Hurricane Sean worked its way through Louisiana Sunday. The wind was Saints fans letting out a
cumulative sigh of relief as the Saints returned to form with a double up victory
over their divisional rivals the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 34-17. In truth, the Tampa rivalry has been rather
one-sided during the Payton/Brees era, as it has been less compelling than the
Hallmark vs. Lifetime rivalry for Christmas Movie supremacy.
This time of year, it’s about depth, just as December turns
to the ground game to see which team can run the ball in the bad weather. The depth for the Saints paid dividends Sunday
as Alvin Kamara and Taysom Hill filled in capably in the return game for an injured
Deonte Harris (hamstring). Veteran free
agent Nick Eason, whom has been MIA all year, suddenly materialized and filled
in for Andrus Peat (out 6 weeks with a broken arm) at left guard. Fullback Zach Line, whose absence was felt
last week in pass protection, reappeared and had a solid game. The secondary shuffled around in the absence of
Marshon Lattimore (hamstring) and picked off strong armed Jameis Winston 4
times, including a Marcus Williams (he of the Minnesota incident) pick 6 that
was the final score of the game. The
Saints defense joined the offense in the “return to form” category, with
Demario Davis leading the emotional charge.
I hope these Saints show up for the rest of the year. It will make for a nice playoff seeding, as
it would appear the Saints will take the NFC South for the 3rd
straight year. The Saints are now 8-2, with
the Panthers falling to 5-5, and the Falcons and Bucs at 3-7.
The Saints drove the ball all day behind the offensive
tandem of Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas, who continued his assault on the
record books. I have a recurring
nightmare these days, and its this. The
Saints make it to the Super Bowl only to play the New England Patriots. Bill Belichick, as he always does, constructs
a defensive game plan to take away Kamara and Thomas, triple teaming them to
take them out of the game and saying to the Saints, “go ahead, if you can beat
us with Ted Ginn and Jared Cook, feel free.”
Cook and Ginn had good games, each catching a touchdown pass, but the rest of the receiving corps was AWOL. Almost makes me miss Brandon Coleman. Almost.
But, it certainly makes me miss the days of Lance Moore, Marques
Colston, and Devery Henderson. Still a
weakness, but Saints fans are breathing easier today, and the men can now
return to the task at hand, regaining control of the remote so we can watch
real Christmas movies. Like Die Hard.
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