Saints Report # 17 - January 10, 2021

It could have been déjà vu.  For the fourth time in the last five Saints playoff games, the opponent scored on the last play of the game.  This time it was ex-Saint Jimmy Graham who did the deed with a spectacular one-handed grab in the end zone.  But, this time, it was not a heart-breaking, heart-wrenching, heart-shattering loss.  It was just a slight tarnish on the Saints 21-9 victory.  We’ll let Jimmy have that.  No touchdowns for 59 minutes and 59 seconds is a landmark accomplishment.

It was easily the best defensive performance ever in the playoffs by New Orleans.  The Bears helped by starting someone at quarterback who has frustrated Bears fans for years with his bobbing performances.  The Bears didn’t convert a third down until that last, meaningless drive, and Mitchell Trubinsky looked like he just left the draft room on draft day, still stunned that he was taken ahead of Patrick Mahomes.

The Bears are good on one side of the ball, a feeling Saints fans know all too well.  But, not this year.  This year the Saints defense is one of the best in the NFL.  I wish I could have seen them in person.

On offense, the Saints star offensive trio, the Supreme Brees, Thomas, and Kamara, got to do their “Someday, We’ll be Together” act, as the reunited offense moved the ball just enough to score three touchdowns, although they should have had four.  I knew that Brees' ball extension over the goal line schtick was not going to work one day, but I figured it would be because some superstar linebacker smacked the ball out of his hands, not because the lunge came up short, like it did on the Saints last drive of the game.  But, forget the Supremes for just a minute.  It was Deonte Harris, who strolled off a 6 week vacation on injured reserve onto the field and sang, “What’s Going On?” to the tune of 7 receptions for 83 yards.  The Bears couldn’t match his quickness.  It was his best game yet as a receiver. 

The Saints offense was efficient and secure, except for Taysom Hill’s weekly turnover, and were content to move the ball down the field and play for field position.  Early in the game the Saints were dodging bullets like it was a bad action movie.  The Bears dropped a sure touchdown pass and showed they could get penalized just when the Saints needed it.  The Saints offense stalled and sputtered at times, as they couldn’t do much on the ground until late in the game.  Brees didn’t play like someone on the verge of retirement, as he sliced up a very good defense just enough to win.

The Saints led 7-3 at halftime on the strength of a Michael Thomas touchdown, and it was too close for comfort for the squirmy nation of Who Dats.  The one bad sign going into round two is that Wil Lutz continues to slump, as he missed his only field goal attempt.  Lutzamatic has been missing in action.

But, ultimately, the Bears couldn’t move the ball, and that was enough.  It will be hard for the Saints to lose a game if they only give up 9 points a game. 

This time, there was tension but no anguish for Saints Fans. 

Now, the Saints get a third swipe at the Tampa Brady Bucs.  Brady has never lost to a team three times in one season.  The Bucs look much improved over the team the Saints schooled and shellacked in previous games.  You can bet it will be closer this time.  Brady has two effective tight ends, and that means Malcolm Jenkins and the human torch, CJ Gardner-Johnson, will have to be at their best.  CJGJ, who has been swung at more this year than Mike Tyson, continues to get under the skin of wide receivers.  I wish the NFL had the guts to mike him up for a game.  He must be some irritating. 

And just like a boxing match, we are on to round two.  Get ready for more tension.  Nothing comes easy for the Saints.

 

Saints Report # 15 - December 22, 2019

The Saints continued to celebrate their sterling Monday night performance through the first quarter of their visit to Nashville.  They found themselves down 14-0 to the Titans and it looked like it was going to be one of those games where the Saints were going to get overrun by a team playing for their playoff life.

It was an interesting sight.  The Saints were unfocused, off kilter and out of sync.  Drew Brees was noticeably upset with the brain drain that was going on around him.  Penalty flags were flying and Brees was getting unusual pressure in the pocket.  It was so bad that Ryan Ramczyk gave up his first sack of the year. 

Then, the Saints threw a switch and their superior talent took over.  The Saints offense starting rolling and Alvin Kamara scored twice while Jared Cook and Michael Thomas were catching the fever.  The Saints took charge and of all people, Patrick Robinson made several great defensive plays and CJ Gardner Johnson caused and recovered a fumble with the Saints clinging to a 3 point lead inside of 4 minutes.  The air went out of Music City with that CJGJ hit of a receiver, and it’s a play that almost always draws a flag, especially against the Saints.  No yellow fever this time. 

Then, Michael Thomas scored the last touchdown to make the final 38-28.  Thomas finished with 12 catches for 146 yards and set the NFL record with 146 catches.  With one game to go, Thomas may well set an unreachable 16 game record.  Going in to this game he was almost 30 receptions ahead of the guy in second place – that’s 2 catches a game.  He is also almost 400 yards ahead of the nearest competition.  Quite simply, Michael Thomas can make a strong case for MVP.  The Saints rarely have a bonafide MVP candidate.  They've got one now.

The Saints can be beaten, but their talent level is amazing.  There are 6 Saints who may be on the all-time Saints team:  Brees, Thomas, Ramczyk, Lattimore, Morstead, and Jordan, with several more – Demario Davis, Terron Armstead, Wil Lutz, and Alvin Kamara knocking on that door.  If the Saints win next week, they will complete their 4^th 13-3 Season in the last 11.  This is also the second season in a row with 12 wins – something the franchise has never achieved.  We’ve had some disappointing season-ends, but we sure can’t complain about the talent that has been amassed.

Now off to play a despondent Carolina team which will be trying to salvage some respect in Game 16.  It won’t be easy, but the Saints are closer to a first round bye, and some home field advantages, like the raucous ruckus the Superdome provides. They are close to their second straight home field advantage throughout the playoffs.  It could get loud.  

Saints Report # 14 - December 16, 2019

Drew Brees looked downfield and didn’t see anyone open.  So, he flung the ball toward Latavius Murray in the flat, and it skipped past him.  It was a terrible pass.  It was also unique because it was the only incomplete pass Brees would throw in 3 hours.  

Dr. Brees was performing a 3-hour surgery on the Mayflower Moving Van Colts, without anesthesia.  The most accurate passer in the history of football would go 29 for 30 in a stunning showcase as he finished with 22 straight completions, setting the NFL one game record with a 96.7% completion percentage.  The Saints ran away, 34-7.   

That’s the one-night story.  Then there’s the career story.   

Brees set the NFL record for Touchdowns on this night.  In fact, he did it twice, with one called back because of the kind of ticky tacky Pass Interference call that only seems to get called on the Saints.  Especially troubling that this little flick was called in the same end zone that Tommy Lee Lewis should have glided into 11 months ago.  Comparing this flick of the wrist to the near decapitation of Lewis says everything you need to know about being a Saints fan.  It’s ridiculous to think that the Superdome is haunted, but maybe, just maybe there’s this small patch of ground – we’ll call it the Zebra Triangle – where Referee judgement enters a vortex.  Come to think of it, Michael Thomas’s first touchdown was in that area and I’m pretty sure that Thomas illegally breathed on someone in the area, and the refs missed it.

Anyway, later – same end zone, but wisely on the other side, Drew tossed to a wide open Josh Hill for the 540th touchdown of his career.  If you’re a Saints fan, and privileged to see most of the 540, count your blessings.  What a treat.

And oh, by the way, it’s a tribute to Sean Payton, Mickey Loomis, and the late Tom Benson.  Professional Team sports is high turnover, quick firing trigger business, as is the car business that Benson made his fortune in.  That the Saints endured 3 straight losing seasons at 7-9 and stayed the course and just kept adding key pieces with 3 great drafts that have now netted 3 straight division titles is a lesson for every business in America.  Like the Patriots and the Steelers, the Saints have stability, consistency and a proven process.  No, they don’t have enough skins on the wall, but football is an oddly shaped ball that bounces oddly, figuratively and literally. 

Once upon a time, I was young and starting my career and looked around at the 20 or so wonderful people I had to compete with in my new job.  I developed my own secret mantra and it went like this:

You may be smarter than me.

You may be more talented than me.

You are definitely better looking than me.

You may be more charismatic than me.

And you are probably more popular than me.

But, you are NOT going to outwork me.

Drew Brees doesn’t get outworked. 

As we drove home from the game last night, I heard Deuce McCallister talk about Drew’s insane workouts that initially saved his career and have now elongated it to record-breaking greatness.  

The fan only gets a glimpse into the dedication that Brees has, and we just know that behind the scenes he is doing more than we can imagine, physically and mentally.

At halftime, the Saints trotted out (actually they walked) the 2009 Championship team.  Almost all of them came back.  They’ve been hanging around New Orleans all week and several mentions were made of their reverence for Drew Brees’ leadership and work ethic.  

In these fractured times, we could all learn a lot from Drew Brees.

Saints Report #13 - December 8, 2019

It was like a slasher movie.  Two offenses going up and down the field gashing each other repeatedly in one of those bloody games we get every so often.  It was the game of the year in the NFL, which doesn’t make me feel any better.

The hated (almost as much as the Falcons) San Francisco 49’ers traveled to the Louisiana Superdome determined to wrestle NFC home field advantage away from the New Orleans Saints.  They pulled out all the stops and emptied their trick play book to take a 48 – 46 victory.

Most would argue that the Saints made a strategic error, when early in the game, capitalizing on a penalty on a touchdown, they tried a two point conversion from the one yard line when Jared Cook’s 2^nd receiving touchdown made the score 13-7.  There were 2 unfortunate results.  Cook suffered a concussion on the play and did not return, and the play call fooled nobody.  The missed conversion hung over this game like a blimp running out of gas.

I would argue that another error was just as costly.  At the end of the 1^st half, the Saints were clinging to a 6 point lead, but the 49’ers were driving.  They had a 1^st and 13 on the Saints 35.  They gained 8, giving the 49’ers 2^nd and 5 from the 28.  The Saints called a time out with 1:46 on the clock in the hopes of getting the ball back.  Why? Payton calls these defensive time outs on a wing and a prayer all the time, and they inevitably just take the clock pressure off the offense.  He called another one at 1:31 on 3^rd and 1.  Sean Payton is an incredible coach, but there’s two things he does that I hate.  Defensive Time-outs when the odd are against you, and on offense lining up in an empty backfield on 2^nd and short.  Unnecessary gambling.  Anyway, the 49’ers scored to conclude a wild first half of 8 touchdowns. 

Going into this game I was thinking the Saints biggest challenge would be stopping George Kittle, the league’s best tight end.  The Saints chose to put rookie CJ Gardner-Johnson on him, and he held his own until the 4^th quarter.  I was also worried about the Saints linebacker corps, with AJ Klein and Kiko Alonso out, replaced by Stephon Anthony and Craig Robertson, and that slight speed differential was costly, particularly in the track-meet first half.  San Francisco led 28-27 at the half. 

In the league’s highest scoring game so far this year, the two quarterbacks, Brees and Garoppolo were magnificent, both throwing for 349 yards.  Brees threw for 5 touchdowns and Michael Thomas had his usual terrific game.  With the Saints down 45-40 and needing a touchdown, the Saints got the ball back with 2:23 left.  He then came up with one of his patented drives, ending in a 18 yard touchdown pass to Tre’Quan Smith to take a 46-45 lead.  Unfortunately, the Saints had scored too quickly and there were 53 seconds left on the clock.  With 3 timeouts left, the 49’ers drove, converting a 39 seconds-left 4^th and 2 for a mere 39 yard gain, with a 15 yard penalty tacked on.  Robbie Gold kicked the winning field goal and the Saints had another heartbreaker to put in their pocket.

The Saints fell to 10-3 with 3 games remaining, and are now third in the NFC.  The Saints playoff positioning took a huge hit, but if they get healthy, there’s no reason to panic.  It probably means an extra game in the playoffs.  The worse news is that there will inevitably be a trip or two to the west coast, and the skies have not been too friendly to the Saints out thataway.

There were some positives.  Special teams were a difference maker for the Saints, as Deonte Harris had a great return game.  Of course, the fake punt that backfired was a strange call.  Again, I liked the decision, but the red team was ready for the play that was called.  Latavius Murray averaged 10 yards a carry and Alvin Kamara averaged 2.  Defenses have caught up to Kamara and that swing pass has lost its effectiveness.  The same can’t be said for Michael Thomas, who had another spectacular game, including his performance on a 4^th quarter drive that was almost all him.  Nope, can’t fault the offense for this one. 

On the defensive side, the Saints continue to struggle at corner with the PJ Williams/Eli Apple alliance having a tough time.  Cornerback in the NFL is almost impossible to play, and I’m sure it will be addressed in the off-season.  Until then, avert your eyes when playing against a good passer with two speedy receivers, and just hope the pass rush gets home.  The Saints have a history of anointing quarterbacks into superstars.  Let’s hope that’s not what happened to Garoppolo. 

Next up, an unexpectedly critical Monday Night game against the Colts.  Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck are retired, right?

Saints Report # 11 - November 24, 2019

When the Saints play, There Will Be Blood Pressure. Sunday was no exception, as the Saints raced out hare-like to a 14-0 lead only to see tortoise-like Carolina come all the way back to tie, and line up for a chip shot game winner.  Fortunately, new kicker Joey Slye seemed befuddled at short distances, as he missed two extra points and then the short kick that would’ve won it.  Surprising, as he had blasted two long field goals.  

The two minute door was left ajar, and Drew Brees, NFL MVP Michael Thomas (I don't care what they say), and Alvin Kamara put together another signature drive to set up Wil Lutz’s game winner and the Saints escaped with a 34-31 victory in the Superdome to move to 9-2.

That’s the good news.  The bad news is that the Saints will be staring at a very proficient Carolina quarterback named Kyle Allen, for possibly 20 years.  Here’s my new rule of thumb for drafting quarterbacks in the NFL.  Go ahead draft a running quarterback (Cam Newton, RGIII, Lamar Jackson, Michael Vick) and get maybe 10 years out of the them, and bet on the fact that they are going to get hurt.  Or, grab a pocket passer, like Allen, and he’ll be good for 15-20 years (Brees, Brady, Rogers.)  Looks likes Cam Newton is going to move on, and Kyle will be there.  I don’t think it’s going to be all that enjoyable for Saints fans.  

The New Orleans Saints navigated a ridiculously difficult first quarter of the season, emerging with wins over the Texans, Seahawks, and Cowboys, with Teddy Bridgewater leading the Saints to a 5-1 start.

They have had a much more difficult time navigating the NFC South.

The Saints survived even more than the usual adversity.  Zebras actually called a pass interference on a challenge flag against the Saints that led to that missed Slye field goal.  Enough Irony for you?  Cameron Jordan committed a horrible penalty on a sack by Demario Davis that probably would have sealed the game, turning a 4^th and 25 into a 1^st and 10, saving a Panthers' drive.  The Saints came in with one of their “pass first” game plans that always seem to result in a critical interception, and it did this time too.   They again were victimized by excessive field laundry and questionable calls that raised blood pressure to dangerous heights in the house where I was watching.  Jared Cook had a great game, giving the Saints a third elite weapon to go with Thomas and Kamara.  Brees is gaining confidence in him, so he is willing to go to Jared.  Ted Ginn continued his torrid pace of catching a ball a game, dropping one, and there was a Tre’quan Smith sighting for a touchdown.

Make no mistake, the Saints have some issues.  The Panthers were in a position to win, and should have won, but for the fact that Graham Gnoe is spending the year on the injured list.  As he does several times a year, Drew Brees executed what he had practiced.  With the game on the line in the 4^th quarter, don’t doubt it for a minute – his straw is long, and he will drink your milk shake. 

Next up, the tough task of traveling to another Mercedes Benz stadium – to meet the Falcons who just came down to earth after a couple of surprising weeks, including one where they embarrassed the Saints.  Thanksgiving blood pressure will be on the line.  Not to mention digestion.