Welcome everyone to another edition of #4Downs!
1st Down: The Defensive Struggle is all too real
It’s obvious that the Saints defense is awful. It has been for some time. But it looked even more apparent without one of the best players in rookie linebacker Hau’oli Kikaha, who was sidelined with an ankle injury. With Brandon Browner (more on him later) doing what Browner does, the defense not being able to put any pressure on Mariota, and the secondary as a whole being picked apart, it was the one of the worst performances of the season.
2nd Down: Brees is Not Superman
One thing that this Saints team has to realize is that Brees is not Superman. That’s to say that Brees can’t be the guy who your team leans on. If your defense is being shredded like cheese, there’s no way you can win a game. People say defense wins championships, it takes both sides of the ball performing well to win the games that matter.
3rd Down: Ball Bounced the Titans Way
One thing that did happen for the Titans that led to them walking away with a win was that they were the beneficiary of several plays that could be best summed up as pure luck. The tipped passes to Delanie Walker were just unreal. How often do you see a guy be at the right place at the right time? Not very often. Add that with Marcus Murphy’s fumble on the punt return, the Titans were able to perform just well enough to win.
4th Down: Browner #HEGONE
If you follow me on Twitter (which you should, @clintdomingue is my handle), I usually give out the #HEGONE to signify who on the staff should no longer be with the organization. Brandon Browner earned that not only for his continued poor effort on the field, but for what he did off the field after the game. Browner decided to go off on a reporter that was asking Jairus Byrd a question. He had to be pushed into the shower area and be told to chill. And as he was pushed away from the situation, he shouted expletives and called the reporter a punk. After all of this talk of Payton getting rid of the “problem children” from his team, it looks like there’s one big problem in Browner that needs to go away as soon as possible. If you want to get rid of the negativity from the locker room, maybe it’s time to admit that Browner is a problem and cut ties with him.
-Clint Domingue