Pete Werner didn't need the explanation for the yo-yo he found in his locker ahead of Week 4. He already knew a few tricks. He can even "walk the dog."
The message being imparted by Saints head coach Sean Payton was: We don't want to be an up-and-down team.
Cam Jordan reportedly has some impressive yo-yo skills in his own right. But he's taken his coach's message to heart.
“I'm not even going to speak on that because we're not trying to be a yo-yo-type team," the veteran defensive end said. "We're trying to be consistent, so catch me in the off-season.”
But a "yo-yo team" is exactly what the Saints have been over the first month of the season, following up impressive victories in Weeks 1 and 3 with troubling losses in Weeks 2 and 4.
"Yea, that one's tough to digest," said Werner, simply.
He was one of a handful of Saints players thrust into an awkward position after an impressive individual performance that came in a stunning, overtime defeat to the New York Giants. Werner, who missed the first two games with injury, rolled up a team-high 10 tackles. But it was the Saints' missed tackles that stood out, particularly on a 56-yard catch-and-run by Saquon Barkley that kickstarted a furious Giants rally from 11 down with under 10 minutes to play.
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"You don't tackle with your body," Werner said, imparting wisdom well beyond a player just a few months into his first NFL season, "you tackle with your eyes, you have to put your eyes in the right spot. I think a lot of the times, when you are in space, your eyes kind of go up in the body."
Even with perfect form, Barkley represents a nearly impossible test when he's cut loose in the secondary without help or a sideline to funnel him to. But it wasn't just open-field tackling that struck the Saints. They got burned by the speed of John Ross III on a deep ball that swung momentum in the first half, right on the heels of a missed 58-yard field goal attempt by Aldrick Rosas.
"We just have to do our jobs, and that’s how you prevent the big plays," Williams said. "When you focus on the explosive and taking those away. That’s really the emphasis for us.”
The impressive Saints safety was in on both of those plays. Ross beat rookie Paulson Adebo over the top and outbattled Williams for a ball that he then fumbled only to recover in the end zone. Williams also had the last shot at Barkley on his long touchdown, with Marshon Lattimore appearing to get a bit too far upfield trying to take away a throw to the flat and setting the stage for the big play. The plays represented two of the first plays all season that the Saints safety failed to take away over the top, but still swung the game just enough for the upset in front of a raucous and ultimately disappointed crowd at the Caesars Superdome.
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With the defense unquestionably the strength of this year's Saints roster, the result was concerning. But the group that's stood up over the first three weeks despite significant personnel losses isn't going to put too much weight on Week 4's result. They will learn from it, though.
"100%, everything on film we see is fixable," Werner said. "It's all about communication and technique and working on the details."