During the New Orleans Saints' 7-game losing steak earlier this season, one thing became very clear: The Saints had a finishing problem.
Yes, there were three games with Derek Carr out hurt that weren't particularly close, and yes, the Kansas City Chiefs did what the Kansas City Chiefs do, but there were three games that the Saints felt they could've won. Losses to the Eagles, Falcons and Panthers in Weeks 3, 4 and 9 all came down to the final possessions, and the Saints fell flat in the 4th quarter.
That's why in taking over as the interim head coach, one of the main messages from Darren Rizzi to his team was finishing, as he explained on WWL Radio this week. That's what's stood out the most in the past two games, both wins that came down to the final frame.
"When you look at the stats at the end of the year, the teams are playing in the playoffs, in the tournament at the end of the year, are gonna be the teams that usually have the best records in one-score games," Rizzi told Mike Hoss and Bobby Hebert, "and that’s something that we didn’t do well, again, when I took over I tried to look at, one of the things, the tangible things that we need to get better at that are just obvious."
Listen to the full, exclusive interview with Saints interim head coach Darren Rizzi in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
Rizzi has brought visual aids to make his point since taking over as head coach, a new one at every team meeting but all along the same theme. It started with a shovel, then came a hardhat, then a construction vest, even a level. The coach says if you want a mental image, just picture Bob the Builder -- yes, the kids show.
The props will continue even as the things Rizzi is preaching might change. Still, it's clear the messaging has landed as the Saints head into their bye week.
"Finishing is a habit, and what I’ve tried to instill the last couple weeks and with the last couple coaches is just finishing everything and making that become a habit," Rizzi continued. "I think that’s what Taysom [Hill] was alluding to [in his press conference] and I think the guys have bought into that and they’ve really, you hear the guys on the sideline in the fourth quarter, everyone, finish, finish, finish, but it starts with finishing a drive and it starts with finishing out the half, and so that’s really, really important."
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MORE FROM DARREN RIZZI
On Taysom Hill's big day
“Running out of things to say about Taysom and they’re all positive. I just, again, you know, people talk about, you know, what position is this guy, what is he … and really he’s just a really, really outstanding football player. That’s what he is. He’s an old-school throwback type of guy and, listen, there’s nothing he can’t do, I mean, if he had to go out there in a pinch he could kick off, he could long snap. He’s our backup holder and of the things that gets lost is he rushes punts really well, he’s blocked punts in his career. I mean, this guy, he’s just a great guy to have on the team. I’m glad we have him and I’m not surprised whatsoever by the success he had yesterday.”
On all the opponents' missed field goal attempts
“The kickers at this level have gotten, you know, in the NFL, have gotten so good and so consistent and obviously we’ve benefitted the last couple weeks from, you know, from some misses. Now, I will say this, I think part of those has to do with our rush, our field goal rush has been outstanding. We got our hand on a ball against the Falcons, we just missed another one. Great effort again yesterday by that unit, and you guys know, when those guys go and watch that film, the kickers and snappers and holders and the protection guys go watch that film week after week, ah, they speed up a little bit more because hey, we’ve got to get it off because these guys are really good at rushing and maybe screws with the operation a little bit. So, listen, I think it’s all encompassing. I think it probably goes without saying that I didn’t agree with the call on Payton Turner, I think probably everyone saw that, so I don’t have to really elaborate on that too much, but yea, I didn’t that that was a penalty and fortunately for us they missed the next one, so there’s that old expression, ball don’t lie, right, so I think we got a little ball don’t lie there, at the end.”
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On MVS' impact
“I mentioned the explosive plays, you know, when your opponent has explosive plays the only way to neutralize that is you’ve got to have some yourself and listen, you know, MVS, he’s done a phenomenal job coming in here mid-stream, learning the offense, providing a spark. As he likes to call it a little sauce … him and I joke around about that. I always call it the juice, he likes to call it the sauce, but he’s provided a lot of sauce for us, and listen, now that he’s become a weapon, a deep threat, a big play threat, it changes the offense. … I think Klint and the offensive staff have done a really nice job the last two weeks of utilizing him and putting him in positions where, you know, even a couple of those balls that we didn’t connect on down the field, those are the plays that the defense, the opponent has to be leery of and make sure to defense and that opens up a lot of other things and, you know, when Olave, obviously Shaheed went down, you were worried about – we really don’t have that, you know, take the top off the coverage kind of guy, that speed element, whatever you want to call it and he’s provided that the last couple weeks, and what you’re seeing is it opens up a lot of other facets of the offense, and we’ve had a lot of guys get their hands on the ball the last couple weeks and that’s great. The more we can do that the better. Derek has done a great job distributing the ball, but you’ve got to give a lot of credit to Scantling. He’s done a really nice job and hopefully he can continue to do that, stay healthy and continue to provide that for us.”
On Cam Jordan's impact
“I think the last two weeks I think Cam has played his best football of the season. I think the gameplans the last two weeks were really conducive to, you know, Cam being in there and he was a big reason that, you know, that they didn't run the ball that well. You know, listen, you have guys like Cam and Demario, obviously two veteran presences, two phenomenal guys to have in the locker room, just great leaders and when those guys are setting the tone and making plays, man, everybody kind of follows suit, and so it’s – for our group, for our team, for our organization, those guys have just been phenomenal and really these last two weeks, those guys have really stepped up, not only on the field but off the field and their leadership is felt throughout the building. It’s great to see them both have success, you know, you talk about … with all those older guys, we have a little bit of a unique locker room right now because we have a really interesting mixture of veterans and younger players and so there’s a lot of younger guys, first and second year guys, and when you have guys like Demario and you have guys like Cam and you have guys like Taysom, the guys that you mentioned, these older veteran players and here’s guys that are just doing it right and going through and being professionals and then also having success, it’s a big deal, and so kudos to all three of those guys.”