Saints Report #16 - December 29, 2019

The Saints thumped the Carolina Panthers 42-10 Sunday to close out their second straight 13-3 season.  It was a dominant performance, even with so many new faces in the secondary that I could’ve looked up jersey numbers all game long.  I chose not to.  The Panthers are a mess. 

The Saints started the game with their most impressive drive of the season to take a 7-0 lead.  Later, with a 14-0 lead, AJ Klein executed a pick 6 and the Saints were up 21-0 and the game was essentially over.  The Saints halftime lead of 35-3 was the largest in their history.  They were that dominant.  Right now, the Saints are playing as well as anyone, even with an injury list longer than War and Peace.

Unfortunately, there’s no rest for the weary.

Both the Lions and Seahawks had victories in their grasp that would have given the Saints a week off.  But the Lions folded and Seattle couldn’t tell time.  The Saints will now need a three-game winning streak to get to the Super Bowl.  As the third seed they will host the Vikings next weekend.  In all likelihood, they will have to win the next two on the road.  Last year that same 13-3 record netted a first round bye.  This year the NFC is stacked, as the 49’ers and Packers are division winners with the same record.  It’s a tough draw.

My preseason pick was Saints and Chiefs in the Super Bowl, and I’ll stand by that.  But the road is long, with many a winding turn, that leads us to who knows where, who knows where?  

If I were a betting man, I’d bet on the West Coast. It's a long, long road ahead.

Saints Report # 15 - December 22, 2019

The Saints continued to celebrate their sterling Monday night performance through the first quarter of their visit to Nashville.  They found themselves down 14-0 to the Titans and it looked like it was going to be one of those games where the Saints were going to get overrun by a team playing for their playoff life.

It was an interesting sight.  The Saints were unfocused, off kilter and out of sync.  Drew Brees was noticeably upset with the brain drain that was going on around him.  Penalty flags were flying and Brees was getting unusual pressure in the pocket.  It was so bad that Ryan Ramczyk gave up his first sack of the year. 

Then, the Saints threw a switch and their superior talent took over.  The Saints offense starting rolling and Alvin Kamara scored twice while Jared Cook and Michael Thomas were catching the fever.  The Saints took charge and of all people, Patrick Robinson made several great defensive plays and CJ Gardner Johnson caused and recovered a fumble with the Saints clinging to a 3 point lead inside of 4 minutes.  The air went out of Music City with that CJGJ hit of a receiver, and it’s a play that almost always draws a flag, especially against the Saints.  No yellow fever this time. 

Then, Michael Thomas scored the last touchdown to make the final 38-28.  Thomas finished with 12 catches for 146 yards and set the NFL record with 146 catches.  With one game to go, Thomas may well set an unreachable 16 game record.  Going in to this game he was almost 30 receptions ahead of the guy in second place – that’s 2 catches a game.  He is also almost 400 yards ahead of the nearest competition.  Quite simply, Michael Thomas can make a strong case for MVP.  The Saints rarely have a bonafide MVP candidate.  They've got one now.

The Saints can be beaten, but their talent level is amazing.  There are 6 Saints who may be on the all-time Saints team:  Brees, Thomas, Ramczyk, Lattimore, Morstead, and Jordan, with several more – Demario Davis, Terron Armstead, Wil Lutz, and Alvin Kamara knocking on that door.  If the Saints win next week, they will complete their 4^th 13-3 Season in the last 11.  This is also the second season in a row with 12 wins – something the franchise has never achieved.  We’ve had some disappointing season-ends, but we sure can’t complain about the talent that has been amassed.

Now off to play a despondent Carolina team which will be trying to salvage some respect in Game 16.  It won’t be easy, but the Saints are closer to a first round bye, and some home field advantages, like the raucous ruckus the Superdome provides. They are close to their second straight home field advantage throughout the playoffs.  It could get loud.  

Saints Report # 14 - December 16, 2019

Drew Brees looked downfield and didn’t see anyone open.  So, he flung the ball toward Latavius Murray in the flat, and it skipped past him.  It was a terrible pass.  It was also unique because it was the only incomplete pass Brees would throw in 3 hours.  

Dr. Brees was performing a 3-hour surgery on the Mayflower Moving Van Colts, without anesthesia.  The most accurate passer in the history of football would go 29 for 30 in a stunning showcase as he finished with 22 straight completions, setting the NFL one game record with a 96.7% completion percentage.  The Saints ran away, 34-7.   

That’s the one-night story.  Then there’s the career story.   

Brees set the NFL record for Touchdowns on this night.  In fact, he did it twice, with one called back because of the kind of ticky tacky Pass Interference call that only seems to get called on the Saints.  Especially troubling that this little flick was called in the same end zone that Tommy Lee Lewis should have glided into 11 months ago.  Comparing this flick of the wrist to the near decapitation of Lewis says everything you need to know about being a Saints fan.  It’s ridiculous to think that the Superdome is haunted, but maybe, just maybe there’s this small patch of ground – we’ll call it the Zebra Triangle – where Referee judgement enters a vortex.  Come to think of it, Michael Thomas’s first touchdown was in that area and I’m pretty sure that Thomas illegally breathed on someone in the area, and the refs missed it.

Anyway, later – same end zone, but wisely on the other side, Drew tossed to a wide open Josh Hill for the 540th touchdown of his career.  If you’re a Saints fan, and privileged to see most of the 540, count your blessings.  What a treat.

And oh, by the way, it’s a tribute to Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis, and the late Tom Benson.  Professional Team sports is high turnover, quick firing trigger business, as is the car business that Benson made his fortune in.  That the Saints endured 3 straight losing seasons at 7-9 and stayed the course and just kept adding key pieces with 3 great drafts that have now netted 3 straight division titles is a lesson for every business in America.  Like the Patriots and the Steelers, the Saints have stability, consistency and a proven process.  No, they don’t have enough skins on the wall, but football is an oddly shaped ball that bounces oddly, figuratively and literally. 

Once upon a time, I was young and starting my career and looked around at the 20 or so wonderful people I had to compete with in my new job.  I developed my own secret mantra and it went like this:

You may be smarter than me.

You may be more talented than me.

You are definitely better looking than me.

You may be more charismatic than me.

And you are probably more popular than me.

But, you are NOT going to outwork me.

Drew Brees doesn’t get outworked. 

As we drove home from the game last night, I heard Deuce McCallister talk about Drew’s insane workouts that initially saved his career and have now elongated it to record-breaking greatness.  

The fan only gets a glimpse into the dedication that Brees has, and we just know that behind the scenes he is doing more than we can imagine, physically and mentally.

At halftime, the Saints trotted out (actually they walked) the 2009 Championship team.  Almost all of them came back.  They’ve been hanging around New Orleans all week and several mentions were made of their reverence for Drew Brees’ leadership and work ethic.  

In these fractured times, we could all learn a lot from Drew Brees.

Saints Report #13 - December 8, 2019

It was like a slasher movie.  Two offenses going up and down the field gashing each other repeatedly in one of those bloody games we get every so often.  It was the game of the year in the NFL, which doesn’t make me feel any better.

The hated (almost as much as the Falcons) San Francisco 49’ers traveled to the Louisiana Superdome determined to wrestle NFC home field advantage away from the New Orleans Saints.  They pulled out all the stops and emptied their trick play book to take a 48 – 46 victory.

Most would argue that the Saints made a strategic error, when early in the game, capitalizing on a penalty on a touchdown, they tried a two point conversion from the one yard line when Jared Cook’s 2^nd receiving touchdown made the score 13-7.  There were 2 unfortunate results.  Cook suffered a concussion on the play and did not return, and the play call fooled nobody.  The missed conversion hung over this game like a blimp running out of gas.

I would argue that another error was just as costly.  At the end of the 1^st half, the Saints were clinging to a 6 point lead, but the 49’ers were driving.  They had a 1^st and 13 on the Saints 35.  They gained 8, giving the 49’ers 2^nd and 5 from the 28.  The Saints called a time out with 1:46 on the clock in the hopes of getting the ball back.  Why? Payton calls these defensive time outs on a wing and a prayer all the time, and they inevitably just take the clock pressure off the offense.  He called another one at 1:31 on 3^rd and 1.  Sean Payton is an incredible coach, but there’s two things he does that I hate.  Defensive Time-outs when the odd are against you, and on offense lining up in an empty backfield on 2^nd and short.  Unnecessary gambling.  Anyway, the 49’ers scored to conclude a wild first half of 8 touchdowns. 

Going into this game I was thinking the Saints biggest challenge would be stopping George Kittle, the league’s best tight end.  The Saints chose to put rookie CJ Gardner-Johnson on him, and he held his own until the 4^th quarter.  I was also worried about the Saints linebacker corps, with AJ Klein and Kiko Alonso out, replaced by Stephon Anthony and Craig Robertson, and that slight speed differential was costly, particularly in the track-meet first half.  San Francisco led 28-27 at the half. 

In the league’s highest scoring game so far this year, the two quarterbacks, Brees and Garoppolo were magnificent, both throwing for 349 yards.  Brees threw for 5 touchdowns and Michael Thomas had his usual terrific game.  With the Saints down 45-40 and needing a touchdown, the Saints got the ball back with 2:23 left.  He then came up with one of his patented drives, ending in a 18 yard touchdown pass to Tre’Quan Smith to take a 46-45 lead.  Unfortunately, the Saints had scored too quickly and there were 53 seconds left on the clock.  With 3 timeouts left, the 49’ers drove, converting a 39 seconds-left 4^th and 2 for a mere 39 yard gain, with a 15 yard penalty tacked on.  Robbie Gold kicked the winning field goal and the Saints had another heartbreaker to put in their pocket.

The Saints fell to 10-3 with 3 games remaining, and are now third in the NFC.  The Saints playoff positioning took a huge hit, but if they get healthy, there’s no reason to panic.  It probably means an extra game in the playoffs.  The worse news is that there will inevitably be a trip or two to the west coast, and the skies have not been too friendly to the Saints out thataway.

There were some positives.  Special teams were a difference maker for the Saints, as Deonte Harris had a great return game.  Of course, the fake punt that backfired was a strange call.  Again, I liked the decision, but the red team was ready for the play that was called.  Latavius Murray averaged 10 yards a carry and Alvin Kamara averaged 2.  Defenses have caught up to Kamara and that swing pass has lost its effectiveness.  The same can’t be said for Michael Thomas, who had another spectacular game, including his performance on a 4^th quarter drive that was almost all him.  Nope, can’t fault the offense for this one. 

On the defensive side, the Saints continue to struggle at corner with the PJ Williams/Eli Apple alliance having a tough time.  Cornerback in the NFL is almost impossible to play, and I’m sure it will be addressed in the off-season.  Until then, avert your eyes when playing against a good passer with two speedy receivers, and just hope the pass rush gets home.  The Saints have a history of anointing quarterbacks into superstars.  Let’s hope that’s not what happened to Garoppolo. 

Next up, an unexpectedly critical Monday Night game against the Colts.  Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck are retired, right?

At the Cinema - November 2019

Ford v. Ferrari – 9

Sometimes Hollywood gets it right and just provides a rocking good time at the multiplex.  Here they are helped along by two great actors.  Matt Damon plays legendary car designer Carroll Shelby and Christian Bale is his hall of fame driver, Ken Miles.  Together they pledge to Henry Ford II that they will design and race a car that will win the “24 hours of LeMans” and break the Ferrari stranglehold on that famed race.  This is a crowd pleaser with a lot of great racing footage (although it does go on about 15 minutes too long.)  Just sit back and enjoy.

A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood - 9

Not quite as innocent as you would expect, this is a thoroughly enjoyable movie with Tom Hanks as the famed Mr. Rogers.  Mr. Rogers is the subject of an Esquire article written by reporter Lloyd Vogel, played by Matthew Rhys.  This is a true story, although the reporter’s name has been changed from Tom Junold, and the story of the movie is a rather routine one about Vogel’s horrible relationship with his father and how his relationship with Rogers is the guiding light in Vogel’s efforts to reconcile with his dad, played by Chris Cooper, who is sliding toward death. 

Although Hanks doesn’t appear as much as you would think, his performance is extraordinary and anchors the movie.  It’s hard to portray someone everyone knows, and somehow Hanks captures the kindness and sweetness of a man whose spirit would be of great use in today’s world.

This is a great companion piece to last year’s award-winning documentary “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” Both movies bring to life Mr. Rogers’ everlasting legacy.  Few people have had such impact. 

 

The Irishman – 7

Director Martin Scorcese is the master of dark criminal violence.  With classics like Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, and The Departed on his resume, I’m sure he intended this to be his epic – his masterpiece.  At almost 3 ½ hours it’s marathon length could boast that as one of its qualifiers.  Unfortunately, it takes more than length to join the likes of Gone with The Wind (3:58), Lawrence of Arabia (3:48) and The Sound of Music (2:55).  He also may have mined the vein once too often.  The vibe of freneticism that makes Goodfellas so rewatchable, and now a classic, is missing here. 

Don’t get me wrong.  The material is here.  The Irishman is Frank Sheeran, a  Teamster official who rubbed elbows with many mobsters when he wasn’t rubbing them out.  His friendship with Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pacino) and his work for the Ruffalino crime family of Pennsylvania is the crux of the movie.  He does jobs for Russell Bufalino (Joe Pesci) who is his mentor.  Add Harvey Keitel and Bobby Canavale and you’ve got an all-star cast, and they are all terrific.

There are some brilliant scenes, and as you would expect in a movie this long, some dead ones.  There is a long connective back story of Sheeran and Ruffalino on a car trip and it is tedious and drawn out.  As you would expect in a movie like this, there are time jumps, and that brings us to the main problem here.  While the acting is great, the stars are de-aged by computer, rather than having young actors play the parts.   So, while DeNiro and Friends may be able to pull off the emotion, they can’t match the energy of being young.  Could you?  Could you bounce around like you did 30 years ago?  Me Neither.  The film never gets boring, but it just pales in comparison to movies like The Godfather, for example.  And I’m not a big Godfather fan.  I guess I came away with one overwhelming thought.  This would have been a great mini-series, with young actors to start the story.  There’s no shortage of mob material here, and a lot of great characters.  I just got the feeling that the movie was dragging for the sake of the actors, rather than providing the crisp pace that has been so well established in the classic mob movies. 

 

Scanning the Satellite

The Soundtrack of our Life – Clive Davis – 10

Some documentaries just unfold themselves and all they have to do is tell the story in a straightforward manner.  That is certainly the case with Clive Davis.  Just cover his span of production, from Janis Joplin to Whitney Houston, to Kelly Clarkson.  His incredible career is reviewed, and never has a documentary been more appropriately titled. 

Now that I’ve been binge watching for a couple of years and you might be looking for something to watch I thought I’d give you a ranking of my recent favorites.  My criteria is that these generally consist of seasons of 8 Episodes or less. 

1. Rectify – 4 seasons:  The best portrait of the South I’ve ever seen
2. Fargo – Season 1:  Billy Bob Thornton’s best work, and that’s saying something
3. The OA – 2 seasons:  Totally Unique and largely indescribable
4. Catastrophe – 4 seasons:  the very definition of romantic chemistry
5. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel:  Truly amazing period recreation
6. True Detective – Seasons 1 & 3 – Woody Harrellson and Matthew McConahey astound
7. The Sinner – Season 1 – quite the shocker
8. The Newsroom – Aaron Sorkin’s crackling news drama
9. Veep – measured by the number of laughs, the funniest thing I’ve ever seen
10. Billions – Season 2 – a masterpiece of a season, but the others are great as well.
11. Curb Your Enthusiasm – brilliant, one-of-a-kind comedy
12. Homeland – wildly inconsistent, but the best seasons are unparalleled.
13. Unbelievable – Terrific crime drama
14. Killing Eve – 2 seasons:  Villanelle (Jodie Comer) the villain makes it all worth while
15. Mindhunter – 2 seasons:   Riveting

There is much, much more that I’m sure I’ve forgotten, but these will get you started..