Drew

The rain doesn’t fall in New Orleans.  It materializes out of the summer humidity.  It is one of the most humid places in the world, so much so that when someone has lived it the heaviness never leaves them.  We just laugh when visiting a northern city and we hear the declaration that “it’s humid today” at 40%. We would kill for 40%.

How many cities in the world sit below sea level?  Well, there’s Atlantis.  And there’s New Orleans, a city where the levees rise in the hopes that they can hold the surrounding waters at bay while the antiquated pumping stations struggle to expel.  Yearly there’s a massive rain event that gets memorialized.  The May 3^rd flood.  The April 13^th flood.  Betsy.  Katrina.  According to reports, there have been 42 flood events in the last 20 years, turning New Orleans into Venice.  The Cajun Navy deploys to rescue people who should have known better by now.  When you average 62 inches of rain a year and you are below sea level, you will have to deal with it.

New Orleans has given us great music and food and corruption.  Bourbon Street is a singular tourist destination that just got the street dug up and paved properly so that a well lubricated tourist can now walk it without fear of breaking an ankle.  It only took 300 years.  The well-worn phrase “let the good times roll” is only the beginning.  The populace takes Mardi Gras and Lent seriously, with a lot of confessions in between. 

Then there’s this 54 year old professional football team that New Orleans has.  The New Orleans Saints were often associated with ineptitude and irrelevance.  But that’s not really fair.  The first 20 years were indeed terrible.  Then around 1986 Jim Mora and Rickey Jackson came to town and they were competitive for 10 years, as they were later for the 5 Jim Haslett years (although they were divided by a disastrous Ditka interim.)  Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, and they had to play out of a moving van for a year while their scarred home, the Superdome, underwent repairs.  And it was one ugly, disheartening year that ended the Haslett era.  Saints management took a chance on a very young coach Sean Payton, and he took a chance on an injured quarterback named Drew Brees.  We had no way to know how things were about to change as rebuilding took center stage.

With their arrival began a 15-year run of upper-echelon football.  The Saints had always been important to the region, but their consistency ushered in an era of ever-increasing enthusiasm for the team.  Many cities are bitterly divided.  New Orleans is not.  Yes crime is an issue, but the love for their football team is so universal that the greatest defusal phrase in the world may just be “who dat.”

All this can be traced to Drew Brees.  He came to play.  His moving van was packed with heart, dedication, work ethic, smarts, talent, and a willingness to get involved in the suffering community.   

It wasn’t just that he wanted to win.  He hated to lose.  I have an enduring image of him.  It was the glare.  When he threw an interception he would come to the sidelines.  He would stand there, often keeping his helmet on, not talking to anyone, making no excuses, like he had just committed an unpardonable sin.  He lead so many clutch drives in the fourth quarter, that we were spoiled.  I remember in particular one game where the Saints were down to the Redskins 31-16 with 4 minutes to play.  Redskins fans were whooping and hollering all around us, and I just had this feeling.  You don’t know Drew Brees.  The Saints had been flat all day, but suddenly it was like Brees was Zeus and lightening went through the team.  They tied it and won in overtime. 

That was the thing.  We were in every game.  We always had a chance.  Brees walked up to the line of scrimmage and began directing traffic as only a great student could, less flamboyantly than Peyton Manning, but just as effectively.  I have a theory that the great ones like Brees, Brady, and Manning win pre-snap by reading the defenses, which only comes with hours of preparation.  It was fun to watch.  Every time we walked from our car to the dome, we knew we were going to get our money’s worth.

I know that Brees will now go on to be successful in his business ventures and his broadcasting career, but I had always hoped he would run for public office in Louisiana and apply that same preparation and decision-making skills to running a city or a state.  That too would be fun to watch.

I’ve had a few favorite athletes in my life.  First there was Bill Mazeroski, a magician at 2^nd base.  Then Roberto Clemente.  You can watch his highlights but here’s what you probably won’t see.  He hit in each of the 14 World Series games he played in, and yet there was a key play in each series where he beat out balls he hit back to the pitcher.  He ran hard on every play.

Drew Brees was like that.  He never took a play or a game off.  He had two serious injuries in his last two years, and he almost certainly came back too early from them.  But he couldn’t stand to watch any more than he could stand to lose.  You can’t win them all.  Not when there’s another team on the field, not to mention officiaIs, weather, and momentum to contend with.  I know of only one athlete that retired undefeated and that’s Rocky Marciano, but he wasn’t playing a team sport.  Team sports are different.  They are more rewarding, and more devastating. The Saints losses in recent years were way more devastating than the days that the crowd wore bags over their heads and the conclusion was forgone.

Drew Brees came to New Orleans about the time that I was able to utilize the season tickets my family has had since 1982. I saw him play in person close to 100 times.  I started writing this game-by-game blog on every single game for the last 15 years.  I gave an often uninformed but emotional reaction to every game.  Now I’m hoping I can print each page out and somehow bind it and get it into his hands.  If he ever chooses to read it, he will get a reactionary Who Dat view of each game.  I grew up wanting to be a sportswriter, changed course in my career, but reverted to it as a hobby in this blog.  I really don’t know if I will be as committed going forward. 

So not only did Drew Brees bring out the sports fan in me, he reinvigorated my writing, albeit it just-for-fun, and for a miniscule audience.  Anyone who watched him for the last 15 years has to admire those traits in him that he brought to New Orleans.  He will probably move away now, but he will be leaving with a bigger family, as well as a slew of former teammates that revere him, and a fan base that considers him a legend.

In coming centuries there may come a time when New Orleans joins Atlantis.  It seems inevitable. But, the story of Drew Brees will be passed down from generation to generation.  A statue will go up, and a pilgrimage will be made to Canton in 5 years.  I hope I get to go.  Look, sports is just entertainment.  It generates huge revenues and as a result athletes are paid a lot of money.  The Drew Brees effect on New Orleans transcended sports and money.  They say luck is where preparation meets opportunity.  True, but Drew Brees is where preparation met opportunity and thrived when a region needed it most. 

We needed a Drew Brees and we got him.  We will never let him go. 

 

 

Saints Report # 18 - January 17, 2021

The Saints hit their January iceberg in the playoffs, as they have often done over the last 10 years.  They lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 30-20 in the Superdome, their third crushing playoff lose at home in the last 4 years.  This time the dome was hollowed out by a virus, making the end an eerie one.

First – the game.  While the Saints defense played well, they couldn’t overcome the field position gifts the Saints offense was coughing up.  Three Drew Brees interceptions were all critical, but it was a Jared Cook fumble in the midst of a catch and run late in the 3^rd quarter that was the turning point.  The Saints had a 20-13 lead and were driving toward a two-score lead.   The Bucs converted and tied the score at 20 as the fourth quarter began.  The Saints would not score again.  The Saints receivers were blanketed all day, and 21 of the Bucs’ 30 points came on short scoring drives following 3 of the turnovers.  Michael Thomas didn’t catch a pass.  Deonte Harris, who had two stunning first quarter punt returns, hurt his neck and missed the second half. 

Those punt returns resulted in two field goals to start the game and the Saints took a dreaded 6-0 lead, the one that can be easily overcome with a touchdown.  Imagine if they had converted both for a 14-0 lead instead.  But, the Bucs defense was much better today than it had been in the two regular season contests.  Two touchdown catches by Tre’Quan Smith, one on a trick play from Jameis Winston, (Ironically the longest completion of the day) kept it close, but the turnovers were backbreakers.  It was a most unexpected end for the most talented team the Saints have ever had.  It was just two months ago that the Saints clobbered the Bucs 38-3.  The Bucs defense was helpless that night.  That night the Saints offense was unstoppable.  This night they stopped themselves repeatedly.  It was an ugly game and another ugly end to a season.

History is strange.  It appears the Brees era is over, and it’s been thrilling, but with this unsatiated appetite, like we should have eaten more, we should have feasted more, the desserts weren’t good enough.  We shoulda, coulda, woulda had more than one Super Bowl title.

Our disappointment is not without precedent in sports.  The Brooklyn Dodgers, stacked with Hall of Famers like Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Gil Hodges, and Duke Snider lost 5 times to the New York Yankees in the World Series before “next year” finally came in 1955 and they won their only World Series before moving west. 

Then there was Jake LaMotta who lost 5 times to Sugar Ray Robinson, beating him only once. 

Yes, History is strange.  With our area ravaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Saints had to play all their games on the road, a disaster for Coach Jim Haslett.  It was much like the figurative disaster that took place in Cleveland when Art Modell announced he was going to move the Browns to Baltimore in 1995.  The til-then ascendent Browns collapsed, and head coach Bill Belichick and Defensive Coordinator Nick Saban were out of a job.  We know where they landed, and how they wrote a new history.

With owner Tom Benson contemplating moving the team to San Antonio, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue (the one who liked us) steps in and fast tracks the Superdome repairs.  Into the Saints facility walks Drew Brees, having been cut loose by San Diego after a devastating arm injury, to join Sean Payton. 

Imagine how things could have gone if free agent Brees had passed the physical in Miami and chosen to play there with Nick Saban.  Imagine Brees and Saban in sympatico, challenging Brady and Belchick all those years that the Patriots got free passes through the weak division.  Imagine Saban not going to Alabama.  Imagine how different it all could have been.  We got lucky.  We got competitive.

In the wake of Katrina, I started writing this blog and I have chronicled each and every game since.  I haven’t hesitated to be critical at times, but I always kept in mind that there was an opponent on the field, trying as hard as they could.  Only one team wins their last game in the new year each season, and the Saints did that once, and the 2009 team provided unrivaled elation for the long-suffering Saints fans. 

I won’t suggest that those of us who have been Saints fans since John Gilliam caught the first kickoff are the only suffering fan base.  But in 54 seasons, the Saints have only been to the playoffs 14 times.  Nine of those times have been in the 14 years of the Payton/Brees collaboration.  Eight have been unhappy endings.

In 2007, the Saints made their first trip to an NFC Championship Game but they weren’t competitive in a loss to Brian Urlacher and the Bears, a 35-14 slip-sliding affair on the loose Soldier Field turf.  The Bears would lose to Peyton Manning and the Colts in the Super Bowl.

In 2011, it was Marshawn Lynch and his 67 yard beast mode run, as the 7-9 Seahawks upset the defending champion Saints.  We will have to watch that run for the rest of our lives.  The Seahawks lost to the Bears in the next round.

In 2012, it was Alex Smith and Vernon Davis that overshadowed an incredible Brees led comeback utilizing Darren Sproles and Jimmy Graham.  To me, the 49’er’s 36-32 victory, is still the toughest loss of this era.  The 49’ers lost to the Giants in the NFC Championship game.

In 2013, it was Seattle again, in a 23-15 loss when the Saints were held scoreless for 3 quarters, then mounted a furious comeback that fell short.  Seattle went on to trounce Denver in the Super Bowl.

In 2017, the Saints were down 17-0 at the half when Brees piloted an incredible second half comeback to take the lead.  Then it was Stefon Diggs who pulled off the Minnesota Miracle to break our hearts on the last play of the game.  The Vikings got stiff-armed by the Eagles, who would go on to win the Super Bowl.

In 2018, the Saints bad luck in the dome began when the no-call against the Rams happened in the Saints third NFC Championship Game appearance.  The Saints lost in overtime, and the whole world was outraged.  The Rams were stifled by the Patriots in the Super Bowl.

In 2019, the Vikings came to the dome and Kirk Cousins beat the Saints in overtime, making it three straight losses on the last play of the game.  The Vikings got dispatched by the 49’ers who would go on to lose the Super Bowl to the Chiefs.

Just my opinion, but this year, and the last 3, as well as 2011 and 2012, the Saints had excellent teams that could’ve won the Super Bowl.  I’m not saying they would have, but they were talented enough.

This game, with Tom Brady as the latest to overshadow, will be hard to swallow and hard to forget, but Saints fans have lived with a sense of doom for so long, it's just another "coulda." 

My hope is that this year the Saints draft a classic dropback quarterback, as I’m still not sold on the running quarterback.  Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson ended their playoff games in concussion protocol.  Cam Newton is a shell of his former self.  The Saints missed Taysom Hill today, out with an injury.  It’s tempting to run around like a jackrabbit, but when a 330 pound defender is closing in, sliding is the way to go. 

The Saints now slide into an uncertain future, salary cap problems, and the probable loss of the two amazing architects of the extremely successful recent drafts and acquisitions, Jeff Ireland and Terry Fontenot, as well as some of the assistants. 

My prediction of Chiefs over the Bucs in the Super Bowl is still in play, but I think I’d rather just spend the next few weeks appreciating the competitor Drew Brees, the fire in his eyes, and even the disappointment on his face as he sat on the bench in the waning minutes of his last game, if he calls it a career.  It was a great career, and we were the beneficiaries of his command, his work ethic, his game-saving drives and his community involvement.  I bet his next chapter is as productive, and I hope I get to make the trip to Canton to see him inducted into the Hall of Fame..  

 

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.