It has become obvious that when you play the New Orleans Saints there is one thing you just can’t afford to do.
Punt.
If you punt you lose.
You can’t afford to lose a possession, not when Mr. Not-NFL-MVP Drew Brees is orchestrating one drive after another.
The Lions came to town for the first round NFC playoff game and a video game broke out. Their own video character Megatron was awesome but it wasn’t enough as the Lions committed the unpardonable sin of punting 3 times. The relentless Saints pulled away in the fourth quarter to win 45-28.
Here’s the Saints drive tally best I can remember:
10 possessions
6 Touchdowns
1 Field Goal
2 Fumbles lost
1 Kneel down series to end the game.
The Lions offense gave the Saints defense everything they could handle. Jabari Greer’s two interceptions, when added to those 3 punts gave the Lions 5 un-pointed possessions. That won’t work against the Saints. Meanwhile, the Lions defense only put up occasional resistance. Suffice to say the Lions are in much the same position the Saints have been for years – their offense is close, they need to draft, draft, draft defense.
As for the Saints offense, while Not-All-Pro QB Brees was his usual incredible self, it was Pierre Thomas who set the physical tone for the Saints, breaking about 100 tackles on pass receptions and runs. SIT, the three headed running back monster (Sproles/Ivory/Thomas) gives this team the unstoppable dimension. The success running the ball is what sets up an offense that could be legendary if they continue this pace through let’s say February. When Brees threw for 466 yards, the most ever in a regulation post season game, maybe there was at least some voter remorse amongst the NFL writers, except of course for the two that voted him all-pro. Two – how ridiculous.
Around the NFL, the Giants ran up the score on the Falcons 24-2. Eli gets to travel to Green Bay and try to repeat the playoff magic of a few years ago, but unfortunately the Packers QB is not Brett Favre and the tundra doesn’t appear to be frozen. But if the Giants win and the Saints win, the NFC championship will be a Mercedes-Benz Superdome affair, and would be the Saints 3rd NFC title affair in Payton’s 6 years. That would be very impressive, not to mention incredibly cool.
In Denver, Tim Tebow pulled off his biggest win so far on the first play of overtime, which is a shame, as I really wanted to see how those new overtime rules played out. I wouldn’t get too excited if I were a Bronco fan. The injury bug had a clamp on the Steelers much like the Saints in last year’s playoff. It doesn’t change the fact that the Steelers are a flawed team with some draft needs. The problem with continued excellence in the NFL is that you’re always drafting late and it looks like that is starting to catch up with the Steelers, or do they really think Hines Ward can get open because he’s now a qualified dancer?
Which by the way, the Saints remind me of the Steelers of the 70’s. Think about all those future Hall of Famers on that team that won 4 Super Bowls in 6 years. It’s just that the Saints assemblage of offensive talent reminds me of the Steelers defensive assemblage.
Finally, in the first game Saturday, my pre-season Super Bowl pick Houston ran the ball down the throat of the Bengals. I’ll have to rescind my pick as I’m sure there’s a third string quarterback rescission clause available to me. However, Houston is one of those teams being built piece by piece very effectively and I don’t see a Peyton Manning return next year changing the bright future of the Texans. It’s just that their trip to Baltimore next week isn’t all that promising.
So, the Saints travel to San Francisco and don’t we owe them some heartache for the Montana-Rice era? Oddly I’m not nearly as concerned about the 49’ers as I was about the Lions. I don’t see the same firepower. The Saints should have only a few concerns. One would be Frank Gore and a top-notch running game. The other is a defense that will put up the most significant resistance the Saints have seen in a while. This shouldn’t be a punt-less game, which brings me to my last concern.
Does Thomas Morstead remember how to punt?
3 comments:
Did you mean Eli's six years?
No, Sean Payton's. He has taken the Saints to 2 NFC Championship games, winning one. If the Saints make it this year, that will be 3 in 6 seasons - great by anyone's standards. But I don't want to get ahead of myself.
No, Sean Payton's. He has taken the Saints to 2 NFC Championship games, winning one. If the Saints make it this year, that will be 3 in 6 seasons - great by anyone's standards. But I don't want to get ahead of myself.
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