Saints Report # 8 - October 31, 2010

So we travelled to the dome hoping that the Saints would show up.

Not only did they show up dressed as Super Bowl re-contenders, but their new personality began to show through in a defensive display that had to stun the pundits who have been calling the Steelers the best NFL team for the last few weeks. The Saints won a 20-10 trench battle on Halloween and it was a revelation.

Understand this, the 2010 Saints are not the offensive juggernaut they were a year ago. Part of that is because of injuries to Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas. Part of it is the way they are being defended. Part of it is that the offensive line has not played to last year’s standard. Part of it is the absence of a running game.

Thus, Reggie Bush was not the only one with a broken leg, as fans around the region got injured jumping off the bandwagon.

Let me be the first to say it. The Saints defense is better than last year. Gregg Williams has got players understanding his schemes and their virtual lockdown of the Steelers gave them 4 straight games in which they’ve given up only one touchdown. And all of this comes with Porter and Greer, two shutdown corners, on the shelf with injuries.

Turnovers are not coming in bunches like last year, so the defense hasn’t lit up the scoreboard. Big deficits force teams into gambling and carelessness, and the Saints haven’t had big leads to work with this year. But two turnovers in the 4th quarter Sunday night were a reminder of what this defense can do when playing with a lead.

On Halloween night, Brees, Vilma, Shanle, and Lance Moore in particular played great and showed promise that if they can put together two good games in a row by beating Carolina next Sunday they will improve to 6 – 3 going into the bye week, when they can hopefully replenish two backfields.

This was a must win, as the Saints joined the other 9 teams with 5 wins. Only the Patriots have 6 wins. In Section 116 we’ve returned all our starters and look forward to the Saints doing the same. Now comes the second half of the season. This is going to be fun. Break a leg.