Dennis Allen didn't wait for the question to be asked after his team's impressive, all-around win over the Giants in Week 15.
The oft-criticized Derek Carr had what was likely his best game of the season, and that was important to recognize.
"I don’t know if I’m going to get any questions about the quarterback this week, but I thought the quarterback played really well," Allen said. "So I’m gonna make sure we get that on record."
It was an offhand statement, but one with clear undertones regarding the reception of the Saints QB's play in his first season in New Orleans. There had been inconsistency but signs of development, even as boos rained down at the Caesars Superdome in recent weeks. On Sunday Carr put out a 23-28 passing day with 218 yards, 3 touchdowns and no turnovers in a 24-6 win was a product of that.
Allen made that fact known as the subject was broached later in his postgame interview.
“I just think it’s unfair, my personal opinion," Allen said. "But I know everyone’s got the right to their own opinion, but I thought he played really good in this game. Just like with everything else, I think when you play that position you’re going to get your fair share of criticism, and when someone plays really good I think we have to recognize that he played well.”
The relationship between Carr and his new home has been under the microscope all season. In some instances it's been fair and stemmed from clear incidents, such as blowups on the field in the direction of Chris Olave and Pete Carmichael earlier in the year, then an on-field shouting match between Carr and center Erik McCoy in Week 14.
Related
That incident was downplayed by both parties and the head coach in what was a 28-6 Saints win, and that sentiment was solidified in an impressive day for QB and OL in the win over the Giants.
Landon Young, who filled in for an injured Ryan Ramczyk at RT, made it clear that there's no question where the OL stands.
"As an offensive line, we 100% believe in Derek," he said. "We love that man. That man loves us and we’re going to do everything that we can during the week to prepare and keep him safe and make him as productive as possible.”
That sentiment was echoed by WR Keith Kirkwood, who was on the receiving end of the first Carr TD pass in the game. The pair has become close through persistent work, and early morning lifting and throwing sessions early in camp. That connection has continued into the season.
"You know what I love about Derek? He quiets the noise," Kirkwood said. "He doesn’t care about what the outside thinks, he only cares about what the guys in the locker room feel, and every single day he shows up to work and you see the outcome today. I mean, if you start to let that dictate your gameplay, then ultimately bad things will happen, right? But at the end of the day he comes in and works every single day, he puts in the work and he displays it on Sunday.”
That's certainly appeared to be the case for Carr over the last several weeks, particularly when it comes to scoring touchdowns in the red zone. A major issue for the Saints throughout the year, it came to a head in a Week 12 loss to the Falcons when the Saints failed to get into the end zone on any of their five red zone trips.
The following week the Saints made the decision to move up red zone work into their Thursday practices for some extra attention. The following week the Saints went 4-for-4 on red zone trips in a loss to the Lions. Despite the result, they saw the improvement and stuck with it. The last two games, both wins, the Saints have managed touchdowns on 5-of-6 trips, and in doing so have turned an often hostile environment into the party central that's the Superdome has been known to be.
Related
"This is exactly what I envisioned," Carr said. "I think that’s what we all were hoping for, you know, and so to get that validation from us working hard and knowing it’s not just gonna happen overnight, even thought we all felt confident. It feels good and it feels good that we’re improving, getting healthier, all those things. It’s all going in the right direction."
Not all has been solved for the 2023 Saints. They now sit at 7-7 after back-to-back wins, and thanks to a soft NFC South continue to control their own destiny to make the playoffs and even host a playoff game. But it only gets more difficult from here. Next up is a short week and trip out to L.A. for a date with the Rams on Thursday Night Football. That will be followed by a trip out to face the Bucs, also at 7-7, for a game that could potentially crown the division champ. There's also a date with the Falcons in Week 18, though their loss to the lowly Panthers to drop to 6-8 puts them slightly in the rear view mirror.
To get to the finish line it'll take a village, with Carr, DA and the rest of the roster all leaning on each other.
"as [Demario Davis] said, if we don’t take care of business of Thursday, it won’t feel good again," Carr relayed. "But to hear the crowd cheering, every touchdown, running in the tunnel and everyone is going nuts, ... all that stuff is good. It’s good for our city. It’s good for our team. But like I said earlier in the week, we’ve got to give them something to get excited about, and we were able to do that today.”