NFL legend Richard Sherman could not handle a pathetic New Orleans Saints first half – and neither could the team’s fans.
“Like they want to get their coach fired!” was the Super Bowl winner’s verdict on a pair of opening quarters that left the Saints trailing 16-3.
After starting the season 2-0, the Saints have crashed back to reality, losing five straight, with Dennis Allen’s job security looking like a big question mark (Photo by Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images)
The first half of Thursday Night Football ended with a chorus of boos greeting the New Orleans Saints on their own home turf in the Superdome.
On fan tweeted: “Spencer Rattler asked ‘what are we doing?’ Even the rookie is questioning Dennis Allen”, while another added: “Guess they’ve never heard of a Hail Mary.”
With just seconds on the clock, Saints head coach Dennis Allen called a timeout.
Perhaps the chance for an Aaron Rodgers-style heave down the field to breathe life into a lost cause?
Nope, instead, the Saints came back from the pause and quarterback Spencer Rattler – in just his second starts – kneeled out the final moments.
It left broadcasters Al Michaels and Kirk Herbstreit at a loss: “Another timeout, I guess. Alright. For what practical purpose, you tell me,” Michaels said.
“I don’t know.” – Herbstreit responded.
A disastrous first half saw the Saints down 16-3 and it could have been so much worse had the Broncos not turned three scoring drives into just nine points through three field goals.
Shredded on the ground and unable to get anything of their own going on offense, the laughable timeout-to-kneel moment was the last straw for the watching New Orleans crowd and ultimately, the final straw for Sherman.
The former Seattle Seahawk achieved legendary status as part of the Super Bowl winning Legion of Boom defense and seeing such an inept defensive display.
Pro Bowl safety Tyrann Mathieu dropping an interception that hit him in the hands – forced his tongue.
“I’m confused, I’m vexed, I’m perplexed,” Sherman said during Amazon Prime’s Thursday Night Football halftime show.
“I don’t get it. They don’t want to tackle, they don’t want to make good plays. These are good players. Tyrann Mathieu is a good player, the easiest interception of his life to send him to number 36 and he drops it!
“I’ve seen guys not having effort to get to the ball carrier, to make tackles, I don’t understand this. It seems like they want to get their coach fired – that’s the effort they’re playing with.
“Then Dennis Allen – you call a timeout so we can watch your quarterback take a knee? Are you trying to torture Saints fans? They’re going to be waiting by his car after the game!”
Allen entered the week with the sixth-best odds to be the next NFL head coach fired after Robert Saleh became the first but if Sherman’s indictment is anything to go by, then time could be running out for the 52-year-old.
Juwan Johnson looks up in disbelief during the second half in the middle of an abysmal offensive performance (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
The second half was hardly any better for the Saints than the first, eventually going down 33-10 to the Broncos and former coach and New Orleans legend Sean Payton.
The Saints started the season 2-0, scoring a league-high 91 points in victories against the Panthers and Cowboys. But they’ve followed that up with five consecutive defeats, capped off with the disastrous primetime loss to the Broncos.
Allen’s team are already looking at a lost season with Derek Carr dealing with an oblique injury, while injuries continue to pile up.
Leading receiver Rashid Shaheed was ruled out for the season just hours before the game after the full extent of knee surgery was confirmed, while during the game Paulson Adebo suffered a suspected broken leg.
Rookie fifth-round pick Rattler has replaced veteran Carr under center and in his second start he threw for 172 yards and zero touchdowns, ‘adding’ a disastrous fourth-quarter fumble that was returned for a touchdown.
If the result wasn’t humiliating enough from a Saints perspective, it came on the night in which they inducted legendary quarterback Drew Brees into the franchise’s Hall of Fame.
Brees spoke during halftime during his induction to try and get the fans fired up back and back into the game (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
Brees was surrounded by his family and Saints owner Gayle Benson as he was inducted into the Saints Ring of Honor (Photo by Michael Owens/Getty Images)
After joining Brees in a half-time chat during the celebrations, the scenes were very different in the second half.
Footage of fans leaving with 10 minutes left of the game circled on social media, and by the end the Superdome – which will host February’s Super Bowl – was left with ecstatic Broncos fans.
Speaking after the game, Allen told local media that he isn’t “worried” about his job but only time will tell whether or not he is the future of the New Orleans Saints.
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