Saints Report #4 - October 4, 2020

We struggle in the beginning.
We dominate in our prime.
Then, we hold on for dear life toward the end.  

Such is life.

And such was the Saints game in Detroit Sunday.  The Saints scored 35 unanswered points on 5 straight touchdown drives.  The Lions had 2 touchdowns on each end of those dominant drives, but ended up on the short end of the 35-29 score.

I thought the Saints were going to get torched on this day.  Among their injuries were their two starting cornerbacks, as well as 3 other starters.  They had a sleep-robbing Covid scare upon arrival in Detroit that lasted into the night.  Their offense had been sputtering without Michael Thomas and the vultures were circling Drew Brees right arm like it was going to fall off any moment.

My fears were quickly affirmed when the Lions drove for a touchdown on their first drive of the game, and quickly followed with another when Brees’ very first pass was batted at the line of scrimmage and floated into the arms of a waiting Lion.  So the scene is set, the Saints are 1-2 and down 14 on the road 5 minutes into the game.  The Bucs could take control of the division at 3-1 with an expected win over the Chargers and the Saints would be on the verge of digging another early season hole.

So, what happened?  Drew Brees came alive like Frampton could only dream of.  Mixing in all the passes it was said he couldn’t throw anymore with a solid running game, the Saints drove and drove.  Latavius Murray and Alvin Kamara were gouging the Lions.  In fact, and you won’t believe this, on a third and goal from the 6, the Saints called a running play and it worked.  Murray burst through the line into the end zone.  For a team that will throw 1 yard touchdown passes all day long, this was a breakthrough moment.  They would grind the Lions all day.  By halftime the Saints were up 28-14 and one possession into the second half it was 35-14, and all that was left was to withstand the comeback that characterizes most NFL games.

Positives were many.  The Saints stuck with the ground game so much you’d of thought Payton had read my blog last week.  But what may have been most important was the contributions of Tre’quan Smith and Emmanuel Sanders who looked like they had finally read the same page as Brees.  Smith could have easily been the MVP of the day with two clutch catches and two TD receptions, one of which was spectacular.  So, the absence of Thomas may be a blessing in disguise, as the Saints may emerge with a more formidable passing game that is not reliant on him.  It was all a most pleasant surprise.  The vultures retreated, Kamara smiled, and the Saints now look to beat the Chargers of California before what looks like an injury healing bye week.

The hope is that this season may culminate with more than “hanging on for dear life.”

Such is life.  Such is the life of a Saints fan.  

 

Saints Report # 12 - December 4, 2016

The New Orleans Saints were gracious hosts to the hopeful Detroit Lions Sunday.  The Lions looked every bit the part of a playoff team as they outplayed the pretending Saints soundly and left the dome with 28-13 victory that could have been much worse.

The Saints were honoring their all-time 50-year team and saw fit to wear throwback uniforms.  As a 50 year fan, I had hoped to never see those uniforms again, and the Saints played down to their garb.  Drew Brees could have been a Billy Jo.    Thomas Moorstead even Erxleben’d a punt.  The offensive line played like John Shinners.  The defense covered like Jason David.  They tackled like Shawn Knight.  They were as present as Alvin Toles.

It was exactly the kind of game long time Saints fans used to watch all the time.  The only thing new was instant replay for the officials.  We didn’t have that back in the day.  But we are used to no running game, dropped passes, passes thrown into thick coverage, and three and outs.  On defense we’ve seen enough missed tackles and wide open bombs.  Those are Saints traditions that are resurfacing like the supposedly dead corpse in a horror movie that just keeps rising up, and I hate to use a Falcon’s phrase.

The Saints have been “in” most games this year, but unable to turn that corner with those one or two crucial plays.  In this game two interceptions fell through Saints hands and hit the ground.  Today, the offense needed some help like that from the defense.  It never came as the Saints defense couldn’t get a turnover at Arbys.  The only positive was that the defense was holding the Lions to field goals, five of them, so you thought the Saints were in striking distance.  But the Saints were flat, and the Lion’s slow paced, possession game kept the Saints from approaching a rhythm.    It’s obvious they can’t put together two emotional games in a row, and they aren’t good enough to play dead pan football.  The games are running out on another season of mediocrity, a 50 year Saints tradition.

Let’s at least retire those uniforms. 

Saints Report #6

The Saints traveled to Ford Field in Detroit and blew a game 24 – 23 on Sunday.  It was an epic collapse. In a season that was so optimistically anticipated the Saints have pivoted from being a fearsome contender to being a team that no one fears. 

There is a razor thin difference between good and bad teams in the NFL.  Yet somehow good teams, which the Saints have been for most of the last 8 years, pull games out of the fire often, occasionally win when they shouldn’t, usually win when they should, and just seem to find a way to a winning record.  But for most of their history, the Saints have been one of “those” teams who just seem to come up short, finding a way to lose.  

Bad news for the Who Dat nation.

The Saints seem to again be one of “those” teams.

One of “those” teams that can snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.

One of “those” teams that can’t protect a lead in the 4^th quarter.

One of “those” teams that can’t run the ball to control the clock when it needs to.

One of “those” teams that can’t protect the quarterback when he needs time to throw.

One of “those” teams that outplay the other team for 3 quarters only to blow it in the clutch.

One of “those” teams that blows a 23 – 10 lead with just 4 minutes to go

One of “those” teams that gives up a big play after holding the opposing offense down for 56 minutes.

One of “those” teams whose quarterback throws a critical interception at the exact wrong moment.

One of “those” teams that always seems to draw a penalty flag when they need it the least.

And on and on.

After dominating the Lions for 56 minutes, even leading 17 - 3 at one point, the Saints collapsed as if the quarterback was named Hebert, and the coach was named, well pick one….  Leading 23 – 10, the Saints seemed to have the game well in hand, when they gave up an inexplicable 70 yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate pulling the Lions to 23 – 17.  The Saints got the ball and desperately needed a time-consuming drive to seal the victory.  What they got was the worst possible alternative.  Drew Brees had carried the load all day with the running game totally awol against the Lions top-rated defense.  But he threw an interception that got returned to the 15. 

Then the defense, which had also been terrific all day, almost held, but Rafael Bush got called for pass interference on 4^th down, and the Lions scored their second touchdown in 2 minutes and change to take control 24-23. 

Then the Saints last drive fizzled just like you would expect of one of “those” teams.  It was the 7^th consecutive road loss, but this is one that really got away, lifted away by all of the past franchise ghosts.

Now their home winning streak is on the line as the Packers come to the dome next Sunday night. 

Unfortunately, this will be a match-up of two teams going in opposite directions.  Confidence is low.

There is only one piece of good news.  The Saints are getting brutalized by their schedule, but so is the rest of the division, easily the weakest in the NFL.  Even at 2 – 4, the Saints are still in contention, which is the last thing you’d expect of one of “those” teams, but just what you would expect of a team that has tortured its fan base with losses like this for the better part of their existence.  Give ‘em just enough hope to keep ‘em coming back for more.  The problem is we’ve been spoiled for 8 years and we were expecting so much more.  The Who Dat nation is exhibiting some of the entitled impatience of Steeler, Patriot, or Packer fans.  When you get used to success you just don't want to go back to being one of "those" teams. 

Saints Report # 12 - December 4, 2011

During my second trip to the Superdome in seven days, I just had to marvel at how things have changed in my lifetime of watching the Saints.

Sunday night the Saints routinely disposed of the Detroit Lions 31-17, helped along by their opponent’s determination to self-destruct play by play. Has any receiver gotten called for three offensive interferences in one game, or was Nate Burleson determined to have this record all to himself? Somehow the Lions accumulated enough yardage to go up and down the field almost 6 times, but only scored 17 points, repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot. However, the Lions showed enough talent to make it ok with me if we don’t have to play them in the playoffs.

In the meantime Drew Brees continued his assault on Marino’s yardage record that seems like it will only be derailed if he sits and rests in the final game of the season. Winning their 4th straight game, a feat it will be nice to repeat at year-end, puts them on pace to duplicate the magical 13-3 record of 2009 if they don’t stumble. Wouldn’t that be something?

I confess, there was a moment after the Saints scored one of their touchdowns when I didn’t get crunk. I was crunkless. Now if you haven’t been to a Saints game in the last 3 years you don’t know what I mean by crunk, and to be honest with you I’m not sure that I know what I mean. It’s a form of 7 point Saints euphoria that just seems to fit the city that care forgot about as perfectly as gumbo. It involves a song, a lot of singing and waving of arms that I haven’t really perfected and am not sure I want to. So I didn’t stand up and get crunk. I just sat there. I just wanted to look around and marvel at the atmosphere in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

First I marveled that despite the renovations, the luxury name enhancement, and my expensive plaza ticket, I still was without a luxury cup holder. That’s all I really want now. I have a Superbowl and the wardrobe that comes with it, proclaiming that I am a world champion. I just want a cup holder so I don’t have to stand in spilled drink. For some reason the Superdome is the open-container capital of the sports world. No plastic tops, no caps allowed. I guess we could not be prevented from hurling plastic caps onto the field, although I don’t know about you but my record for hurling a plastic drink top is about 5 yards. Thus when you are required to stand up and get crunk, you set your drink on the floor and there is a 36% chance you will kick it over within 5 minutes and stand in it during subsequent crunks. If we could get Mercedes-Benz to spring for cup-holders I swear I’ll buy a Mercedes just as soon as I can afford it.

Anyway, in my state of non-crunkiness during which I chose to hold my diet coke rather than wave my arms I realized that we had experienced a real paradigm shift. The most fun I’d had was in that 13-0 start we had on the way to the Superbowl. It was completely unknown territory, like the Packers are enjoying right now. But, in the sixth year of the Payton/Brees era I remembered how Payton always wanted to emulate the Patriots organizational consistency. Well here’s what’s cool:
The Saints expect to win.
The Fans expect to win.
The commentators expect the Saints to win.
The bettors expect the Saints to win.
The Saints are much more likely to win than lose. They, like all teams throw in a stinker (Rams) from time to time, but those are pretty rare.

The paradigm has shifted. We are an elite program with elite personnel from top to bottom. We pluck the unheralded (Jimmy Graham) and the heralded (Mark Ingram) and the undervalued (Darren Sproles) and we’re officially re-loaded.

Sure, anyone that watches the Saints knows we could still use some help on defense, but there are only a few defenses in the NFL – the Ravens, year after year or until Lewis and Reed retire, the Steelers most of the time, and the 49’ers this year. And it’s impossible to play defense in the NFL anyway, when the referees have one hand in their pocket and the league office is doling out fines on their own new paradigm.

So, it’s not just that we’re spoiled. Fast forward 10 years and we’ll be saying of our quarterback, “He’s no Drew Brees,” because he won’t be. After all how often does one Hall of Fame QB follow immediately behind another? It just doesn’t happen, except in Green Bay, and I sure hope they appreciate their good fortune. But I’ve got news for the Pack, barring a “stinker” (like Seattle last year) The Saints are coming.

Next, the Saints are off to Tennessee where Chris Johnson is just wrapping up training camp and Matt Hasselback is undoubtedly having flashbacks to that playoff torching of the Saints last year. The Saints have improved at stopping the run but put so little pressure on the quarterback that 400 yard games are the norm, and Brees and the offense must score constantly. Which they do. It’s the new paradigm.