what happened to us. This felt like a loss more than a win. I'll take it. The team is so pathetic. Like I'll take it, you know, cause it's the best we can hope for at this point is a fricking shenanigan win that feels totally fraudulent. So I'll take it. But, but, but I, I just can't help but feel like, so yes, the defense deserves some blame.
for sure for how they played in that game, but it's a two way street and they were bailed out by bad decisions by the giants out down the stretch. They were bailed out by horrific block in the back twice on returns that cost them. They probably cost them 50 yards combined, maybe more. And time that they didn't have. And time that they didn't have. So like the giants stepped on their own rakes. Like they lost this game all on their own. They gave it away just as much as the saints did, but this was two bad teams stepping on rakes all day. But, but you don't think, but you don't think, you don't think nine times to 18.
To me, this is nothing. The biggest concern I have, of course, the Saints ran the football because everyone does. The Giants are terrible run defense, but they couldn't run the ball when it mattered. When they needed a first down, they couldn't get a first down on their final four drives. Everyone knew they were running the ball and they couldn't do it. And Chuck obviously is very inaccurate right now. The left hand, I think, is caught. I think he's lost the plot with it. I mean, he made some plays in this game. It was better than last week. He didn't turn it over, but like he's not playing well right now. So Chuck with a broken hand, like it's not really working out great. And this team still can't run the football, at least not when it matters. I mean, they showed a little bit today against a bad defense. They did a little bit.
more but my biggest concern right now is your your star quarterback who's really the only guy that can make plays for you i feel like he's very limited he's inaccurate and like all the stuff that we say about kellen like the inability to close games because he can't make the right call situationally he can't we can't close the game because we can't run the football starting slow being down 10 nothing with two minutes left in the half like Like we just kind of like things got weird. It was a shenanigans game. That's great that we won. But the concerns that we have about Kellen Moore, like to me, none of that got repaired today. None of it. Kevin, the Saints managed to start. They managed to finish the game like they started it. And yet somehow they won. I don't. Hold on. I'm sorry, Kevin, but I just have to push back on Andrew, who's like.
knocking the rushing game. Like this was the best rushing performance of the Saints this season. Like you can't, like they actually committed, you know, you heard Drew in the broadcast, like in the second half, they kind of finally committed. They went, they were going 12 personnel, two tight ends. They were committing to running the ball. Kendra Miller had a great drive there. I mean, yes, the season, I don't think the running game has been terrible, but like this is, okay, but this was still, this was still their best rushing performance of the season. So I don't know. Anyway, go ahead, Kevin. No, I mean, I'm mostly on Andrew's side here. Like I think yanking shuck out when they did.
And actually, you know what? I want to look up the play by play from the fourth quarter and see if I can find out how much time was left on the clock. 10 minutes, less than 11 minutes. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. I wasn't totally sure if it was double digits or not, but pulling your starting for like, I get it. You're up 24 on the road, but the idea of pulling your starter up, up, up like that.
I don't know. I think it just sent the wrong. I think it sent the wrong signal. If it was eight minutes, if it was eight minutes, I would totally I would understand it at that point. I really would. But it just it just feet like doing it with 10 minutes left in the game to me feels weird. It just felt weird. And like Andrew said, you immediately take your foot off the gas. You say we're going to suddenly we're not applying any more gas. We're just changing like your mindset changes as a professional athlete. You feel like, OK, the coach has said by pulling a starter, the coach is effectively saying this game is done. It's in the bag. We can you mentally let go.
That is, it's, it's, that's just, that's just basic psychology. When something big like that happens, your mindset changes. And then suddenly you fumble the ball, the Giants somehow miraculously score. And now all of a sudden, well, shit, now there's only like, what, nine minutes, you know, there's still plenty of time left. And now the Giants get the two point conversion as well. Now they're only down by 16 and they suddenly make a fucking game of it. Honestly, had the Saints gotten a first down.
on either of those next yeah like i mean again huge again all i'm doing is i'm doing a rambling more incoherent version on the drive on the drive y'all are all freaking out about it pulled the starters you know what it would have been if if donaldson hadn't fucking fumbled it would have been third and two okay well first of all ralph you should forfeit your crown your victory you should forfeit that because of that fumble uh you should disown your udfa son but uh more seriously um Here's the bottom line. I don't know how much longer he doesn't get a stay of execution in my book. Like Kellen Moore after this game, like he does, he does because Gail's not going to fire him after a win. I'm not sure that I would have called for him to get fired after this game either way. But like if the saints get embarrassed in Paris on national TV, like that's kind of what we all said. Like, I don't really see a scenario where he's cooked after this giants game, but like if they go, if they go lose in Paris and humiliating fashion of the Steelers who by the way are in a very competitive game right now in overtime against the bucks, it looks like they might win, but it's close. So like,
If they can't win that game, if they get humiliated by 57-year-old Aaron Rodgers in Paris, to me, he doesn't get a save execution. I still think him getting fired is in play, we'll call it. But here's my thing with Kellen Moore. For as long as he's the Saints coach, and I don't know if it's going to last one more week. I don't know if it's going to last for the rest of the year. I don't know if he goes into next season. But lesson learned, Kellen.
I don't care how hot you got in that game running the football. A, you can't really run the ball. And B, you can't really trust your defense. So I don't give a shit what the lead is. No lead is safe with your team, Kellen. This is the lesson. No lead is safe with this team. And therefore, never pull the starters again, ever. I don't care if we're up 50.
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