Saints Report # 2 - September 17, 2017

Back in 1971 The Temptations had a premonition:  

To the tune of “Ball of Confusion”

1,2
1,2,3,4
Receivers moving left, corners moving right
Why, ‘cause September has no end in sight
Run, Mark, run but you sho’ can’t hide.
A flag for a jump, set back for a hold,
Adrian Peterson wants to be set free,
Rap on Bobby, Rap on

The only person talking ‘bout scoring is the QB
And it seems nobody's interested in catching except number 13
Interference, exasperation, frustration, aggravation,
humiliation of many, obligation to the Saints nation.

Ball of Confusion, that’s what the Saints play today
(yeah yeah)
The price of tickets at an all time high
Benson walking ‘round with his head in the sky.
Dome’s asleep in the prime time,
and oh the beat goes on.

Gronk destruction, seat reduction
bounty inspection, fan defectors
Morstead punting to the moon
Lutz growing up too soon.

Loomis says more draft picks will solve everything
and the band played on.

Round and around and around we go,
where ownership is headed, nobody knows.

Oh, Great Sean Peyton can’t you hear me talking to you?
That’s a Ball of confusion, that’s what the Saints are today.
(Yeah, Yeah).

Ball in the air, no pressure anywhere.
Loyalty fading fast.
Linebackers slow and gassed.

And the only safe place to stand is in the pocket.
And the band played on.

Jameis Winston, Cam Newton, Matt Ryan,
Kirk Cousins, Matt Stafford, Tom Brady out of hand.
Blown drafts, too many flags, Kaepernick running to the hills.

People all over the dome are shouting
“Rush the passer.”
And the band played on.

Great Dennis Allen, can’t you hear me talking to you?
It’s a Ball of Confusion
That’s what the Saints play today, yea yea
People let me hear you,
let me hear you,
let me hear you
Ball of Confusion
That’s what the Saints are today.

Let me hear you……

If you don't know what I'm talking about, check this out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ns5YnHI2N54

Saints Report # 1 - September 11, 2017

Baby, baby, where did our pass rush go?

After a pre-season of promising blitzes, the defense failed to get a pressure, much less a sack as the Saints continued their patented “slow start” trend.  This opener was a 29 – 12 Monday night dud, and with Tom Brady and Cam Newton up next, it looks like the same old 0-3 thud.  If Sam Bradford can make our defense look this bad, just think.

To make matters worse, the Saints offense was uninspired.  Adrian Peterson and Mark Ingram barely carried the rock, while rookie Alvin Kamara got the majority of the action.  It didn’t really matter as both the offensive and defensive lines were overmatched and dominated. 

The Saints receivers weren’t impressive, although Tight End Coby Fleener had his best game as a Saint.  The lack of a deep threat was obvious

The slow start the schedule threatened appears well within reach.  Get me to October. 

I just can’t take it.

I’ve got that burning, burning, yearning

Feelin’ inside me

Ooh, deep inside me,

And it hurts so bad.

 

NFL Preview

February 10^th, 2018 -  After a one week postponement, the 2018 Super Bowl was finally played, (on a Saturday night, no less because a Tractor Pull scheduled for Sunday refused to be moved) and it was the MVP Runner Up Jameis Winston who outdueled NFL MVP Derek Carr.  The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won a rare Super Bowl rematch over the Oakland Raiders 45 – 41.  Tampa Bay, already having missed 3 field goals on the day, passed on a game tying field goal that actually would have been shorter than an old extra point and Doug Martin pounded it in from the one to gain the victory with one second on the clock.

Minnesotans who had successfully delayed the game with their “Minnesotans Matter” marches and boycotts in protest of their portrayal on the TV show “Fargo” finally reached a truce to allow the game to be played.  It was the FX channel’s agreement to produce a rebuttal show called “Juicy Lucy” showing the positive aspects of Minnesotans that broke the ice (and there was plenty of it around the stadium as the sudden advent of “global cooling” had temperatures under zero outside.) 

After the game, Roger Goodell, who had been the last person on the planet to realize the Super Bowl should be played on Saturday night, admitted that it was all "cool."

The highest scoring game in Super Bowl history was a complete surprise after a low scoring NFL regular season.  It set records that will probably never be broken for offense, including the amazing absence of a single punt.  The explosion came as the NFL seems to be leaning toward banning the football helmet completely next year, in an effort to cut down on concussions.

So that’s how this season will end, and once again nobody will remember my astute prognostication.  Most play it safe and say just put New England in there.  Not me.  I say Tampa upsets Green in the NFC Championship, and Oakland knocks off Tennessee in the AFC.  Noticed how I just saved some “bays.”

What about the Saints?  They’re more unpredictable than a hurricane trajectory.  The Saints fans have high hopes because the defense seems to be improving.  We’ll know for sure by Monday night at midnight, but my guess is that Dennis Allen has the defense moving up to a middle tier defense.  Even more encouraging is the apparent commitment to the running game with the addition of Adrian Peterson.  He got the Saints to one Super Bowl, and maybe he can do it again.  The rookie Alvin Kamara, who pronounces his name differently from the way his mother does, and appears to be risking a significant nose injury with that piercing he sports, looks like a great third wheel, and I boldly predict that the Saints coaches will see what the fans saw, and Adam Bighill will be the starting middle linebacker by game 8.  If the running game can keep the defense off the field, Drew Brees is still Drew Brees, and they don’t dig themselves the early season hole they have in the last few years maybe they can leapfrog the Haunted/Hated Falcons and finish second in the division.  I think the Buccaneers are going to be the surprise team in the NFL this year, despite the “Hard Knocks” curse, and take the division, but I also have no luck at predicting hurricane paths.

I’m thinking 9-7.  What are you thinking?