Mike Nolan's Game Management

I think this is something that I'll address in more detail when ninersnation.com launches in the coming weeks, but I've been thinking about it for much of this season and think it's something worth discussing.

Nolan and his staff have proven to be solid evaluators or talent. The team is young but the players Nolan has brought in have started to show their abilities. The problem I've had with Nolan is his in-game management. This would involve two aspects:

• Use of timeouts
• Use of challenges
• Personnel on the field
  

Yesterday the team used up all their timeouts in both halves with plenty of time to spare. I really don't think it had any effect on the final score as the team never went into a 2-minute offense to tie the game or take the lead. However, this is not the first time Nolan has used up timeouts so quickly and eventually it's really gonna bite this time in the butt in a big game, whether it be next week or next year.

The biggest issue I had yesterday was when the Saints decided to go for it on 4th and inches. The team called timeout due to incorrect personel. If the team's punt return unit had been on the field had been on the field in anticipation of a punt then use the timeout no questions asked. Not the brightest move but not completely inexcusable. However, when you've got part of each unit on the field then there is a problem that I believe falls on the head coach. Coordinators can be blamed but the head coach is the man on the chopping block when it comes to the decisions. Nolan has often had incorrect personnel on the field which leads to undisciplined play and a general air of incompetence.

The team has to make the plays on the field, but sometimes they're not put into a better position for success by the coaching staff. I definitely plan on analyzing this in more detail later.

Speaking of which, does anybody out there have a username/password for Stats, Inc??? I'd love to get a crack at some of the statistics they run but can't gain access.