A captain's patch isn't just for decoration. Sometimes a leader has to stand up and voice the uncomfortable truths about a situation to get people moving in the right direction. That's the task Erik McCoy is facing. Nobody touches the football in Kellen Moore's offense more often than the Pro Bowl center, and McCoy took it upon himself to say what we're all thinking about the inept system the New Orleans Saints are trying to run.
"I mean when you're sitting in, what was it, 2nd-and-25? What's your call sheet? Like, what are you calling?" McCoy said at his locker after the game. “The reality is, offensively, we don’t know how to win right now. And it's something we have to get fixed, and we have get fixed fast. We're on a three-game losing skid,
at home. And with all our fans showing up. That (expletive) is not okay.”
He's exasperated. He should be. The offense has gotten worse week by week as opposing coaches key in on Moore's hesitance to change his approach and adapt to their counters. McCoy is one of the longest-tenured players on the team, and if Cameron Jordan and Alvin Kamara both move on next spring, the only player on the roster to have stuck with the Saints since their last playoff win would be long snapper Zach Wood. McCoy is one of the few guys who remembers what winning feels like.
How did they get into that long second down? Running back Kendre Miller was stopped for a loss of a yard, and then CJ Donaldson was fouled for holding in the backfield. Veteran left guard David Edwards drew a false start penalty. Now facing 2nd and 26, Moore had Shough take the snap out of shotgun and drop back five steps to make the distance needed even longer. Shough bailed out of the pocket, under pressure, and made a bad decision to put the ball in harm's way. Alvin Kamara was flagged for holding on the turnover but it didn't matter. It was just an ugly sequence from start to finish.
McCoy knows what the Saints mean to New Orleans. He's at least willing to express how frustrated he is after getting embarrassed with three losses in a three-game homestand. Let's hope that frustration reaches someone who can do something about it -- like his head coach.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Erik McCoy says what we're all thinking about the Saints offense
