The Saints went into normally rainy Seattle and put the
clamps on the Seahawks to the tune of 13-10 in a part time storm on Monday
Night. Another ugly win to move to 4-2.
The game resembled a fight scene in the rain in The Matrix,
minus the grace and stylishness, unless you watched Alvin Kamara who put forth
a fantasy dream night. Suddenly the Saints
have rediscovered his effectiveness when the ball is tossed to him, and without
that it would have been a gloomy night, where we would have said “Why don’t we
just get in the running car?”
The two teams pushed inefficiently against each other except for one touchdown drive a piece. A lot could be made of the sluggish offenses, or the good defenses, but the truth of the matter is that this game was won by the kickers. The Saints continuously flipped the field position behind the leg of punter Blake Gillikin, and they got two field goals from their 4th placekicker of the year, Brian Johnson, while the Seattle kicker was going 1 for 3, Where did Brian come from? Sean Payton met him last Monday and his heart stood still, when it appeared Johnson could actually put the ball between the uprights. This was to become even more important the next day, when kicker #1 Will Lutz was declared out for the season after a setback in his recovery. Hang on Brian, Brian hang on.
The Saints continue to fly under the radar, rating rarely a mention in the national media. No one believes in the Saints yet but the next week’s opponent, Tampa Bay will lead the Saints into the heart of their schedule, including Dallas and Buffalo. I truly believe it takes a strong franchise quarterback to win the Super Bowl, and each season starts with about 10 – 12 of those. I regret to say that this will probably not be the case for the Saints this year. I’m not a Winston hater. I think he’s doing fine, workmanlike stuff. But he’s not going to carry this team, and the days of a dominant defensive team, which the Saints are, racing through the playoffs is over. The rules favor the offenses, and there are too many stars out there. Would love to be wrong, but instead, I’m going to appreciate this team for what it is – a hardnosed defense minded team, and I look forward to next Sunday’s showdown with Brady. I think he’s in for a dogfight.
Meanwhile, some other comments about sports: The Pelicans are back, minus Van Gundy, “airball” and “slowfoot,” my two least favorite players from last year. I won’t say their names. Unfortunately Zion is hurt and reportedly way overweight. New Orleans teams don’t seem to “stay in touch.” See Michael Thomas.
I’m enjoying baseball.
I remember Lolich and Gibson, Koufax and Ford, and those great pitching
duels. It’s now a parade of relievers
and the strongest bullpen wins. I’m ok
with that.
Here are some important lessons from sports of today:
- Replay has gotten out of hand. I didn’t think it possible to make the last 2 minutes of an NBA game last longer, but I was wrong. We beat everything to death.
- Yelling at the top of your lungs is important at the end of every big play. I plan on applying this to my life. Wait until the next time I successfully parallel park.
- Someone should be designated to bring water to every celebration, especially at home plate, to douse the pile with. It’s kind of funny to see.
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