Using standard definitions, many people would not consider the Saints an up-tempo football team.
They huddle too much and use meticulous and long play calls. Of their 1,095 plays last season, only 81 were conducted without a huddle. And many of those plays weren’t run for the sake of going fast. They occurred because the clock was ticking and there was no other choice but to forego a huddle.
Yet on nearly a daily basis during training camp, coach Sean Payton has commented on the tempo at which the offense operates. And during last week’s game against the New England Patriots, he became visibly frustrated with young quarterbacks Garrett Grayson and Ryan Griffin for playing too slow during the second half of the 26-24 loss.