MMQB Mailbag: Browns are total wreck; secret to Saints' success

The problem as I see it is this organization careens from one disaster to the next. If owner Randy Lerner trusts Eric Mangini, he's got to take the slings and arrows of a furious fandom and let Mangini try to fix this huge mess. If he doesn't, Lerner has to fire Mangini, issue a mea culpa, and hire the next franchise leader.

The one thing that's maddening is the Browns owe former GM Phil Savage and ex-coach Romeo Crennel their salaries through 2012 and 2011, respectively. There are other lingering contract payouts from the assistants on Crennel's staff. It's a pill of at least $20 million Lerner is swallowing, and if he cans Mangini -- in the first year of an estimated four-year, $12-million deal -- it just adds to the financial mayhem.

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(Writer's Note: I'd planned to use this note about the success of the Saints' running game, ranked second in the league, on Monday, and I even Tweeted that the story would be in Monday Morning Quarterback. But other stories intruded, and rather than have it be buried in yesterday's column, I decided to use it today. Sorry for misleading those of you who took the time to write.)

The Saints have used a game within a game to start 7-0 and take a commanding three-game lead in the NFC South with nine to play. That game within a game is deep in the hard drive of Saints offensive line/run-game coach Aaron Kromer's computer at the Saints' practice facility in Metairie, La.

Near the season's midpoint, Drew Brees -- rightfully -- has become the coverboy for the resurgence of the Super Bowl-contending Saints. He's a legit MVP candidate, and one of the two or three best leaders at his position in football. The Saints are ranked sixth in the league in passing after eight weeks. But they're ranked fourth in rushing. Now that's something you probably wouldn't have figured, the Saints' running game being ahead of the pass in the NFL stats this far into the season.

It's happened because of four reasons.

1. Coach Sean Payton emphasized the run more in the offseason and in training camp than in any year since being named coach in 2006.

2. The Saints have built an interesting stable of backs, with the punishing Mike Bell, the elusive Pierre Thomas and the enigmatic but threatening Reggie Bush. Bell might get 12 carries one week, 24 the next. Same with Thomas, and Bush will get the ball on the edge four or five times a game, minimum, and the Saints hope he breaks a big play a week. Thomas and Bush both had rushing touchdowns in the 35-27 win over the Falcons Monday night.

3. The zone-blocking line has been precise and deep, adjusting to a couple of significant injuries and leading the way against several tough run-defense fronts.

4. "We've got a little bit of a library,'' offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael said.

That library might be where the Saints' advantage lies. Kromer is a football man through and through, but he's also part video-geek. When he coached under Jon Gruden in Oakland and Tampa Bay for seven years, he learned not to waste time late in the week when the hay was in the barn for that week's game plan.

"I learned a lot from Jon Gruden,'' Kromer said. "He used to watch every NFL play every week because he knew he could learn something new every week. So I try to watch run games every week from around the league. I recognize from Jon that there are many intelligent coaches in the league who can advance your knowledge exponentially. That's how you grow as a coach, and I believe it's how you grow as a player too.''

Kromer said he has "hundreds'' of plays inside his digital video folders on his computer. During a game week, Carmichael and Kromer might assign tight ends coach Terry Malone to look at short-yardage and goal line runs of teams that runs similar plays to the Saints, to see if there's anything they can pick up. Sometimes, Kromer will take one of these filched plays and use it to teach his linemen or back a specific technique. "They might show me how many steps Alan Faneca takes before he gets onto a linebacker, showing me how he doesn't waste any time or motion in getting out there,'' guard Jahri Evans said. "I've learned from a lot of players.''

And sometimes, Kromer takes a play, copies it, drills his linemen on it, puts it in the running-game play-call list for a particular game ... and the Saints score a touchdown using it.

Kromer has his favorites -- Joe Bugel of the Redskins, Bill Callahan of the Jets, Mike Mularkey of the Falcons. Last year, he was watching a late season Atlanta-Carolina game, and he saw Atlanta run a play from the Panthers 16 that fit the personnel group New Orleans might use in the same situation. Two tight ends, two backs, one receiver. As Matt Ryan called signals, one tight end motioned left, and at the snap of the ball, the play flowed right and Ryan handed it to Michael Turner, with the fullback preceding him into the hole. Suddenly the fullback broke left, followed by Turner, and the Panthers were caught rushing toward the strong side of the play. Cutting against the grain and using blocks from the fullback and motioning tight end, Turner ran for a 16-yard touchdown.

So Kromer filed the video away in his library, and when it came time to install the 2009 running game, this play was in the Saints playbook. They practiced it a few times in the offseason, figuring Thomas would be strong enough to break a tackle if he had to, but quick enough to bust the play back to the weak side.

In Week 3 at Buffalo, Kromer put the play on his call sheet. The Saints practiced it again that week. Then, with 2:10 left in the game, on second-and-four from the Buffalo 19, Payton called it. The tight end went in motion, Brees handed to Thomas, fullback Heath Evans led Thomas into the hole, and Thomas cut against the grain, found daylight and scored.

"By the time we ran it,'' said Kromer, "our team was very comfortable with it. The Buffalo defense had a fast flow to the play side -- the side they assumed the play was going to -- and Pierre bent it back and scored.''

Pretty rewarding. When you have smart coaches, players with ability who can learn and adapt, and good backs, good things can happen in the run game. New Orleans is living, winning proof of that.

Give credit to Payton, the play-caller, for making sure all three backs get fed. The total touches for the three backs after seven games: Bell 90, Bush 81, Thomas 78. Most teams at this point of the season don't have two backs with 75 touches. The Saints have three.

Kromer made a good point about how digital video is changing the face of scouting, and coaching. "We can see any play in the league from the sideline view and all-22 [the wide end-zone angle] a couple of days after Sunday's games,'' he said. "That can give you a pretty good tool to use.''

A side note on that story: The Saints are most definitely not alone in doing this. Many teams do it. I spoke to an NFL head coach about a few topics on background Monday, and he asked me what I was working on. One of the things was the Saints' running game story. The coach told me his team has used the exact same play, with the running back cutting behind the lead-blocking fullback against the grain ... and that he and his staff look to borrow from other coaches weekly too.

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Now onto your e-mail:

• AIKMAN MADE A GOOD POINT TO ME ABOUT THIS SUNDAY NIGHT. From T. Smith of St. Paul, Minn.: "I read your stats about Brett Favre playing well in these so-called pressure games, but I think it's a little flimsy. He's had a lot of bad games too -- the six-interception playoff game against the Rams, the end of the game against the Giants in the championship game a couple of years ago. I'm happy he's here, but I want to see how well he plays in the playoffs before we judge him.''

Good point, and I'm sure Favre would say the same thing. My point was the three games in which Favre has the 11-to-0 TD-to-interception ratio were games with a different kind of pressure, with his father's death laying on him and the two games against the Packers this year.

When I spoke with Troy Aikman on Sunday night, I thought he made a great case for why he thought Favre would play well Sunday. He said this on the air too, about how he expected Favre to play well, because he'd won 76 percent of his games on this field, and because once the hoopla was over and it was a football game, Favre has played in a lot of pressure games in his life and it'd pretty quickly turn into a football game and not a circus. That's exactly what Favre said to me after the game. Smart call by Aikman.

• THE CASE OF THE THROBBING GROIN. From Fred in Houston, Texas: "Favre's a drama queen. It can't just be about the game -- it has to be about him and how he overcame this big injury to play.''

The Twitterverse -- at least those people who follow me and write me Monday -- were all over Favre for his admission to me that he hurt his groin in practice Wednesday, strained it Sunday, and told offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and backup quarterback Tarvaris Jackson he might not be able to make it through the game. I guess I'd ask you this question: Would you rather have an athlete who didn't tell you what was wrong with him, or would you rather have an athlete who leveled with you about how he felt? Now, Favre took a lot of heat for hiding his arm injury last year with the Jets. Now he tells me he had a sore groin that affected Packer play-calling in the game and you don't think he should talk about that? Can't have it both ways, I'd say.

• THANKS FOR READING IN SERBIA. From Oliver Zlatkovic of Belgrade, Serbia: "Regards from Serbia (yes, we're reading your column, although due to the time difference it's more of a 'Monday Afternoon Quarterback' over here.) I'm a Rams fan, and my question relates to your opinion of the future of the Rams: Can Marc Bulger reinvent himself and be the QB that management thought he would when they awarded him with long-term contract, or should we watch college games to see the new Rams starting QB next year? If the latter, does Steven Jackson have time to wait for the Rams rebuilding process, since he will be approaching 30 by the time the new QB fully establishes himself?''

So good of you to write, Oliver, and to read the column. Thanks. Tough call for the Rams because they have so many holes to fill. Let me take you back to last April, when I was in St. Louis reporting on the Rams before the draft. They were seriously considering taking USC quarterback Mark Sanchez with their first-round pick. But they decided to take the tackle, Jason Smith, and try to build up a bad offensive line before picking a quarterback.

The only way Bulger has a chance to be the quarterback long-term in St. Louis is to have a very good, very durable season, and he hasn't so far. It's up to him, really. In the second half of the season, if he can stay on the field and perform better than he has in the last couple of years -- and I understand it's not his fault -- the Rams will put off drafting a young quarterback. But I don't think that's going to happen.

• DISPUTING THE JARED ALLEN OPINION. From Ian of Overland Park, Kan.: "How in the same article can you make the claim that there is no better defensive player in football than Jared Allen and also say that Aaron Rodgers takes too many sacks? There is no doubt that he is an impact player, but when 7.5 of his 10.5 sacks came against Rodgers, he hasn't had that much of a game-changing impact in the other Vikings games.''

Good point, but in my job at NBC and in covering one of the Minnesota's game, I've seen at least 50 percent of the Vikings' defensive snaps this year, and he's the best defensive player I've seen. Even if Rodgers threw the ball away on two of those plays, or three, that's Allen-related impact resulting in incomplete passes. His impact is about more than sacks, too.

• HERO WORSHIP, HE ACCUSES ME OF. From Luke Fleeman of Tulare, Calif.: "Peter, you were one of the voices of reason in the Favre retirement saga, pointing out when he fibbed. But now it seems like you've joined the choir, falling down to help worship Favre with the rest of the media. I have to say I am disappointed, because I think most of us are just sick of hearing about him.''

My job is to report on what happens in the NFL. On Sunday, the story of the day in the NFL was the all-time passing leader's return to the place where he parted so bitterly in 2008. Favre played well for the second time this year against the Packers under pressurized circumstances. I wrote about it. I'm not kneeling at his feet. I'm reporting the story of the day in the NFL, interviewing the player, like him or not, who is a polarizing figure.

• DEFENDING FOX. From Eric Jesperson of Denver: "No Peter, Fox absolutely did the right thing switching to the Carolina-Arizona game. After three hours of the Brett Favre Show (complete with online Brett Favre Cam) and a week of listening to the media Favregasm, the last thing I needed was more Brett Favre.''

I respectfully disagree that rushing -- and I mean, Fox sprinted off the Favre game -- to the last two minutes of a game that was already decided (it was a 13-point game) that was being shown to about 6 percent of the country was the right idea.