Dennis Allen isn’t exactly inspiring confidence in his staff. The New Orleans Saints head coach acknowledged his offense’s struggles in moving the ball and putting points on the board after a stunning 26-9 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday, as well as the criticism targeting offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael.
But Allen is determined to prove Carmichael was the right pick for the job. He announced that Carmichael will remain the play caller on offense during Monday’s media session.
“No, we won’t make any coaching changes,” Allen told NewOrleans.Football’s Mike Triplett. “I’ve never seen that to be the right answer, particularly when we’re four games into the season. And yet we have to be better. I understand everyone’s frustration because everyone in the building feels it.”
Carmichael’s version of the offense was league-average last season with Jameis Winston and Andy Dalton under center, but it’s plummeted to rank among the worst units in the NFL now that Allen has brought in his handpicked quarterback Derek Carr. They ranked 15th on third downs, 16th in passing yards and 19th in rushing yards last season, but 22nd in points scored. Through four games this year they rank 18th on third downs, 21st in passing yards, and 25th in both rushing yards and points scored.
That much regression is concerning. Especially when Allen and the Saints spent all summer talking up their new additions: Carr was an upgrade over the quarterbacks he preceded, the offensive line would be better with Trevor Penning starting at left tackle, their stable of running backs was clearly better after signing Jamaal Williams and drafting Kendre Miller, and how could they not make plays with so much talent at receiver? But the offense hasn’t lived up to expectations, and there needs to be some accountability.
Well, there needs to be accountability, but there isn’t any. The same people are going to remain in the same places on staff, including Carmichael. They’re going to keep doing things the same way until they get different results. We’ll see how that works out.
Allen is stubbornly sticking to the plan. It hasn’t worked yet, but maybe it will if they just keep trying. Allen was adamant that the offense must get better, outlining several areas they can improve: putting guys in better position to make plays, executing assignments more effectively (he pointed to two throws by Carr that could have been completed with better ball placement), and obviously scoring points, adding “Everybody knows that.”
Those would all do a lot to help improve the offense’s standing, sure. But they’re also all minor concerns compared to the big-picture issues plaguing the unit. Carmichael hasn’t shown any regard for down-and-distance, leading to their low conversion rate on third down. When they’ve needed three yards he’s flushed all the receivers downfield with no safety valve underneath. This has been a recurring problem for him.
There are always times where people have to learn on the job and adapt to what they have to work with. Learning what works and what doesn’t is part of that process, and it’s fine to practice some patience — to an extent. If Carmichael had just come up from the college ranks this would be much more excusable. The fact that he’s been in the building for 15 years and is still figuring these things out is beyond frustrating.
Allen says Carmichael hears those frustrations from fans and analysts just like everyone else in the building, and that the veteran offensive coordinator is working to improve. All we can do right now is take Allen at his word.
