Dennis Allen threw his headset to the ground, then spent the entire 2-minute warning break in a heated conversation with the officiating after the latest in what seems like an unending string of questionable to downright awful decisions.
This time it was a personal foul called against Alontae Taylor for what could be best described as a form tackle on Giants TE Daniel Bellinger. Still, when Allen was asked about the explanation after the game he didn't really have an answer. He was the one doing the talking.
“I really didn’t ask," Allen said. "I didn’t agree with the call, so I was more expressing my feelings than asking what they saw or called. It was a big play in the game, really, when you really look at it. That’s a big play.”
It was an answer that walks the fine line of criticizing the officiating while making sure you don't have to write a $100,000 check to the league, which was the case this week for Chiefs head coach Andy Reid after an offensive offsides call erased a pivotal touchdown throw late in the game. That was a week after an uncalled pass interference in a loss to the Packers earlier this year.
Oh, and a week earlier? The NFL admitted a blown pass interference call that was missed on Kaden Elliss when he fouled Alvin Kamara down in the red zone early in the fourth quarter. The Saints settled for a long field goal on that drive.
It's an issue that seems to crop up every few weeks, and there just doesn't seem to be any answer, and that's been the case dating back to the no-call that struck the Saints in the NFC Championship at the end of the 2018 season. In the aftermath of that black eye the league instituted a change to allow coaches to challenge judgement call penalties. That lasted one year, with officials making it clear through the lack of overturned calls that it wasn't going to move the needle. That went away, and the only thing to do is live with the result and decide whether it's worth picking up a fine in your postgame interview.
“[The refs] didn’t give me an explanation," Taylor said in the locker room. "My coaches gave me an explanation, ‘great hit.’ So that was it.”
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The timing of the missed call was also significant, considering it came on a 3rd and 22 snap with 2:52 remaining in the first half, and the tackle occurred 17 yards from the line to gain. The Giants took advantage of that second life and drive for a 40-yard field goal, which would be their final score of the day in a 24-6 Saints victory. Those points didn't impact the result in the end, but the message is clear.
“All the players kept telling me keep playing that way and they had my back and that’s what we did," taylor said. "We held them to 3 points. We knew that they weren’t gonna score on us, so everybody had that confidence and we just kept playing after that. It didn’t bother me too much.”
Another thing that's clear: Don't expect any solutions. Live with the results, and make sure you control the outcome. That's what Taylor and the Saints defense did in this game, and it's what they'll have to do on Thursday when they travel to face the Rams.