It is doubtful that Tom Brady began his evening wondering if his team would score any points.
He certainly wasn't expecting a score that would read like a baseball forfeit.
The Saints defense shut out Tampa Bay 9-0 in
a game that had to be a shock to the football world.
For the second straight year the Saints swept the TB’s.
Let's review: 38-3, 34-23, 36-27, 9-0.
I will always maintain that the Saints would have won the playoff game as well if not for Jared Cook's fumble.
Sunday night, it was as if the Saints took it personally that Brady hasn’t retired yet. “Hey man, it’s time for you to sit in your hot tub on your deck overlooking some body of water sipping mint juleps, or those smoothies you make. Hang it up, already.” Or, at least that's what CJ Gardner-Johnson was probably thinking when he stared down Brady during the game. Brady at 44 is probably older than some of the Saints player's parents.
With Sean Payton sidelined with Covid, Defensive Coordinator Dennis Allen continued his mastery of Brady. The Saints have had a lot of things go wrong this year, but one thing that has gone right is the defense. That has to be attributed to Allen.
It is a luxury to have a competent coordinator in his 7th year. He has molded the defense, he has filled the holes, and he is well acquainted with every team in the league. He’s seen it all, and he is getting better and better. After this headline-making performance I’m a little scared. Is he going to be a head coaching candidate? Selfishly, I hope not. This morning on the NFL network Peter Schrager said the Saints have the best defensive backfield in the league, and that was the part of the team I was most concerned about. Go figure. You have to give Sean Payton credit for following the Belichick process which is build your team to dominate your division and beat your divisional opponents, in those 6 games. That strategy has resulted in 4 straight divisional titles on the heels of Carolina winning 3 in a row during Cam Newton’s prime. A fifth is a long-shot, but it’s still a great run.
On the offensive side, the Saints didn’t do much against an excellent Tampa defense. The Saints basically took just enough advantage of good field position to kick 3 field goals. Who began the night thinking that would do it?
So the Saints are still alive to win the division. Sure, at 7-7 they would have to win their last 3 and the Bucs would have to lose their last 3. Let’s face it, the Saints offense is a little tepid for that to happen. But there’s no question that given the many adversities of this season, Saints fans can hold their heads high. Lotta Heart on this team.
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