Dennis Allen’s explanation for a late-game penalty couldn’t be worse

© Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports Martin’s crew averages the 5th-most penalty flags thrown per game (15.27), though they rank 7nth among the 17 different squads in accepted fouls (12.36). So we should expect plenty of yellow markers to litter the field on Monday night. As for their most-common penalties: False starts (2.55 per game, 4th) Offensive holding (2.18 per game, 10th) Defensive pass interference (0.91 per game, 5th)

What were the New Orleans Saints doing throughout training camp? Did they forget to work on assembling a huddle?

The Saints were fouled for having twelve men on the field late in Monday night’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, facing 3rd-and-2 from the Tampa Bay 3-yard line with 3:49 remaining. That penalty turned the situation into 3rd-and-7 from the 8-yard line. Andy Dalton threw short of the sticks for a 5-yard completion, setting up 4-and-2 from where they started the sequence.

Facing those prospects and leading by a margin of 10-3, Dennis Allen opted to kick a very short field goal (from a distance of just 21 yards). Procedural penalties like that can’t happen this late in the season, and especially in such a high-leverage situation. Afterwards, Allen relayed that it’s exactly as fundamental an issue as it appeared to be.

“That’s a communication responsibility amongst the offense,” Allen told ESPN’s Katherine Terrell. “And that’s gotta be something that’s gotta be improved.”

Yeah, that’s pretty obvious. Dalton took his share of the blame for not better commanding the huddle and managing personnel, telling Terrell: “At the end of the day, that’s my responsibility. So, I’ve got to get it done.” Dalton clarified that the Saints had trouble with a substitution in swapping out rookie lineman Trevor Penning with another problem, which led to the foul.

Sure, maybe Penning has some rust as a first-year prior recently returning from an injury, but there’s no excuse for coaches as experienced as Allen and quarterbacks as seasoned as Dalton to be having these issues this late in the game. Dalton has started over 160 games in the NFL. He’s been running the Saints offense for months. How are these things happening?

It’s an enigma, a mystery wrapped in a riddle. Nobody seems to have an answer besides admitting they messed up. Maybe the Saints need a breather during their bye week to come out the other side better prepared and finally ready to clean up mistakes they should have dealt with in September.

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