After the Saints lost to the Packers on Thursday night, I criticized Saints coach Sean Payton for calling a simple run up the middle from the 1-yard line on the final play of the game. Payton says the call was the right one, under the circumstances.
“We felt like at the one-yard line, this was a chance for us to punch it in, we felt good about the play and I think collectively our group felt pretty good about it,” Payton said.
According to Payton, the Packers didn’t stop the final play because it was a predictable call that the defense saw coming. The Packers just stopped it because they executed and the Saints didn’t.
“It’s a goal line play,” Payton said. “It’s a pretty standard play. It’s a slant, 32 blast. They were in their goal line defense and we didn’t execute like we had hoped. There were a lot of things that were done well there and yet we came up short. Green Bay made the play and we didn’t.”
And just because the Saints didn’t make the play, that doesn’t mean Payton regrets making the call.