Saints Report #5 - October 8, 2018

Meticulous.  Drew Brees’ legendary preparation has never been on display more than Monday night on the biggest football stage of all, Monday Night Football.  There’s no other football on, so the fans want a show and they got one this week.  Could Drew break the NFL yardage record by getting just over 200 yards?  Well, how about doing it by halftime?  Drew Brees is a pinball wizard and that was quickly apparent once again as the trash talking Redskins (let’s not have him get the record against us!) were reduced to lost pinballs, careening around the field, chasing down receivers running loosey-goosey.  To put it another way, Drew Brees is playing chess while the defense plays checkers.  He’s doing what you only wish you could do while playing video games.

I’m getting old now, and I’m not liking it much.  The knees are chronic, the beef is gone from my diet, and I’m just as happy watching TV as I used to be running from first to third.  As I reflect on life, I’m so appreciative of sports and some of the great athletes I got to watch who transcended their sports.  Sandy Koufax was the best pitcher I ever saw.  Willie Mays was the best all-around baseball player I ever saw, and Robert Clemente was the most electrifying.  Joe Montana and Tom Brady dominated.  Of course there's Michael Jordan, who followed Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, capitalizing on what they'd resurrected.

What they all had was a set of tools in their toolbox that they married to their work ethic.  They also were fortunate to have talented teammates and coaches supporting them, with resulting championships.  I can honestly say nobody has done more with less than Drew Brees.  He partnered with a great offensive mind in Sean Payton, but rarely had the other side of the ball at even average caliber. 

Monday night’s game was a rematch of last year’s classic with the Redskins, when some left the dome early only to miss the Saints score 19 unanswered in the 4^th quarter and overtime.  It was miraculous.  In that game Marshawn Lattimore went down early, and Kirk Cousins went to town, building a big lead.  This year, again Lattimore got hurt, but this time the defense rose up, and old Saints-tormenter Alex Smith was baffled and beaten.  The defense showed signs of life and it looks like there might be enough there to make another playoff run.  A little D can go a long way when the wizard is behind center.

Bolstered by the running game Brees went an astounding 26 of 29 for 363 yards in the 43-19 checkmate of Washington.  He was flawless.  He was emotional.  He was inspirational.  It was the highest completion percentage of his career. He was exceptional when all that was needed was average.  But his meticulousness was on full display.  He was not going to leave anything to chance with the whole football-loving world watching. 

The emotion of watching Brees pass the top two NFL yardage leaders, both born within a po-boy of the Superdome, and end the night with 72,103 yards was highest for Saints fans who weathered Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and lost the dome for a year.  Payton, Brees, and Reggie Bush arrived a year later to provide much needed distraction and hope. The team has been completely rebuilt since the Super Bowl victory of the 2009 Saints, and Brees has consistently performed.  For a region of the country that is football crazy, but championship poor, its appreciation extends way beyond the thundering noise in the dome.  The crowd just gets to express it.  We all feel it.