New Orleans Saints 10 - 24 Atlanta Falcons This game is up there for the most miserable performance to watch by the team this season. The worst part? The offense didn’t play particularly poorly, but Kellen Moore repeatedly made immeasurably bad decisions. Due to this, I won’t be diving into the performances of the offense or the defense, but the two people who are most responsible for this loss: Kellen Moore and Blake Grupe (which also happens to fall on Kellen Moore). Kellen Moore (Dennis Allen, but “Offensive-Minded”) When Kellen Moore officially became the Saints head coach, I honestly wasn’t happy or sad; I was relatively neutral. I say this because I believed Kellen Moore was an extremely vanilla head coach, but that he at least seemed competent as a playcaller. I also felt that any head coach who came here would struggle to succeed with the current state of the roster. Now, after I have watched Kellen Moore struggle and fail over and over again to make good decisions 11 games into the season, I am completely out on bringing him back again. I now have 18 tweets since the season started questioning Kellen Moore, whether it be regarding his demeanor, game management, or playcalling. He has had multiple instances where he doesn’t make up his mind whether or not he wants to call time-outs or let the clock run to the end of the half, and he has also made terrible decisions when challenging calls on the field. One of those things showed up again today, with Kellen Moore failing to challenge an iffy spot after Dante Pettis was just short of a first down, essentially ending the game. To me, it is a no-brainer to challenge that spot, as if it’s overturned, you still have the ball, save your three timeouts, and are near midfield. In Kellen Moore’s mind, I guess he was thinking that the defense could get a stop, which they did, and they’d still have a shot at scoring 14 points, after scoring only three through three quarters. Don’t even get me started on Kellen Moore’s playcalling… Moore struggles to call high-quality plays once the Saints cross into opposing teams’ territory. He has struggled with this all season, with the Saints currently at a 38.5% redzone conversion rate (touchdowns only). This lands them last in the league, over 5.5% below the Texans, and makes them the only team below the 40% mark. This also showed up again in this matchup, as the Saints went to the red zone three times and could not score one touchdown. Two of those trips, they got stopped at the one-yard line, both times coming up short with Taysom Hill, NOT their rookie QB Tyler Shough, who you might think would be important to give reps down there. There was a glimmer of hope for Devin Neal on one drive, who single-handedly led the team from their own 25 to the Falcons’ 45, but he didn’t touch the ball again afterwards. This drive ended with a Taysom Hill shotgun rollout pass, with only one possible option to pass to. That is malpractice. Finally, Kellen Moore does not possess the mentality or character to be a head coach of an NFL team; he is simply an offensive-minded coach, akin to Dennis Allen. He simply stands on the sideline, always straight-faced, and doesn’t ever seem to try to light fire under his players’ asses. Anytime something goes wrong, the team loses, players make mistakes, etc. I feel like Kelen Moore could show much more passion on the sidelines than he does. Would this definitely change the Saints season or their future outlook right now? Possibly, and honestly probably not. However, it does in my eyes as someone who has played football through the D3 college level, matter in terms of winning over a locker room. Level-headed coaches can come off as not caring, or as someone who will be in over their head when the going gets tough, and I think we can see that possibly happening this season. One final point, the Saints just went to Carolina, won, and had a whole bye week to prepare for this Falcons team. Within that bye week, Kellen Moore said the focus was to “self-scout”. The team clearly failed in that department, as they once again started slow and failed to score 20 offensive points. All-in-all, the Saints team looks like it has a dud at the head coach position, which dampens any hopes I had of the team turning it around any time soon. Blake Grupe Blake Grupe should not have even been on the Saints roster for this game, as he was 17/23 on field goal attempts before this game. However, Kellen Moore believed in him, going against all NFL standards, and thought he could turn it around. Then, in another close game, Grupe misses two huge field goals from very makeable distances, with one also directly leading to three Falcons points. If Blake Grupe is not off the team after this game, or is not at least benched for Charlie Smythe or outside competition, Kellen Moore will absolutely get blasted by beat reporters and Saints fans. This game was one I was actually looking forward to after having to wait two full weeks since the game in Charlotte. I wasn’t just let down, but I was made to feel like I couldn’t have been more wrong about how I felt about the team after the Panthers game. Change is needed if the season continues this way, but I do at least feel like the team may have something in Tyler Shough. On to the Dolphins… Offensive MVP: NONE. Defensive MVP: NONE. (Shoutout to Demario Davis still balling though) Special Teams MVP: NONE.

Team Stats (Hawks at Pelicans) Final Score: 115-98 Rebounds: 42-48 Assists: 28-21 Blocks: 7-6 Steals: 6-5 Turnovers: 7-14 Stat Leaders Scoring Leaders: Kristaps Porziņģis, 30; Derik Queen, 20 Rebound Leaders: Jalen Johnson, 11; Derik Queen, Trey Murphy III, 9 Assist Leaders: Jalen Johnson, 9; Saddiq Bey, 5 My Player of the Game: Derik Queen Chrissy's Key Takeaways * Rookie Derik Queen continues to impress everyone with his play. He's smooth on the court, and watching him play with other rookies Jeremiah Fears and Micah Peavy make it look obvious that this is really the future of this franchise. * Saddiq Bey finished the game with 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists, which was also his first double double as a Pelican. * The Pelicans have lost nine games in a row and a re 2-15 on the season. Somehow we are worse than last year. Follow @TheKneaux on X, and follow me there too, @SportsChrissy.

Once again, the Saints have a divisional matchup, and like before the bye week, it's a winnable game.

Team Stats (Pelicans at Nuggets) Final Score: 115-118 Rebounds: 42-47 Assists: 25-30 Blocks: 4-9 Steals: 15-9 Turnovers: 13-20 Stat Leaders Scoring Leaders: Trey Murphy III, 25; Cooper Flagg, 29 Rebound Leaders: Herbert Jones, 9; P.J. Washington, 9 Assist Leaders: Derik Queen, 11; Brandon Williams, 12 My Player of the Game: Trey Murphy III Chrissy's Key Takeaways * Incredibly frustrating finish to a great game played by the New Orleans Pelicans. * The first quarter was probably the best quarter the Pelicans have played all season. The second quarter was played really well too. The third quarter, like usual, put the Pelicans in the hole and it was one they were not able to climb out of. * Rookie Derik Queen played another phenomenal game. Trey Murphy III looks great too . * The Pelicans ar4e 2-14 on the season. God help us all . Follow @TheKneaux on X, and follow me there too, @SportsChrissy.

Team Stats (Nuggets at Pelicans) Final Score: 125-118 Rebounds: 41-44 Assists: 35-25 Blocks: 1-5 Steals: 8-12 Turnovers: 20-12 Stat Leaders Scoring Leaders: Peyton Watson, 32; Derik Queen, 30 Rebound Leaders: Peyton Watson, 12; Derik Queen, 9 Assist Leaders: Nikola Jokić, 10; Zion Williamson, 5 My Player of the Game: Derik Queen Chrissy's Key Takeaways * Rookie Derik Queen went toe-to-toe against one of the best big men in the NBA and was incredible. Nikola Jokić had some nice things to say about Queen after the game. * Zion Williamson was back from a hamstring injury and having him on the court helped out a lot with the spacing. Hopefully he can stay healthy because it makes a big difference when he is on the court. * Trey Murphy has found his stroke and is playing like we all knew he could this year. * All three rookies are really dynamic and playing big roles on this New Orleans squad. * Yes, the Pelicans are 2-13 on the season, but there has been an improvement in the play calls, lineups, and offensive since James Borrego took over. * The Pelicans play in a cup game Friday night at 7:30 pm at the Dallas Mavericks. Follow @TheKneaux on X, and follow me there too, @SportsChrissy.

Team Stats (Thunder at Pelicans) Final Score: 126-109 Rebounds: 38-35 Assists: 30-21 Blocks: 5-4 Steals: 12-9 Turnovers: 16-20 Stat Leaders Scoring Leaders: Chet Holmgren, 26; Jeremiah Fears, 24 Rebound Leaders: Chet Holmgren, 9; Derik Queen, 8 Assist Leaders: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, 8; Jordan Hawkins, 6 My Player of the Game: Jeremiah Fears Chrissy's Key Takeaways * The ONLY good part about tonight's game was that no matter how far down the Pelicans got in the game, adjustments kept being made by James Borrego to help the home team go on some sort of run. * The Pelicans started off the game with two turnovers, when they knew the key to the game was to minimize turnovers. And then the Thunder scored 49 points in the first quarter because at one point, the Pelicans had more turnovers than shots taken . * Where is the pride in this team? Are they OK with making paychecks and looking pitiful against every team night after night? * The defense and turnovers have to improve or who knows when this team will win another game. * The Pelicans are now 2-12 on the season. Zion and Jordan Poole are still out with their injuries. Saddiq Bey was out tonight too with some kind of injury. Follow @TheKneaux on X, and follow me there too, @SportsChrissy.

Team Stats (Warriors at Pelicans) Final Score: 124-106 Rebounds: 47-45 Assists: 34-22 Blocks: 5-4 Steals: 14-11 Turnovers: 21-19 Stat Leaders Scoring Leaders: Moses Moody, 32; Trey Murphy III, 20 Rebound Leaders: Moses Moody, 8; Trey Murphy III, 8 Assist Leaders: Moses Moody, 10; Derik Queen, 6 My Player of the Game: Trey Murphy III Chrissy's Key Takeaways * This was James Borrego's first time as a head coach of the New Orleans Pelicans and his starting lineup had Derik Queen in it, which a lot of people were hoping to see. * This game did not have the outcome everyone was hoping for, especially now that Willie Green is gone, but to think Borrego will turn the team around in one game is unrealistic. * Zion needs to become available as soon as possible. Having him out is hurting this whole team. * With Zion and Jordan Poole being hurt, this season is already feeling like the past several seasons where we say, "Well if this team was healthy then they would be good." * Trey Murphy III is doing all he can and putting up great numbers but he cannot lead this team to victory alone. * The Pelicans take the court again in a back-to-back game on Monday, Nov. 16 at 7 pm against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Follow @TheKneaux on X, and follow me there too, @SportsChrissy.