It's been four games since the St.Louis massacre and our beloved Saints find themselves with a two game lead in the NFC South division. Outside a collapse of Hasslonian proportions, the Saints have made the playoffs. The next four weeks will determine exactly who and where they play and how many playoff wins it will take to make it to the Super Bowl. All is good, right?
Well, maybe.
The next two games will reveal the toughest foe the Saints have faced all season.
Themselves.
Coming up are the Tennesee Titans(7-5) and Minnesota Vikings (2-10). On paper, two teams the Saints should beat.
But.
The Titans are the anit-Saints. They play outdoor December football. Well, this game will be outdoors and in December. They run, and they run and they run. Did I mention they run. Featuring the rounding into deadly form Chris Johnson, Tennessee has run themselves to within two games of QBless AFC South Division leader Houston Texans. Who, by the way they face on the final weekend of the season. In his last two games, the waterbug Johnson has rushed for 190 and 153 yards and 7.45 yards per carry. Before you say "eight in the box", the Titans can loosen up the defense with play-action throws from QB Matt Hasselback, yes, that Matt Hasseback. The former Seattle QB that lit up Roman Harper and the Saints defense in that humiliating playoff defeat last season. The Saints under Payton and Brees, have yet to prove they can beat a quality road opponent, outdoors, in cold weather.
The Vikings present another kind of challenge. That late season bete noir with nothing to lose. A noon kickoff with no national spotlight media fawning and fainting and oohing and aahing over the Saints high powered offense. No bright lights, no frenzied who dat'ers. Just a lazy Sunday afternoon in the land of a thousand lakes.
In my mind, there's no doubt the Saints are better than both teams. In my mind there's some doubt they can prove it. Remember the '06,'07 ,'08 games in cold Chicago. Think about the games against Arizona and Cleveland in '10. Or the Rams game a month ago. Heck they needed a miracle to win in DC in December during the Super Bowl season.
Brees' kryptonite has been cold weather and Payton's barren has been getting his team ready to face inferior opponents. In the next two games we will learn if either, neither or both have been overcome.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Incredibly, Saints Fall Asleep, AGAIN!
You would think by now, after embarrassing losses in the recent past , the Saints under Sean Payton would have learned their lesson. Yet there they were again, unprepared to play against a team, on paper, not in their league.
Saints fans will here the" We said all week we won't underestimate this team" crap ad nauseum. Payton said in the post game presser. So did Brees. You can bet any other Saints player facing a mic and camera will say it as well.
Well in the words of the great Johnny Unitas, "talk is cheap".
And so was the performance the 5-2 Saints displayed against the Rams. The 0-6 Rams. A team whose six losses came by scores of 31-13, 28-16, 37-7, 17-10(Redskins), 24-3 and 34-7. A team whose head coach recently downloaded the Monster.com app to his IPhone. Calling this performance cheap is an insult to thrift stores everywhere!
I could site numerous examples of this amazing knack Payton's St. Jude Saints have for generosity to the NFL's hopeless causes but why be redundant.
However there is another explanation as to why this keeps happening, but I'm not so sure Saints fans are prepared to hear. Maybe they just aren't that good.
A closer look at the 5-3 2011 Saints reveal a team that resembles more 2008 than 2009. That 2008 team finished 8-8, had the number one offense in the league but couldn't "finish" games in the fourth quarter. They started 1-0 then blew a 10 point 4th quarter led to the Redskins in D.C( I wrote them off right then) then missed a game winnning FG in Denver. Yet when they won, it was by scores like 31-3 to the Raiders, 51-29 to the Packers, 42-7 to the Lions. Give up 3 points one week, give up 30 the next. Made us all crazy. Missed the playoffs for the second straight year. Back then everyone said, "if we only had a defense to go with that offense...". Sound familier?
The 2011 Saints results are similar, but they resemble a team sleepwalking with an ocassional jolt of energy then back to sleep. They got away with it against two rookie QBs, but then it bit them against Tampa and now this.
Maybe they aren't sleepwalking. Maybe they are just a so-so team. The offensive line has been outplayed in 6 out of 8 games thus far. Thus the Saints have been unable to muster any kind running attack to speak of. Not that Payton has ever committed to the run anyway, but this Saints team doesn't seem tough enough.
The defense has ZERO playmakers, something sorely lacking since the departure of Darren Sharper. Malcom Jenkins is okay but doesn't wow anybody. The DBs and LBs have gotten their hands on many passes only to come up empty. The pass rush has to be manufactured now as it's becoming clearer by the week the free agents brought in at DT are busts. Don't even get me started on the run defense.
So who are these 2011 Saints. The team that conducted offseason workouts on their own. The team that had every pundit drooling in traing camp.
Win a game look great, win a game look average, lose three games, look awful. Seems like 2008 all over again.
In training camp I sensed something missing with these guys. I mentioned it on the air with Eric Asher. I thought it showed in the preseason. Lackluster performances were written off as "camp legs", etc. I feel it again, can't shake it.
Now that the upcoming schedule seems more daunting than it did Saturday, they better shake it. With games against Tampa, Atlanta, the Giants, then the Lions, 5-3 could easily turn into 5-7, by then this team may look like 2005.
Saints fans will here the" We said all week we won't underestimate this team" crap ad nauseum. Payton said in the post game presser. So did Brees. You can bet any other Saints player facing a mic and camera will say it as well.
Well in the words of the great Johnny Unitas, "talk is cheap".
And so was the performance the 5-2 Saints displayed against the Rams. The 0-6 Rams. A team whose six losses came by scores of 31-13, 28-16, 37-7, 17-10(Redskins), 24-3 and 34-7. A team whose head coach recently downloaded the Monster.com app to his IPhone. Calling this performance cheap is an insult to thrift stores everywhere!
I could site numerous examples of this amazing knack Payton's St. Jude Saints have for generosity to the NFL's hopeless causes but why be redundant.
However there is another explanation as to why this keeps happening, but I'm not so sure Saints fans are prepared to hear. Maybe they just aren't that good.
A closer look at the 5-3 2011 Saints reveal a team that resembles more 2008 than 2009. That 2008 team finished 8-8, had the number one offense in the league but couldn't "finish" games in the fourth quarter. They started 1-0 then blew a 10 point 4th quarter led to the Redskins in D.C( I wrote them off right then) then missed a game winnning FG in Denver. Yet when they won, it was by scores like 31-3 to the Raiders, 51-29 to the Packers, 42-7 to the Lions. Give up 3 points one week, give up 30 the next. Made us all crazy. Missed the playoffs for the second straight year. Back then everyone said, "if we only had a defense to go with that offense...". Sound familier?
The 2011 Saints results are similar, but they resemble a team sleepwalking with an ocassional jolt of energy then back to sleep. They got away with it against two rookie QBs, but then it bit them against Tampa and now this.
Maybe they aren't sleepwalking. Maybe they are just a so-so team. The offensive line has been outplayed in 6 out of 8 games thus far. Thus the Saints have been unable to muster any kind running attack to speak of. Not that Payton has ever committed to the run anyway, but this Saints team doesn't seem tough enough.
The defense has ZERO playmakers, something sorely lacking since the departure of Darren Sharper. Malcom Jenkins is okay but doesn't wow anybody. The DBs and LBs have gotten their hands on many passes only to come up empty. The pass rush has to be manufactured now as it's becoming clearer by the week the free agents brought in at DT are busts. Don't even get me started on the run defense.
So who are these 2011 Saints. The team that conducted offseason workouts on their own. The team that had every pundit drooling in traing camp.
Win a game look great, win a game look average, lose three games, look awful. Seems like 2008 all over again.
In training camp I sensed something missing with these guys. I mentioned it on the air with Eric Asher. I thought it showed in the preseason. Lackluster performances were written off as "camp legs", etc. I feel it again, can't shake it.
Now that the upcoming schedule seems more daunting than it did Saturday, they better shake it. With games against Tampa, Atlanta, the Giants, then the Lions, 5-3 could easily turn into 5-7, by then this team may look like 2005.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Saints, Tigers and Wave, oh my!
As we head into game six of the Saints season, the personality of this 4-1 team continues to be not much different since 2006. Great offense, ranked second in the NFL in yards per game and 5th in scoring per game, lead by my early pick for MVP in Drew Brees. Special teams lead by a field position changing punter and steady veteran field goal kicker. A defense that is okay, 16th in yards per game but 23th in scoring defense. Still not enough turnovers. The Saints missed out on at least 2 more picks last Sunday. At times it seems like DC Greg Williams is too worried about scheming and "looks" than just getting after the damn QB. Sundays like the Carolina game rather than the Bears game could be on the horizon.
Next up is the 3-2 Tampa Bay Bucs coming off a 48-3 reality check from the 49ers. Don't let the score fool you, it wasn't that close. While some pundits feel this is not an indication of the real Tampa team, I feel it's closer to that than the 10-6 team from last year. Their three wins came against the 2-3 Falcons, 1-4 Vikings and the 0-5 Colts. The other loss came to the Lions, at home, on opening day.
Why?
Film.
Teams have enough film on Josh Freeman to gameplan him now. As a result, he is now the 29th ranked passer per game and second only to Mike Vick for most int's with 6. Tampa's running game is solid behind LeGarrett Blunt but teams are now loading up to stop the run and forcing Tampa to win with Freeman's arm. Tampa is finding out what it means when you can't sneak up on anyone anymore. The Saints continue their mastery of Raymond James Stadium.
There is no mistaking the personaltiy of the 2011 LSU team. Defense and plenty if it. In my mind the best in the country, giving up only 12.5 points per game. Consider the offenses LSU has faced. Outside of games against LSU, Oregon is averaging 56 points per game,West Virginia 45, UF 34 and MSU 30. Added to this is an offense that excels in the ball control running game and play-action passing attack. They are lead by a stock pile of running backs and a QB everyone had all but given up on. Throw in the most influential punter that I've ever seen at LSU and this could very well be an LSU team for the ages.
Tennessee is next with a year long simmer that can't wait to explode. This game has been circled on HC Derek Dooley's calender since he threw his headset at Les Miles' feet and stormed off the field in bitter disgust after his first signature victory as UT coach was snatched from his hands. That will get them through the first series. But with their starting QB,WR and RB out with injuries, Tennessee will have to wait for another time to get their payback. LSU rolls, again.
What can you say about the Green Wave? After putting up a forty burger in the opener against SE Louisiana, it seemed Tulane might be on to something. But the same old ghosts showed up. The annual loss to Tulsa was followed by a road win in Birmingham. Woohoo! Then came Duke. Then Army. And a close call to Syracuse. Then we all knew. Same old Wave. It's a shame too. I wish Tulane can turn it around someday.
Next up UTEP. This is a good chance to get back on track but with games at East Carolina, at SMU and Houston at home on the horizon, this could be HC Bob Toledo's swan song.
Mike Leach anyone?
Next up is the 3-2 Tampa Bay Bucs coming off a 48-3 reality check from the 49ers. Don't let the score fool you, it wasn't that close. While some pundits feel this is not an indication of the real Tampa team, I feel it's closer to that than the 10-6 team from last year. Their three wins came against the 2-3 Falcons, 1-4 Vikings and the 0-5 Colts. The other loss came to the Lions, at home, on opening day.
Why?
Film.
Teams have enough film on Josh Freeman to gameplan him now. As a result, he is now the 29th ranked passer per game and second only to Mike Vick for most int's with 6. Tampa's running game is solid behind LeGarrett Blunt but teams are now loading up to stop the run and forcing Tampa to win with Freeman's arm. Tampa is finding out what it means when you can't sneak up on anyone anymore. The Saints continue their mastery of Raymond James Stadium.
There is no mistaking the personaltiy of the 2011 LSU team. Defense and plenty if it. In my mind the best in the country, giving up only 12.5 points per game. Consider the offenses LSU has faced. Outside of games against LSU, Oregon is averaging 56 points per game,West Virginia 45, UF 34 and MSU 30. Added to this is an offense that excels in the ball control running game and play-action passing attack. They are lead by a stock pile of running backs and a QB everyone had all but given up on. Throw in the most influential punter that I've ever seen at LSU and this could very well be an LSU team for the ages.
Tennessee is next with a year long simmer that can't wait to explode. This game has been circled on HC Derek Dooley's calender since he threw his headset at Les Miles' feet and stormed off the field in bitter disgust after his first signature victory as UT coach was snatched from his hands. That will get them through the first series. But with their starting QB,WR and RB out with injuries, Tennessee will have to wait for another time to get their payback. LSU rolls, again.
What can you say about the Green Wave? After putting up a forty burger in the opener against SE Louisiana, it seemed Tulane might be on to something. But the same old ghosts showed up. The annual loss to Tulsa was followed by a road win in Birmingham. Woohoo! Then came Duke. Then Army. And a close call to Syracuse. Then we all knew. Same old Wave. It's a shame too. I wish Tulane can turn it around someday.
Next up UTEP. This is a good chance to get back on track but with games at East Carolina, at SMU and Houston at home on the horizon, this could be HC Bob Toledo's swan song.
Mike Leach anyone?
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Two Words: Drew Brees
Drew Brees.
Is there anything else to say?
After Sunday's performance agianst the Texans, that's all I can think of.
Brees lead his team to a 40 point day. A day which he threw his first two interceptions of the year. That bears repeating. Drew Brees lead his team to a 40 point day despite throwing two pics!
You don't have to be Sheldon from "The Big Bang Theory" to figure this out, that there Saints QB is pretty darn good.
Ask the Texans.
After being smoked like a brisket on a Texas spit, all they could do was spew cliches and platitudes. "They're not unstoppable, we just couldn't stop them", claimed the chorus of Texans' DBs fresh off giving up nearly 400 yards. You can hardly blame them for sounding so lame, I'm sure their heads are still spinning. Spinning to left for Lance Moore, spinning to the right for Jimmy Graham. Spinning like Linda Blair for Darren Sproles. I mean, who can blame them for such foolish talk.
Once again Brees displayed why he should always be mentioned in the same breath as Brady and Manning. After Matt Schaub hit TE James Casey on a 26 yard pass to put Houston up 26-17 with 14:54 remaing in the game, it looked like the Saints defense was gong to have to take another one on the chin. Then Sean Peyton went to the empty backfield set. This left Brees with the game in his hands. Houston was forced to man coverage which created great match ups for the Saints. Sproles, Graham and Moore were the benefactors of Brees' uncanny knack for pre-snap reads. A 27 yard pass to Graham that Brees could not have walked up and placed the ball any better. TD! A 16 yard back shoulder to Moore. TD! Two point conversion! A lucky bounce of the ball in Houston's favor followed. No worries, Brees has this. Sproles the the left, Moore on a quick slant, Graham up the seam. RB Mark Ingram, a 13 yard run. TD! Two 2 point conversion!
Throw in a pic from Jabari Greer and an end of game defensive stand and Houston was Texas toast.
You could almost see the little birds flyng around their collective heads as they sat, crossed eyed, in amazement.
You could almost hear them mumbling just above a confused whisper. "Uh, what just happened?
What Just happened you ask?
Two words.
Drew Brees!
Is there anything else to say?
After Sunday's performance agianst the Texans, that's all I can think of.
Brees lead his team to a 40 point day. A day which he threw his first two interceptions of the year. That bears repeating. Drew Brees lead his team to a 40 point day despite throwing two pics!
You don't have to be Sheldon from "The Big Bang Theory" to figure this out, that there Saints QB is pretty darn good.
Ask the Texans.
After being smoked like a brisket on a Texas spit, all they could do was spew cliches and platitudes. "They're not unstoppable, we just couldn't stop them", claimed the chorus of Texans' DBs fresh off giving up nearly 400 yards. You can hardly blame them for sounding so lame, I'm sure their heads are still spinning. Spinning to left for Lance Moore, spinning to the right for Jimmy Graham. Spinning like Linda Blair for Darren Sproles. I mean, who can blame them for such foolish talk.
Once again Brees displayed why he should always be mentioned in the same breath as Brady and Manning. After Matt Schaub hit TE James Casey on a 26 yard pass to put Houston up 26-17 with 14:54 remaing in the game, it looked like the Saints defense was gong to have to take another one on the chin. Then Sean Peyton went to the empty backfield set. This left Brees with the game in his hands. Houston was forced to man coverage which created great match ups for the Saints. Sproles, Graham and Moore were the benefactors of Brees' uncanny knack for pre-snap reads. A 27 yard pass to Graham that Brees could not have walked up and placed the ball any better. TD! A 16 yard back shoulder to Moore. TD! Two point conversion! A lucky bounce of the ball in Houston's favor followed. No worries, Brees has this. Sproles the the left, Moore on a quick slant, Graham up the seam. RB Mark Ingram, a 13 yard run. TD! Two 2 point conversion!
Throw in a pic from Jabari Greer and an end of game defensive stand and Houston was Texas toast.
You could almost see the little birds flyng around their collective heads as they sat, crossed eyed, in amazement.
You could almost hear them mumbling just above a confused whisper. "Uh, what just happened?
What Just happened you ask?
Two words.
Drew Brees!
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Well look who decided to show up!
Hello defense, it's nice to see you. You've been away awhile. Can you stay longer? Inquiring minds want to know.
They want to know if defense that sent the Monsters of the Midway back to Chicago with their tails between their legs has awaken from their winter slumber or just hit the snooze button.
Either way you cannot deny that last Sunday was the stuff Greg WIlliams dreams of. His defense won the battle of down and distance then sent the dogs on Jay Cutler. It did help that Cutler had less moves than Carson Kressley on Dancing with the Stars. But it was the pass rush that got the music playing in his head. It only took a couple more "remember me" shots before he shut down and sought isolation on the sidelines. You could almost forgive Cutler for his demeanor as his offensive line was nonexistent and anyone without the name Matt Forte contributed nothing. But he is a child. It doesn't take much to rattle him.
On the other hand, Jabari Greer continues to show that he's the class of the Saints corner backs. I must also point out that Roman Harper played his best game as a Saint. With Malcom Jenkins playing at a pro bowl level, if the secondary can get that kind of production on a weekly basis, there will be more QBs searching for asylum on the sidelines.
That's a big if.
The Houston Texans are up next after beating up on two AFC weaklings. Matt Schaub is a good QB with more composure and more weapons than Cutler and DaBears. WR Andre Johnson and RB Arian Foster are as good as there is. The Texans are the AFC's version of the Saints before the Super Bowl. Like the Saints then, they are more dangerous now because they can play without fear of a turnover or big penalty now that their defense finally has their back.
So another big test awaits the Saints defense. After facing the two participants of the last season's NFC chamionship game in weeks one and two, it doesn't get much easier. But that's life in the NFL. You don't get to hit the snooze button.
***********************************************************************************
Speaking of defense, LSU plays it. After dominating two of the most prolific offenses in the nation they get to travel to Morgantown to play the West Virginia Mountaineers. WVU QB Geno Smith will be the best QB the Tigers have faced up to this point, maybe the best all season. He has size, mobility and arm strength. He will play in the NFL.
New head coach Dana Horgelson is a disciple of former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach and former Kentucky head coach Hal Mumme. He's had stops as OC at Texas Tech, U of Houston and Oklahoma St and has been hugely successful. He brings that spread offense to Morgantown and if anyone remembers Texas Tech under Leach or Kentucky under Mumme, it gives defenses fits. Holgorsen's numbers with Texas Tech and Houston are scarey, but his biggest impact came at Oklahoma St where in his first season as OC, they surged from 61st in the nation to #1 in total offense. It ain't no fluke, this guy can run an offense.
But he hasn't faced a defense like LSU's. Ever. LSU's defensive speed can't be sensed on tape nor can it be duplicated at practice. Fast and physical beats fast and finesse 10 out of 10 times.
Then there's LSU's ball control pound the rock offense. With a huge OL leaning on the undersized DL of WVU and those DBs used to chasing WRs not tackling bull dozers, look for an TKO in the 3rd quarter and the #2 ranked Tigers cruising to victory.
They want to know if defense that sent the Monsters of the Midway back to Chicago with their tails between their legs has awaken from their winter slumber or just hit the snooze button.
Either way you cannot deny that last Sunday was the stuff Greg WIlliams dreams of. His defense won the battle of down and distance then sent the dogs on Jay Cutler. It did help that Cutler had less moves than Carson Kressley on Dancing with the Stars. But it was the pass rush that got the music playing in his head. It only took a couple more "remember me" shots before he shut down and sought isolation on the sidelines. You could almost forgive Cutler for his demeanor as his offensive line was nonexistent and anyone without the name Matt Forte contributed nothing. But he is a child. It doesn't take much to rattle him.
On the other hand, Jabari Greer continues to show that he's the class of the Saints corner backs. I must also point out that Roman Harper played his best game as a Saint. With Malcom Jenkins playing at a pro bowl level, if the secondary can get that kind of production on a weekly basis, there will be more QBs searching for asylum on the sidelines.
That's a big if.
The Houston Texans are up next after beating up on two AFC weaklings. Matt Schaub is a good QB with more composure and more weapons than Cutler and DaBears. WR Andre Johnson and RB Arian Foster are as good as there is. The Texans are the AFC's version of the Saints before the Super Bowl. Like the Saints then, they are more dangerous now because they can play without fear of a turnover or big penalty now that their defense finally has their back.
So another big test awaits the Saints defense. After facing the two participants of the last season's NFC chamionship game in weeks one and two, it doesn't get much easier. But that's life in the NFL. You don't get to hit the snooze button.
***********************************************************************************
Speaking of defense, LSU plays it. After dominating two of the most prolific offenses in the nation they get to travel to Morgantown to play the West Virginia Mountaineers. WVU QB Geno Smith will be the best QB the Tigers have faced up to this point, maybe the best all season. He has size, mobility and arm strength. He will play in the NFL.
New head coach Dana Horgelson is a disciple of former Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach and former Kentucky head coach Hal Mumme. He's had stops as OC at Texas Tech, U of Houston and Oklahoma St and has been hugely successful. He brings that spread offense to Morgantown and if anyone remembers Texas Tech under Leach or Kentucky under Mumme, it gives defenses fits. Holgorsen's numbers with Texas Tech and Houston are scarey, but his biggest impact came at Oklahoma St where in his first season as OC, they surged from 61st in the nation to #1 in total offense. It ain't no fluke, this guy can run an offense.
But he hasn't faced a defense like LSU's. Ever. LSU's defensive speed can't be sensed on tape nor can it be duplicated at practice. Fast and physical beats fast and finesse 10 out of 10 times.
Then there's LSU's ball control pound the rock offense. With a huge OL leaning on the undersized DL of WVU and those DBs used to chasing WRs not tackling bull dozers, look for an TKO in the 3rd quarter and the #2 ranked Tigers cruising to victory.
Sunday, September 11, 2011
The Defense Rests
Since last Thursday's gut wrenching loss to the defending Super Bowl Champs, the Saints defense has taken a brutal tongue lashing from fans and media alike. While I would love to jump on that bandwagon, I won't. It's too easy. Altough the thought of slamming defensivie coordinator Greg Williams and his misguided bravado makes my leg tingle, I'll leave that to the mainstream. Oh wait, I forgot, they are scared of him. I guess he gets a pass. I'm aiming higher.
I think it was in Jim Collins' book "Good to Great", that suggests a theary in business that managers should be tougher on the producers of the compmany. The thought being that the pride they possess will drive them to be even better since there's little hope for the non-producers anyway. What they provide is gravy. "By defination it is not possible to everyone to be above average", he writes. See Saints defense.
So at the risk of sounding like Ron Paul at a Republican debate, I will tread in hallowed waters.
Uh, Michael you are NOT going there?
Watch me.
An offense as prolific as the Saints should never be stopped on "and 1"situations. An offense possessing two of the best in their field in Sean Payton and Drew Brees should never be 1/5 in red zone production. An offense possessing an offensive line that won the Madden Award for being the best OL in the NFL just two seasons ago must not get mauled at the line of scrimmage. An offense that traded back into the first round of the draft to select a battering ram RB should give that RB the carries required to be that battering ram. For those ready to point out to me that it was that RB getting snuffed on the final play, see above.
Yet there they were. Sean Payton, again, trying to outhink the room ends up outhinking himself. Drew Brees? Well, I'm no fool. Brees (and Darren Sproles) is the main reason the Saints even had a shot, incredibly, to put the game in overtime. The OL continues to lose the battle of the line of scrimmage. I'll say it, the dirty little secret is they are an average group elevated by a brilliant QB with the ability to read defenses and change plays, throw to the right spot and manipulate the pocket with suttle footwork. Green Bay is not the first team to shut them down in short yardage situations. This has been the floater Payton's punch bowl since 2006.
They aren't they only group Brees should get a royalty check from. The WRs. I keep hearing how deep and talented this group is. However when Brees is not placing the ball in their hands in stride, I see nothing special. I remember two catches against Green Bay where they actually used their hands. Wow, what a concept! And could they be less physical? A 6'4" 225 lb Marques Colsten fumbles when hit by 5'11' 207 lb Nick Collins, then 6'2" 210lb Robert Meachum gets stopped in his tracks by 5'11' 197lb Houma native Tramon Williams. Even Devery Henderson, a former running back seldom breaks tackles for yards after contact. In reality they could be replaced easily. Did anybody even notice Lance Moore didn't play? Four hundred sixteen passing yards and 27 points suggest not.
I know it's only game one. I know there's plenty football to be played. But with physical Chicago up next, a team Payton is 0-2 against, then a vastly improved Houston Texans team, an 0-3 start is not unthinkable. Guess how many teams have won the Super Bowl after starting 0-3?
ZERO!
I haven't even mentioned the kick off coverage team and their one hundred eight yard display of lethargy.
I wish the fans would expect more. The Saints are no longer the loveable losers they were when coming close was like actually winning. They are one season removed from Super Bowl champs, it's ok to be pissed at them for losing that game. It doesn't make you a bad fan.
In the NFL football you only get 16 tries to win. The great Yogi Berra put it best. "It gets late early".
I think it was in Jim Collins' book "Good to Great", that suggests a theary in business that managers should be tougher on the producers of the compmany. The thought being that the pride they possess will drive them to be even better since there's little hope for the non-producers anyway. What they provide is gravy. "By defination it is not possible to everyone to be above average", he writes. See Saints defense.
So at the risk of sounding like Ron Paul at a Republican debate, I will tread in hallowed waters.
Uh, Michael you are NOT going there?
Watch me.
An offense as prolific as the Saints should never be stopped on "and 1"situations. An offense possessing two of the best in their field in Sean Payton and Drew Brees should never be 1/5 in red zone production. An offense possessing an offensive line that won the Madden Award for being the best OL in the NFL just two seasons ago must not get mauled at the line of scrimmage. An offense that traded back into the first round of the draft to select a battering ram RB should give that RB the carries required to be that battering ram. For those ready to point out to me that it was that RB getting snuffed on the final play, see above.
Yet there they were. Sean Payton, again, trying to outhink the room ends up outhinking himself. Drew Brees? Well, I'm no fool. Brees (and Darren Sproles) is the main reason the Saints even had a shot, incredibly, to put the game in overtime. The OL continues to lose the battle of the line of scrimmage. I'll say it, the dirty little secret is they are an average group elevated by a brilliant QB with the ability to read defenses and change plays, throw to the right spot and manipulate the pocket with suttle footwork. Green Bay is not the first team to shut them down in short yardage situations. This has been the floater Payton's punch bowl since 2006.
They aren't they only group Brees should get a royalty check from. The WRs. I keep hearing how deep and talented this group is. However when Brees is not placing the ball in their hands in stride, I see nothing special. I remember two catches against Green Bay where they actually used their hands. Wow, what a concept! And could they be less physical? A 6'4" 225 lb Marques Colsten fumbles when hit by 5'11' 207 lb Nick Collins, then 6'2" 210lb Robert Meachum gets stopped in his tracks by 5'11' 197lb Houma native Tramon Williams. Even Devery Henderson, a former running back seldom breaks tackles for yards after contact. In reality they could be replaced easily. Did anybody even notice Lance Moore didn't play? Four hundred sixteen passing yards and 27 points suggest not.
I know it's only game one. I know there's plenty football to be played. But with physical Chicago up next, a team Payton is 0-2 against, then a vastly improved Houston Texans team, an 0-3 start is not unthinkable. Guess how many teams have won the Super Bowl after starting 0-3?
ZERO!
I haven't even mentioned the kick off coverage team and their one hundred eight yard display of lethargy.
I wish the fans would expect more. The Saints are no longer the loveable losers they were when coming close was like actually winning. They are one season removed from Super Bowl champs, it's ok to be pissed at them for losing that game. It doesn't make you a bad fan.
In the NFL football you only get 16 tries to win. The great Yogi Berra put it best. "It gets late early".
Sunday, September 4, 2011
LSU and Jarrett Lee have Rendezvous with Destiny
As I watched LSU pull away from Oregon in route to their 40-27, well, rout. I, like most people, couldn't help but feel good for Jarrett Lee. Lee and LSU have had a symbiotic relationship like no other college football team that I can remember.
In 2008 Lee was forced into action against Auburn, on the road, clearly before he was ready. He threw his first of what would be seven "pic six" interceptions that season. But what's been put into the distant memory of most LSU fans is that Lee came back to throw two TD passes in the second half of that same game, including the game winner late in the fourth quarter.
That's the story of Jarrett Lee's career at LSU. Goat, hero, goat, hero, Booed, cheered, booed cheered. Les Miles tried replacing, ignoring then burying Lee into the depth chart. Most would have transferred. Instead, incredibly, Lee said "I didn't come to LSU to transfer, I came to win".
Miles has brought in prized recruit after prized recruit yet there's Lee again, thrust into duty, standing tall and winning his first start since 2008. Against the #3 team in America!
It was vintage Lee. 10/22 for 98 yards and one TD. Pedestrian stats yes, but with Lee, who cares. Some bad throws, some bad luck, but like the Florida game in 2010, Lee came up with three big time passes. The first a perfect back shoulder beauty to Rueben Randle at the end of the first half that Drew Brees would envy. The second came after Lee took a sack instead of forcing a throw. His discretion paid off on the next play as he hit well covered TE DeAngelo Peterson in stride on third and twelve for a first down. A Michael Ford TD run ended that drive and put LSU up two scores. The third came following Oregon's second turnover in the third quarter. On first down, after a play action fake, Lee dropped a rainbow into the arms of Peterson inside the Duck's ten yard line. This set up Spencer Ware's plow into the end zone to put the Tigers up 30-13. Game over.
Through it all, Oregon ran every defense they could think of to stop LSU. Eight in the box, nine in the box, blitzes and stunts. But Lee, riding a dominate running game behind Spencer Ware's 100 yards and Michael Ford's 96, stayed poised. He managed the game well and threw not one interception.
It helped Lee that LSU's defense was spectacular. Oregon leading rusher and Heisman trophy candidate, LeMichael James had no place to run. Much heralded Darren Thomas, was exposed as the average QB that he is. The vaunted Oregon special teams were anything but, comitting two turnovers resulting in LSU TDs.
Lee was voted team captain for the game by his teammates. In sports, there is no greater show of respect. Perhaps Lee's teammates know what more and more LSU fans are beginning to. When adversity comes to LSU at some point this season, Jarrett Lee will be there. Steadfast and determined. He knows no other way.
In 2008 Lee was forced into action against Auburn, on the road, clearly before he was ready. He threw his first of what would be seven "pic six" interceptions that season. But what's been put into the distant memory of most LSU fans is that Lee came back to throw two TD passes in the second half of that same game, including the game winner late in the fourth quarter.
That's the story of Jarrett Lee's career at LSU. Goat, hero, goat, hero, Booed, cheered, booed cheered. Les Miles tried replacing, ignoring then burying Lee into the depth chart. Most would have transferred. Instead, incredibly, Lee said "I didn't come to LSU to transfer, I came to win".
Miles has brought in prized recruit after prized recruit yet there's Lee again, thrust into duty, standing tall and winning his first start since 2008. Against the #3 team in America!
It was vintage Lee. 10/22 for 98 yards and one TD. Pedestrian stats yes, but with Lee, who cares. Some bad throws, some bad luck, but like the Florida game in 2010, Lee came up with three big time passes. The first a perfect back shoulder beauty to Rueben Randle at the end of the first half that Drew Brees would envy. The second came after Lee took a sack instead of forcing a throw. His discretion paid off on the next play as he hit well covered TE DeAngelo Peterson in stride on third and twelve for a first down. A Michael Ford TD run ended that drive and put LSU up two scores. The third came following Oregon's second turnover in the third quarter. On first down, after a play action fake, Lee dropped a rainbow into the arms of Peterson inside the Duck's ten yard line. This set up Spencer Ware's plow into the end zone to put the Tigers up 30-13. Game over.
Through it all, Oregon ran every defense they could think of to stop LSU. Eight in the box, nine in the box, blitzes and stunts. But Lee, riding a dominate running game behind Spencer Ware's 100 yards and Michael Ford's 96, stayed poised. He managed the game well and threw not one interception.
It helped Lee that LSU's defense was spectacular. Oregon leading rusher and Heisman trophy candidate, LeMichael James had no place to run. Much heralded Darren Thomas, was exposed as the average QB that he is. The vaunted Oregon special teams were anything but, comitting two turnovers resulting in LSU TDs.
Lee was voted team captain for the game by his teammates. In sports, there is no greater show of respect. Perhaps Lee's teammates know what more and more LSU fans are beginning to. When adversity comes to LSU at some point this season, Jarrett Lee will be there. Steadfast and determined. He knows no other way.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Note to Fans: "Stop worrying about the national pundits!!"
As someone who surfs message boards and websites harder than Bede Durbidge hits mid-tide Coasta Rican pipelines, I've always been somewhat amazed to the point of casternation as to why local fans concern themselves with the opinons of national pundits. The most recent ocassions were the perceived slights from Herman Edwards and Kirk Herbstreit.
Edwards, ESPN football analyst and former NFL defensive back who was selected to zero Pro Bowls, a former head coach boasting a 56-77 record, prompted a phone call to my weekly radio spot with WIST 690am legend Eric Asher from a crest fallen Saints fan when Edwards failed to mention the Saints as one of his picks to contend for the Super Bowl.
Herbstreit, ESPN college football analyst and former fourth string QB for the Ohio State Buckeyes, failed to mention enough LSU Tigers on his latest list of "all-stars" called "The Herbies". He is public enemy #1 on LSU boards. Why? Cause the affection he dotes to universities falls short of the corner of Nicholson and Skip Bertman Drive.
I know it's frustrating to watch these pundits yap it up and I must admit to once being sucked into the hate. So I am empathetic. But then I realized that these people have no clue as to what's going on down here. More so, they could care less. They have personal allegiances. Edwards played for the Eagles so it should come as a shock to no one that they are his pick for the NFC. Herbstreit displays no shame in his advocacy for the Big Ten, specifcally Ohio St. To be fair, though, he does hail USC, Alabama and Oklahoma. Though with slightly less vigor.
So why would one care what the likes of these two have to say about?
Maybe this speaks somewhat about ourselves. We are a quirky civic bunch. In some ways we're like the kid in the class, emboldened with the right answer, waving his hand feverishly only to see someone else noticed by the teacher. Whether it's our cooking, partying, tailgating or culture, we are sure that there is no one who can do it better. We don't mind telling anyone within whispering distance as much. Therefore when the likes of Edwards and Herbstreit have the audacity to snub our local heroes there's gonna be hell to pay on the message boards and radio shows.
Look, coaches want to be Al Pacino's John Milton,"never let them see ya comin". Hype motivates the oppositon and drops complacency on the hyped. That's why they retreat Costanza style when selected to the preseason top 5 in the polls.
Fans should take the same approach. Let your team fly under the radar.
Since 1950 85% of pre-season #1s have failed to live up to the hype. The 2004 USC Trojans are the only pre-season #1 to win the BCS. And they cheated. Who picked Green Bay or the Saints to win the last two Super Bowls?
All this tells you what? That pundits are wrong. They're wishing, they're hoping, they're guessing. Pay them no attention. John Milton once said,"look, but don't touch, smell, but don't taste". I say, "hear, but don't listen".
Edwards, ESPN football analyst and former NFL defensive back who was selected to zero Pro Bowls, a former head coach boasting a 56-77 record, prompted a phone call to my weekly radio spot with WIST 690am legend Eric Asher from a crest fallen Saints fan when Edwards failed to mention the Saints as one of his picks to contend for the Super Bowl.
Herbstreit, ESPN college football analyst and former fourth string QB for the Ohio State Buckeyes, failed to mention enough LSU Tigers on his latest list of "all-stars" called "The Herbies". He is public enemy #1 on LSU boards. Why? Cause the affection he dotes to universities falls short of the corner of Nicholson and Skip Bertman Drive.
I know it's frustrating to watch these pundits yap it up and I must admit to once being sucked into the hate. So I am empathetic. But then I realized that these people have no clue as to what's going on down here. More so, they could care less. They have personal allegiances. Edwards played for the Eagles so it should come as a shock to no one that they are his pick for the NFC. Herbstreit displays no shame in his advocacy for the Big Ten, specifcally Ohio St. To be fair, though, he does hail USC, Alabama and Oklahoma. Though with slightly less vigor.
So why would one care what the likes of these two have to say about?
Maybe this speaks somewhat about ourselves. We are a quirky civic bunch. In some ways we're like the kid in the class, emboldened with the right answer, waving his hand feverishly only to see someone else noticed by the teacher. Whether it's our cooking, partying, tailgating or culture, we are sure that there is no one who can do it better. We don't mind telling anyone within whispering distance as much. Therefore when the likes of Edwards and Herbstreit have the audacity to snub our local heroes there's gonna be hell to pay on the message boards and radio shows.
Look, coaches want to be Al Pacino's John Milton,"never let them see ya comin". Hype motivates the oppositon and drops complacency on the hyped. That's why they retreat Costanza style when selected to the preseason top 5 in the polls.
Fans should take the same approach. Let your team fly under the radar.
Since 1950 85% of pre-season #1s have failed to live up to the hype. The 2004 USC Trojans are the only pre-season #1 to win the BCS. And they cheated. Who picked Green Bay or the Saints to win the last two Super Bowls?
All this tells you what? That pundits are wrong. They're wishing, they're hoping, they're guessing. Pay them no attention. John Milton once said,"look, but don't touch, smell, but don't taste". I say, "hear, but don't listen".
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Conventional Wisdom Wrong on the BRPD
Wikipedia defines conventional wisdom as a term used to describe ideas or explanations that are generally accepted as true by the public or experts in a field. Such ideas or explantions, though widely held, are unexamined.
Do me a solid and read that second sentence again.
Now apply it to nearly all the media, LSU fans and other "experts in the field" in the case of Jordan Jefferson and his three amigos.
Its conventional wisdom that the BRPD has turned a simple bar fight into the reincarnation of the OJ saga. From calling the four LSU football players prominently involved to the BRPD for statements, to getting a search warrant to Jefferson's apartment, then swabbing him for DNA samples. Most observers have blasted , get this, the POLICE, for doing their job. "The BRPD are showboating", "They are an embarrassment", "This is a simle bar fight between college students", blah blah blah.
More often than not...alot more often than not, conventional wisdom is wrong. This is one of those occasions.
First, This is not simple bar fight between college students. When the highest profiled athlete on campus is involved there is nothing simple about it. Here's a guy two weeks outside the most important start of his athletic life. A senior. Probalbly would have been voted team captain. From all accounts an upstanding student athlete. He breaks curfew, goes to a bar and scrums with two sophomores and a freshman?! What's his thought process? "Let's see, do I stay in tonight or break a team rule? Hmm, this is toughie." We all know what his decision was. Bad judgement.
Second, theres a second degree felony charge that somebody's about to get hit with. You don't just phone in an investigation when jail time is a possibility. You need to talk to all parties involved. Collect all evidence available. Evidence that could either implicate or exonorate the accused. I ask you, if your son was beaten so badly that veterbrae were fractured, allegedly kicked in the head while prone and unconscious then left in the street while the perps were escorted away by loyals, would you want those so called showboating keystone cops to find out who's responsible? Don't answer. I already know.
Third, it occurrs to me that the BRPD is bending over nine ways to sundown to make sure no stone is left unturned, no eveidence is omitted, no questions remain so there can be no second guessing in the event the players are let go. If I'm Les Miles, I want all channels examined as thorough as can be.
I'm a fan of the BRPD. Are they perfect? Of course not. Are they dedicated? Hells yeah!
I'm not a fan of conventional wisdom. It's lazy. It's easy. In this case, it's wrong.
Do me a solid and read that second sentence again.
Now apply it to nearly all the media, LSU fans and other "experts in the field" in the case of Jordan Jefferson and his three amigos.
Its conventional wisdom that the BRPD has turned a simple bar fight into the reincarnation of the OJ saga. From calling the four LSU football players prominently involved to the BRPD for statements, to getting a search warrant to Jefferson's apartment, then swabbing him for DNA samples. Most observers have blasted , get this, the POLICE, for doing their job. "The BRPD are showboating", "They are an embarrassment", "This is a simle bar fight between college students", blah blah blah.
More often than not...alot more often than not, conventional wisdom is wrong. This is one of those occasions.
First, This is not simple bar fight between college students. When the highest profiled athlete on campus is involved there is nothing simple about it. Here's a guy two weeks outside the most important start of his athletic life. A senior. Probalbly would have been voted team captain. From all accounts an upstanding student athlete. He breaks curfew, goes to a bar and scrums with two sophomores and a freshman?! What's his thought process? "Let's see, do I stay in tonight or break a team rule? Hmm, this is toughie." We all know what his decision was. Bad judgement.
Second, theres a second degree felony charge that somebody's about to get hit with. You don't just phone in an investigation when jail time is a possibility. You need to talk to all parties involved. Collect all evidence available. Evidence that could either implicate or exonorate the accused. I ask you, if your son was beaten so badly that veterbrae were fractured, allegedly kicked in the head while prone and unconscious then left in the street while the perps were escorted away by loyals, would you want those so called showboating keystone cops to find out who's responsible? Don't answer. I already know.
Third, it occurrs to me that the BRPD is bending over nine ways to sundown to make sure no stone is left unturned, no eveidence is omitted, no questions remain so there can be no second guessing in the event the players are let go. If I'm Les Miles, I want all channels examined as thorough as can be.
I'm a fan of the BRPD. Are they perfect? Of course not. Are they dedicated? Hells yeah!
I'm not a fan of conventional wisdom. It's lazy. It's easy. In this case, it's wrong.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
What I saw
Offense:
The OL is not ready for the season opener. RT Jonathan Stinchcomb continues to get abused on pass protection. The loss of center Jonathan Goodwin is magnified due to the fact that Matt Tennet proved not ready to step up to be his replacement. This sent the Saints scrambling to find a veteran who could step in. Fortunately, Olin Kreutz was available. Unfortunately, this has caused a lack of chemistry that is vital for any OL's success. The good news is the Saints have three more pre-season games to find that chemistry. This is a surprising development to keep an eye on. However, I liked what I saw in free agent center Cecil Newton. He looks quick and athletic for someone of his size and gets to the second level in a hurry.
RB Joique Bell showed why the Saints released Lynell Hamilton. Though physically similar, Bell is the more polished and versatile back. He can also be use as a kick returner in a pinch.
Drew Brees looks a little rusty. Granted , he did not get much time against San Fran, but reports from camp is that Brees has not been as crisp as usual. I highly doubt it's anything to worry about, though.
Defense:
Greg Williams is taking no prisoners this season. He blitzed early and often. Perhaps this is a result of the lack of off-season workouts, but I suspect the loss to Seattle has something to do with it.
Jonathon Casillas is my favorite to be the starter at OLB. He shows no affect from the injury that sidelined him for 2010. He has speed, instinct and explosiveness at the point of attack. Former starter Danny Clark was cut prior to the 49er game because of this. Will Herring will provide quality depth.
CB Johnny Patrick was impressive until he injured his right knee. He looked further along than former first round draft pick, CB Patrick Robinson did at this point last season. Hopefully, the injury won't keep him out too long.
DT Mitch King was all over the place. He's undersized and may be lost in the numbers, but his motor never stops. He looks like he'll be a tough cut.
Special teams:
Two words, Joe Morgan.
The OL is not ready for the season opener. RT Jonathan Stinchcomb continues to get abused on pass protection. The loss of center Jonathan Goodwin is magnified due to the fact that Matt Tennet proved not ready to step up to be his replacement. This sent the Saints scrambling to find a veteran who could step in. Fortunately, Olin Kreutz was available. Unfortunately, this has caused a lack of chemistry that is vital for any OL's success. The good news is the Saints have three more pre-season games to find that chemistry. This is a surprising development to keep an eye on. However, I liked what I saw in free agent center Cecil Newton. He looks quick and athletic for someone of his size and gets to the second level in a hurry.
RB Joique Bell showed why the Saints released Lynell Hamilton. Though physically similar, Bell is the more polished and versatile back. He can also be use as a kick returner in a pinch.
Drew Brees looks a little rusty. Granted , he did not get much time against San Fran, but reports from camp is that Brees has not been as crisp as usual. I highly doubt it's anything to worry about, though.
Defense:
Greg Williams is taking no prisoners this season. He blitzed early and often. Perhaps this is a result of the lack of off-season workouts, but I suspect the loss to Seattle has something to do with it.
Jonathon Casillas is my favorite to be the starter at OLB. He shows no affect from the injury that sidelined him for 2010. He has speed, instinct and explosiveness at the point of attack. Former starter Danny Clark was cut prior to the 49er game because of this. Will Herring will provide quality depth.
CB Johnny Patrick was impressive until he injured his right knee. He looked further along than former first round draft pick, CB Patrick Robinson did at this point last season. Hopefully, the injury won't keep him out too long.
DT Mitch King was all over the place. He's undersized and may be lost in the numbers, but his motor never stops. He looks like he'll be a tough cut.
Special teams:
Two words, Joe Morgan.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Mt. Wiliams Ready to Erupt
Like an angry dog, a volcano growls before it bites, shaking the ground and getting noisy before erupting. After seven months of stewing on "the run", with no mini-camps, no OTA's to vent, Saints defensive coordinator Greg Williams finally gets go Mt St. Helens on his players. Though his full squad wont be available until August 4, the local media have witnessed the noise makin' ground skakin' signs already. Scolding any defensive player in sight, rookie or vet. Putting them through up/down drills until they drop.
Like a volcano, if you are in its path when it erupts, you're doomed. Saturday, it was the media in the path of the hot gas and debris. In defense of freshly signed strong safety Roman Harper, Williams blasted the media for criticizing Harper for the three blown coverages which lead to three Seattle touchdowns in the Saints playoff loss. "You don't know ball if you criticize him for that game, he made two mistakes that game , two mistakes, I can say that about 99% of the players. he is a young player, getting better. A two time pro bowler. I'm a better coach with him on my team."
Now you, I and Williams knows that is pure BS. But he says it knowing he won't dare be challenged on it. I don't know if some in the local media are intimidated by him, a fan of him or they just had deadlines to meet, but they stood there and took that scolding like kids from the schoolyard bully. No follow up, no challenges.
Coach, how big were those two mistakes?
Coach, what caused those two mistakes, bad coaching or bad technique?
Educate our lack of ball knowledge, coach.
Just two mistakes, coach?! That's one more than Lincoln's body guard!
Clearly Williams is projecting his feelings about Harper. He knows Harper is a weakness in pass coverage. But in the us against them world of coach to media, he cannot and will not say it publicly.
But I can.
While good in run support and blitzing, Harper is weak in man to man coverage. While most teams use the strong safety to cover the tight end, the Saints use a linebacker. In cover two, he lacks the ability to locate the ball and adjust. In short, the further from the line of scrimmage, the less affective he is. Is he a quality NFL strong safety,yes, but when I think strong safety, Troy Polamalu or Bob Sanders comes to mind. A sixth year player in the NFL is not young. If that player hasn't improved his weaknesses and honed his positives by now, he most likely won't. In 2010 Harper appeared in the Pro Bowl as an alternate. He was selected as a back up for the 2011 game. This indicates an upward trend. We'll see. But for now all we have are visions of number 41 chasing air as Sealttle receivers celebrate in the end zone. He also had the last chance to make a stop on that infamous run that sticks in the craw of Williams and the Saints Nation, but whiffed.
Williams knows that if the Saints are going to make another Super Bowl run, his defense will be the deciding factor. He also knows his defense improved statistaclly in 2010 but came up short in the vital catagory of forcing turnovers. His defense's last performance left him wanting. That run has been on his mind and in his belly the entire off-season. Mt Williams is due to erupt August 4. Someone get a seimometer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoNA61R0MyI&feature=player_detailpage
Like a volcano, if you are in its path when it erupts, you're doomed. Saturday, it was the media in the path of the hot gas and debris. In defense of freshly signed strong safety Roman Harper, Williams blasted the media for criticizing Harper for the three blown coverages which lead to three Seattle touchdowns in the Saints playoff loss. "You don't know ball if you criticize him for that game, he made two mistakes that game , two mistakes, I can say that about 99% of the players. he is a young player, getting better. A two time pro bowler. I'm a better coach with him on my team."
Now you, I and Williams knows that is pure BS. But he says it knowing he won't dare be challenged on it. I don't know if some in the local media are intimidated by him, a fan of him or they just had deadlines to meet, but they stood there and took that scolding like kids from the schoolyard bully. No follow up, no challenges.
Coach, how big were those two mistakes?
Coach, what caused those two mistakes, bad coaching or bad technique?
Educate our lack of ball knowledge, coach.
Just two mistakes, coach?! That's one more than Lincoln's body guard!
Clearly Williams is projecting his feelings about Harper. He knows Harper is a weakness in pass coverage. But in the us against them world of coach to media, he cannot and will not say it publicly.
But I can.
While good in run support and blitzing, Harper is weak in man to man coverage. While most teams use the strong safety to cover the tight end, the Saints use a linebacker. In cover two, he lacks the ability to locate the ball and adjust. In short, the further from the line of scrimmage, the less affective he is. Is he a quality NFL strong safety,yes, but when I think strong safety, Troy Polamalu or Bob Sanders comes to mind. A sixth year player in the NFL is not young. If that player hasn't improved his weaknesses and honed his positives by now, he most likely won't. In 2010 Harper appeared in the Pro Bowl as an alternate. He was selected as a back up for the 2011 game. This indicates an upward trend. We'll see. But for now all we have are visions of number 41 chasing air as Sealttle receivers celebrate in the end zone. He also had the last chance to make a stop on that infamous run that sticks in the craw of Williams and the Saints Nation, but whiffed.
Williams knows that if the Saints are going to make another Super Bowl run, his defense will be the deciding factor. He also knows his defense improved statistaclly in 2010 but came up short in the vital catagory of forcing turnovers. His defense's last performance left him wanting. That run has been on his mind and in his belly the entire off-season. Mt Williams is due to erupt August 4. Someone get a seimometer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoNA61R0MyI&feature=player_detailpage
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Stay Reggie Stay
The lockout is over!
The NFL is back in business!
Free agency has begun.
That's right Saints fans. Now that the season is upon us, its time for the yearly tap dance of signing players cutting players and salary cap wizardry. The only thing certain is at least one of your favorite players will be donning the uniform of the enemy come kickoff. The uncertainty is who.
Lance Moore. Scott Shanle. Darren Shaper. Roman Harper.
Bush, Bushrod, Nicks or Stinchcomb.
I know this.
I would like to see the Saints keep Nicks, Moore, Sharper and Bush.
Thats right, I said it.
Reggie Bush. But more on him later.
Carl Nicks has been a starter at left gaurd since day one. He is widely considered among the best in the NFL Together with Jhari Evans, the Saints boast the best pair of road grinders in the league. Must must sign.
Darren Sharper is a hall of fame safety in the twilight of his career. His 2009 season was the best I've seen from a Saints DB. His presence enhanced credibility and elevated the play of the secondary as a whole. It also led to the emergance of Roman Harper as a blitzing, run enforcing safety.
His 2010 season not so much. Plagued with nagging injuries, Sharper would love to take a mulligan. I think he has one more year of magic in him. Make a spot for him.
Lance Moore needs to get paid. Period. His performance speaks for itself. Since 2008 when he lead the team in catches, he has become Drew Brees' most consistent and trusted receiver. He compares favorably to Wes Welker of the NE Patriots. I think he's better. See the special man, Lance.
Now we come to Reggie. Look, if I try to win this on Bush living up to his second pick of the draft status, I'll lose ten out of ten times. He has been an inigma. Inconsistent. Turnover and injury prone. He's also been the most exciting, electric, and sensational player in a Saints uniform since, well I can't remember. The anticipation in that dome when he drops back for a punt or gets a swing pass from Brees is palpable. Thats because he was and still is the only homerun threat the Saints have. His influence on opposing defenses opens up the rest of the offense. For that I say you have to keep him. He knows he'll never see the $11 million due him on his contract. Not from the Saints or anyone else. Mickey Loomis should sit him down, release him then hand him a contract offer of three years $12 millon including an $8 million signing bonus pro-rated over two years. In essence, spread that $11 million over three years and add $1 million.
As for the other free agents, like I said. Some fan favorites will be Jake Sully, a different color and waging war against us. But that's life in todays NFL.
Let the games begin!
The NFL is back in business!
Free agency has begun.
That's right Saints fans. Now that the season is upon us, its time for the yearly tap dance of signing players cutting players and salary cap wizardry. The only thing certain is at least one of your favorite players will be donning the uniform of the enemy come kickoff. The uncertainty is who.
Lance Moore. Scott Shanle. Darren Shaper. Roman Harper.
Bush, Bushrod, Nicks or Stinchcomb.
I know this.
I would like to see the Saints keep Nicks, Moore, Sharper and Bush.
Thats right, I said it.
Reggie Bush. But more on him later.
Carl Nicks has been a starter at left gaurd since day one. He is widely considered among the best in the NFL Together with Jhari Evans, the Saints boast the best pair of road grinders in the league. Must must sign.
Darren Sharper is a hall of fame safety in the twilight of his career. His 2009 season was the best I've seen from a Saints DB. His presence enhanced credibility and elevated the play of the secondary as a whole. It also led to the emergance of Roman Harper as a blitzing, run enforcing safety.
His 2010 season not so much. Plagued with nagging injuries, Sharper would love to take a mulligan. I think he has one more year of magic in him. Make a spot for him.
Lance Moore needs to get paid. Period. His performance speaks for itself. Since 2008 when he lead the team in catches, he has become Drew Brees' most consistent and trusted receiver. He compares favorably to Wes Welker of the NE Patriots. I think he's better. See the special man, Lance.
Now we come to Reggie. Look, if I try to win this on Bush living up to his second pick of the draft status, I'll lose ten out of ten times. He has been an inigma. Inconsistent. Turnover and injury prone. He's also been the most exciting, electric, and sensational player in a Saints uniform since, well I can't remember. The anticipation in that dome when he drops back for a punt or gets a swing pass from Brees is palpable. Thats because he was and still is the only homerun threat the Saints have. His influence on opposing defenses opens up the rest of the offense. For that I say you have to keep him. He knows he'll never see the $11 million due him on his contract. Not from the Saints or anyone else. Mickey Loomis should sit him down, release him then hand him a contract offer of three years $12 millon including an $8 million signing bonus pro-rated over two years. In essence, spread that $11 million over three years and add $1 million.
As for the other free agents, like I said. Some fan favorites will be Jake Sully, a different color and waging war against us. But that's life in todays NFL.
Let the games begin!
Monday, July 11, 2011
Five Days in the Bay
Day 2: Alcatraz!
It's 4:30am and I'm wide awake.
My bucket list shrinks by one today.
When I was a child and first learned of a prison on an island once considered to be so tightly guarded, secure, and inesacpable only the most hardened and violent criminals got in, I wanted to see it.
Today is the day.
Our tour begins at 3:20 pm but we should be there about an hour before so we need to get moving. Our plan is a late breakfast then walk to Pier 39 to check the sights. Head to Pier 33 by 2:30ish for the 3:20 Alcatraz ferry.
Breakfast.
Last night the wife read about a nice little breakfast cottage located just blocks from the Pier. Mama's on Washington Square. A spot made famous by Food Netwok star Rachel Ray who visited there sometime ago for a feature on her "$40 a day show". Well if it's good enough for Rach then it's good enough for me.
Off we walk. Down Stockton street, seventeen blocks, uuupppppp, dooowwwwnnnnn from Union Square through Chinatown, to Little Italy then finally Mama's. We knew it was Mama's because of the line wrapped from the front door left to the corner then up the street about a half block. We decide there's enough time to stick it out and wait. Twenty-five minutes and my feet haven't budged. I think I'll check out some online reviews. Google reveals three. None good. the harshest read something like this. "...it's just pancakes, people!"
That's all we needed to see. Time for an audible. We step off line line toward the pier. On the way a local kindly offers directions then confirms our move to abandon Mamma's.
The sound of seals barking, the smell of saltwater and the sight of trolly cars from yesteryear tells us we're at Pier 39. Its nice but all tourist. Think of Jax Brewery on pilings. This worrys me because being from New Orleans, I understand no good food ever comes from a touristy joint. I was right. Breakfast at The Eagle was just ok but hey it's breakfast. Eggs, bacon and french toast, we should have hit IHOP. One thing about San Fran though, they have good coffee.
After breakfast we walk the pier. It's all very nice but mostly shops. Candles, soaps, bath salts and souveniers. It's cold on the pier. Feels like a rainy January day in NOLA. The kind where you just can't get comfortable. Wifey's feet are numbing, but she must not be alone becaust the busiest shop on the pier is The San Francisco Sock Market. Handled.
But the best thing about Pier 39 is Trish's Mini Donut Stand. Like most culinary treasures, we found this accidently, making a quit stop for hot chocolate on the way out. Out of the corner of my eye while ordering the hot cocoa for two I notice the EZ Bake oven sized Krispy Kreme type donut maker frying up these mini drops of heaven. From the fryer they are dumped into dune of cinnamon sugar, coated then served in all of their steamy airy fluffy sweet goodness. OMG!!! Against the bosses protests that these are unhealthy, I order a bag of eight. (Hey at least I didn't get the buket of 50). The prosester? She ate four!
Finally it's time to head to Pier 33. Alcatraz! My mind has been on this tour since we booked the trip. We board the Alcatraz ferry then float toward the island. About fifteen minutes and we're greated by the sight of gloomy greys of worn down prison walls and pleasing pinks and purples of the flowers that have bloomed since the prison closed. As we step off the boat an eerie feeling comes over us. There is a paplable presence in the air. The boat captain earlier annouced that we must hear a brief instructional talk from one of the park rangers then we are on our own. The ranger intructs us on the areas that are roped off due to dangerous deterioration. He then warns if anyone has a heart or lung condition to take special care as the ascent to the prison is equal to scaling a ten story building. If needed there's a train that will carry you up then bring you down. Screw that. We're walking.
Climbing the road to the prison offers an incredicle view of the city, ocean and all those colors. Seagulls are everywhere as the island is now a bird sanctuary. A compound of a variety of buildings including an apartment house for the guards and their families, a quartermaster, supply house and even a morgue share the landscape.
As you enter the prison you know your are in a different world. The hall leads you into the showers. Not going there. A line forms as you leave the shower room . This is where you get your audio tour guide. At first we were reluctant to wear them but we were glad we did . The tour is phenomenal. It directs you to landmarks then explains points of history associated with the landmark. "This is where the guards were overtaken." "Around the corner is C-D (seedy) Street." "Walk down the hall, turn right, pass through the cell doors and look to your left." More precise then the finest GPS.
The tour proceeds, the attempted uprising, the escape, isolation and the dining hall, affectionately known as the gas chamber. Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, the Birdman. My kinda place. Never once was I bored or disappointed. The best tour I've ever been on.
The ferry lands back at Pier 33 then we're headed back to the hotel. The trollys are all overflowing and not even stopping so we decide to walk back. My feet are in revolt! They refuse to walk one step further. Fortunately we spot an off duty limo driver offering rides back to Market Square for $3. We're in. Another couple and two older ladys cram a black Crown Vic and we head back. Little did we know this was once a stunt driver for Starskey and Hutch. Taking corners on two wheels, cutting in and out of traffic, horns blowing, drivers cursing and high pitched screams serenade us back to the square. But hey, we made it back and alive. I'm golden.
And hungry.
Dinner at the Burger Bar. The next generation of burger joints. Upscale casual atmosphere serving angus beef from local farms, brioche buns the melt in your mouth, fresh cheeses and choices of toppings ranging from fried egg to red zinfindel onion compote. It all seems a little pretentious for a burger but I'm all in.
We grab dessert from the Cheescake factory two floors above us then call it a night. It's only been two days but feels like two weeks.
After a long day, a hotel bed never looks so inviting. The night is still early so we use the on demand button and catch the latest Paul Giamatti movie, "Win Win". Good movie. Good food . Good tour. Great day. We like this town.
Tomorrow, Sonoma!
-
It's 4:30am and I'm wide awake.
My bucket list shrinks by one today.
When I was a child and first learned of a prison on an island once considered to be so tightly guarded, secure, and inesacpable only the most hardened and violent criminals got in, I wanted to see it.
Today is the day.
Our tour begins at 3:20 pm but we should be there about an hour before so we need to get moving. Our plan is a late breakfast then walk to Pier 39 to check the sights. Head to Pier 33 by 2:30ish for the 3:20 Alcatraz ferry.
Breakfast.
Last night the wife read about a nice little breakfast cottage located just blocks from the Pier. Mama's on Washington Square. A spot made famous by Food Netwok star Rachel Ray who visited there sometime ago for a feature on her "$40 a day show". Well if it's good enough for Rach then it's good enough for me.
Off we walk. Down Stockton street, seventeen blocks, uuupppppp, dooowwwwnnnnn from Union Square through Chinatown, to Little Italy then finally Mama's. We knew it was Mama's because of the line wrapped from the front door left to the corner then up the street about a half block. We decide there's enough time to stick it out and wait. Twenty-five minutes and my feet haven't budged. I think I'll check out some online reviews. Google reveals three. None good. the harshest read something like this. "...it's just pancakes, people!"
That's all we needed to see. Time for an audible. We step off line line toward the pier. On the way a local kindly offers directions then confirms our move to abandon Mamma's.
The sound of seals barking, the smell of saltwater and the sight of trolly cars from yesteryear tells us we're at Pier 39. Its nice but all tourist. Think of Jax Brewery on pilings. This worrys me because being from New Orleans, I understand no good food ever comes from a touristy joint. I was right. Breakfast at The Eagle was just ok but hey it's breakfast. Eggs, bacon and french toast, we should have hit IHOP. One thing about San Fran though, they have good coffee.
After breakfast we walk the pier. It's all very nice but mostly shops. Candles, soaps, bath salts and souveniers. It's cold on the pier. Feels like a rainy January day in NOLA. The kind where you just can't get comfortable. Wifey's feet are numbing, but she must not be alone becaust the busiest shop on the pier is The San Francisco Sock Market. Handled.
But the best thing about Pier 39 is Trish's Mini Donut Stand. Like most culinary treasures, we found this accidently, making a quit stop for hot chocolate on the way out. Out of the corner of my eye while ordering the hot cocoa for two I notice the EZ Bake oven sized Krispy Kreme type donut maker frying up these mini drops of heaven. From the fryer they are dumped into dune of cinnamon sugar, coated then served in all of their steamy airy fluffy sweet goodness. OMG!!! Against the bosses protests that these are unhealthy, I order a bag of eight. (Hey at least I didn't get the buket of 50). The prosester? She ate four!
Finally it's time to head to Pier 33. Alcatraz! My mind has been on this tour since we booked the trip. We board the Alcatraz ferry then float toward the island. About fifteen minutes and we're greated by the sight of gloomy greys of worn down prison walls and pleasing pinks and purples of the flowers that have bloomed since the prison closed. As we step off the boat an eerie feeling comes over us. There is a paplable presence in the air. The boat captain earlier annouced that we must hear a brief instructional talk from one of the park rangers then we are on our own. The ranger intructs us on the areas that are roped off due to dangerous deterioration. He then warns if anyone has a heart or lung condition to take special care as the ascent to the prison is equal to scaling a ten story building. If needed there's a train that will carry you up then bring you down. Screw that. We're walking.
Climbing the road to the prison offers an incredicle view of the city, ocean and all those colors. Seagulls are everywhere as the island is now a bird sanctuary. A compound of a variety of buildings including an apartment house for the guards and their families, a quartermaster, supply house and even a morgue share the landscape.
As you enter the prison you know your are in a different world. The hall leads you into the showers. Not going there. A line forms as you leave the shower room . This is where you get your audio tour guide. At first we were reluctant to wear them but we were glad we did . The tour is phenomenal. It directs you to landmarks then explains points of history associated with the landmark. "This is where the guards were overtaken." "Around the corner is C-D (seedy) Street." "Walk down the hall, turn right, pass through the cell doors and look to your left." More precise then the finest GPS.
The tour proceeds, the attempted uprising, the escape, isolation and the dining hall, affectionately known as the gas chamber. Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, the Birdman. My kinda place. Never once was I bored or disappointed. The best tour I've ever been on.
The ferry lands back at Pier 33 then we're headed back to the hotel. The trollys are all overflowing and not even stopping so we decide to walk back. My feet are in revolt! They refuse to walk one step further. Fortunately we spot an off duty limo driver offering rides back to Market Square for $3. We're in. Another couple and two older ladys cram a black Crown Vic and we head back. Little did we know this was once a stunt driver for Starskey and Hutch. Taking corners on two wheels, cutting in and out of traffic, horns blowing, drivers cursing and high pitched screams serenade us back to the square. But hey, we made it back and alive. I'm golden.
And hungry.
Dinner at the Burger Bar. The next generation of burger joints. Upscale casual atmosphere serving angus beef from local farms, brioche buns the melt in your mouth, fresh cheeses and choices of toppings ranging from fried egg to red zinfindel onion compote. It all seems a little pretentious for a burger but I'm all in.
We grab dessert from the Cheescake factory two floors above us then call it a night. It's only been two days but feels like two weeks.
After a long day, a hotel bed never looks so inviting. The night is still early so we use the on demand button and catch the latest Paul Giamatti movie, "Win Win". Good movie. Good food . Good tour. Great day. We like this town.
Tomorrow, Sonoma!
-
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Five days in the Bay
Day One: Thursday
After touchdown in San Francisco at 8:53am, we find baggage claim, make a Starbuck's stop then board a shared shuttle to the Westin Market Street, thirty-five floors of steel, concrete and huge glass windows with a panoramic view of the city from every room. We're too early for check-in so we leave our bags with the bell hop, consult the concierge for landmarks and off we go.
We don't get very far before we realize it's 10:30am, misty and cool. Fifty-four degrees cool. Earlier, as we pulled into the hotel I noticed California Pizza Kitchen directly across the street. So cold and hungry, we decided to make that our first stop.
California Pizza Kitchen. The place that started the whole wood burning oven upscale gourmet pizza fad. It also, I have on first hand authority, is the inspiration for the Louisiana Pizza Kitchen chain here in New Orleans. It's true. In 1987, Michel Fredj, founder of Louisiana Pizza Kitchen, came back to his Cafe Bastille Bistro on Esplanade after a trip to California and proclaimed to a linen deliveryman. "Dats eet! No moar Bi'stro! Zee money, is too much! From now on, pies!" (Michel is french) Thus Louisiana Pizza Kitchen was born.
Meanwhile, our waiter/ poet filled us in on the wheres and where nots of the city as white corn guacamole (as good as it sounds), korean bbq tacos(just ok), spicey thai quesadilla(excellent) and a margharita pizza flowed past our tongues and warmed our souls. We like this town. So far so good.
It didn't take long for the wifey to realize that walking the ultra steep and windy streets of San Fran in three inch platform wedges gets old in a hurry. Alas, Macy's Union Square!
Ahh Macy's, an eight floor oasis of womens clothes, accessories, cosmetics and...
Shoes! Shoes!
Second floor. The whole second floor! A full city block sized sea of slingbacks, ballet flats, peep toes, and closed toes!
Guys, this is like us walking into Hooter's on calendergirl day.
A woman's feet saved and still hours away from check-in, the wife and I hit the streets again and head toward Chinatown. I couldn't wait to get there to sample some authentic chinese food. So we walked through the Stockton tunnel following the sights, sounds and smells. As we get closer, it's as if 2011 rolled back to the 1940's. Big box retailors diappeared into sidewalk specailty markets with folding storefront tables.
Simplicit brilliance.
If you want fresh fish, you go to the fresh fish market.
Veggies? Next door, at the veggie store.
Same with fruit, can goods, groceries,etc. These tables are fully stocked with anything and everything chinese. And the smells! Approaching Chinatown you're hit with the smell of citrus. Further in, onions, chinese cucumber, and mounds of greens. But the Chanel #5 of C-town is when your olfactory senses are hit like a Bruce Lee kick of funkage to the nose. The dried fish market. Bus pans crowned with dried shrimp, fish eyes, minnows and any fish unlucky enough to be caught in last week's nets line the tables side by side. The craving for authentic Chinese quickly disappears. But souvenoir shops, clothing stores, tea bars, hair salons and Chinatown's charm comforts you into wanting to hang around. It's that comfort that comes upon you as your quick pace turns to stroll and you take it all in.
Nice.
We're hungry again and getting a little tired, so we head back to the hotel to check in. That, we quickly learn is the beauty of San Fran. Everything is desirable, doable and walkable.
After settling in, we head back out for dinner. We noticed Sears Fine Foods close by, so in we went. This place was 1940. Opened in 1938, Sears is a local legend. The menu reads like mom's house on Thanksgiving. Turkey breast, cornbread dressing, garlic mashed, hericot verts and homemade cranberry sauce is tonight's special. "One please", says the Mrs. I go for the roasted chicken with roasted yukon gold potatoes and glazed parsnips and carrots. YUM! Damn YUM! Dessert was apple dumpling ala mode with caramel sauce for me and strawberry shortcake for the boss. See we have this thing where we share a salad but we get our own desserts. That's how we roll.
Tummies full, legs spent and on a marathoner's high, this long but eventfull day comes to a close. We head back to the hotel. We need our rest. Tomorrow is Alcatraz!
I like this town.
After touchdown in San Francisco at 8:53am, we find baggage claim, make a Starbuck's stop then board a shared shuttle to the Westin Market Street, thirty-five floors of steel, concrete and huge glass windows with a panoramic view of the city from every room. We're too early for check-in so we leave our bags with the bell hop, consult the concierge for landmarks and off we go.
We don't get very far before we realize it's 10:30am, misty and cool. Fifty-four degrees cool. Earlier, as we pulled into the hotel I noticed California Pizza Kitchen directly across the street. So cold and hungry, we decided to make that our first stop.
California Pizza Kitchen. The place that started the whole wood burning oven upscale gourmet pizza fad. It also, I have on first hand authority, is the inspiration for the Louisiana Pizza Kitchen chain here in New Orleans. It's true. In 1987, Michel Fredj, founder of Louisiana Pizza Kitchen, came back to his Cafe Bastille Bistro on Esplanade after a trip to California and proclaimed to a linen deliveryman. "Dats eet! No moar Bi'stro! Zee money, is too much! From now on, pies!" (Michel is french) Thus Louisiana Pizza Kitchen was born.
Meanwhile, our waiter/ poet filled us in on the wheres and where nots of the city as white corn guacamole (as good as it sounds), korean bbq tacos(just ok), spicey thai quesadilla(excellent) and a margharita pizza flowed past our tongues and warmed our souls. We like this town. So far so good.
It didn't take long for the wifey to realize that walking the ultra steep and windy streets of San Fran in three inch platform wedges gets old in a hurry. Alas, Macy's Union Square!
Ahh Macy's, an eight floor oasis of womens clothes, accessories, cosmetics and...
Shoes! Shoes!
Second floor. The whole second floor! A full city block sized sea of slingbacks, ballet flats, peep toes, and closed toes!
Guys, this is like us walking into Hooter's on calendergirl day.
 |
| A table in Chinatown displaying their daily "catch" |
Simplicit brilliance.
If you want fresh fish, you go to the fresh fish market.
Veggies? Next door, at the veggie store.
Same with fruit, can goods, groceries,etc. These tables are fully stocked with anything and everything chinese. And the smells! Approaching Chinatown you're hit with the smell of citrus. Further in, onions, chinese cucumber, and mounds of greens. But the Chanel #5 of C-town is when your olfactory senses are hit like a Bruce Lee kick of funkage to the nose. The dried fish market. Bus pans crowned with dried shrimp, fish eyes, minnows and any fish unlucky enough to be caught in last week's nets line the tables side by side. The craving for authentic Chinese quickly disappears. But souvenoir shops, clothing stores, tea bars, hair salons and Chinatown's charm comforts you into wanting to hang around. It's that comfort that comes upon you as your quick pace turns to stroll and you take it all in.
Nice.
We're hungry again and getting a little tired, so we head back to the hotel to check in. That, we quickly learn is the beauty of San Fran. Everything is desirable, doable and walkable.
After settling in, we head back out for dinner. We noticed Sears Fine Foods close by, so in we went. This place was 1940. Opened in 1938, Sears is a local legend. The menu reads like mom's house on Thanksgiving. Turkey breast, cornbread dressing, garlic mashed, hericot verts and homemade cranberry sauce is tonight's special. "One please", says the Mrs. I go for the roasted chicken with roasted yukon gold potatoes and glazed parsnips and carrots. YUM! Damn YUM! Dessert was apple dumpling ala mode with caramel sauce for me and strawberry shortcake for the boss. See we have this thing where we share a salad but we get our own desserts. That's how we roll.
Tummies full, legs spent and on a marathoner's high, this long but eventfull day comes to a close. We head back to the hotel. We need our rest. Tomorrow is Alcatraz!
I like this town.
 |
| California Pizza Kitchen |
 |
| fruits and nuts |
 |
| veggies |
 |
| merchandise |
 |
| DRIED FISH! |
Friday, June 24, 2011
Saints Draft another super bowl
It was July, 2009 at the now closed Mike's American Grill during my weekly segment on Inside New Orleans (graciously coined "Fazende Friday" by host Eric Asher). Eric asked what I thought the Saints would do in the upcoming football season. "I've always said that all the Saints need is a good not great defense to go to the Super Bowl, that's why they brought in new defensive coordinator Greg Williams and that's what they will do, they will beat the Colts in the Super Bowl."
The above is not an attempt to gloat or pat myself on the back. It's just a little edification to justify my next line.
The Saints have drafted their way to Indianapolis in 2012.
Yes, that is how strongly I feel about the Saints 2011 draft. Granted the last time we saw the Saints they were wandering around the Seattle fog dazed by the tsnuami that just washed them out of the playoffs. The very defense that lifted our beloved Saints to the ultimate victory played their worst game of the Williams era.
Have no fear defense, help is on the way.
The draft was oviously aimed to come to the defense's rescue. From DE Cameron Jordan, possessing a combination of size and speed , considered by many scouts the best pass rushing DE in the draft to the hard hitting LB from Illinois, Martez Wilson. But the pick most likely to help Williams defense was RB Mark Ingram. Yes that Mark Ingram. The Heisman trophy winning monster truck wrapped in a 5'9" frame who tore up SEC defenses for three years. Ingram figures to be the most help to the defense by provided for them a defense's best friend. Rest. As long as Ingram is pounding out three, four and five yard runs in the fourth quarter and moving the chains, the defense can stand on the sidelines and rest and watch the clock wind down.
On offense, the benefits are obvious. With a signal calling field general the callber of Drew Brees, Ingram will have a coach on the field. Play action will open up. The WRs will have open lanes, yadda yadda yadda. You can book that opposing defensive coordinators are, as you read this, circling Saints week on their schedules for doubling up stocks of Rolaids, Pepto-Bismol and No-Doz.
Buckle your chinstraps NFL. Here comes Ingram. And there go the Saints to another Super Bowl.
The above is not an attempt to gloat or pat myself on the back. It's just a little edification to justify my next line.
The Saints have drafted their way to Indianapolis in 2012.
Yes, that is how strongly I feel about the Saints 2011 draft. Granted the last time we saw the Saints they were wandering around the Seattle fog dazed by the tsnuami that just washed them out of the playoffs. The very defense that lifted our beloved Saints to the ultimate victory played their worst game of the Williams era.
Have no fear defense, help is on the way.
The draft was oviously aimed to come to the defense's rescue. From DE Cameron Jordan, possessing a combination of size and speed , considered by many scouts the best pass rushing DE in the draft to the hard hitting LB from Illinois, Martez Wilson. But the pick most likely to help Williams defense was RB Mark Ingram. Yes that Mark Ingram. The Heisman trophy winning monster truck wrapped in a 5'9" frame who tore up SEC defenses for three years. Ingram figures to be the most help to the defense by provided for them a defense's best friend. Rest. As long as Ingram is pounding out three, four and five yard runs in the fourth quarter and moving the chains, the defense can stand on the sidelines and rest and watch the clock wind down.
On offense, the benefits are obvious. With a signal calling field general the callber of Drew Brees, Ingram will have a coach on the field. Play action will open up. The WRs will have open lanes, yadda yadda yadda. You can book that opposing defensive coordinators are, as you read this, circling Saints week on their schedules for doubling up stocks of Rolaids, Pepto-Bismol and No-Doz.
Buckle your chinstraps NFL. Here comes Ingram. And there go the Saints to another Super Bowl.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Players Show They're Out of Touch
I have heard it all.
Though I can't say I'm surprised. It was only a matter if time.
"It's modern day slavery", Vikings RB Adrian Peterson claimed in an interview with Yahoo Sports.
It has come to this. Comparing being paid millions of dollars to play a kids game with the plight of a people caught, shackled, shipped like cargo, humiliated and displayed on that original market showroom, then sold to the highest bidder to perpetual servitude.
Now THATS perspective.
It's also why professional athletes will never win the batle of public opinion when it comes to work stoppages. Be it a strike or a lockout.
Owners are already seen as old, white, stiff ,egomaniacal billionaires with little or no public sympathy to begin with. From the ever-meddling ultra gaudy, everything BIG in Texas Jerry "bling bling"Jones to the ultra frugal LA Clippers' owner Donald Sperling. The one that charges the players for athletic tape. Nobody's going Johnnie Cochran for these ole boys.
Unless.
Unless a bunch of rich, pampered, overgrown, over partied, mega adored, 'roided up frat boys who's lone skill in life is to run fast or catch good do something which they should never be allowed to do.
Talk.
Cause when they talk, they say things like "we're thoudands of miles away from our families" or "we sacrifice our bodies". Or my personal fave, "if it weren't for the players, there wouldn't be a game". Opening up themselves to the average fourth grader's retort, "if it weren't for the game there would be no players".
They use terms such as "solidarity". Conjuring up memories of Poland's Leck Welesa standing on the walls of the Gdansk Shipyard leading an anti-soviet social movement. Then take part in public signs of "solidarity" by saluting themselves with the #1 sign before kick off. You know, frat boy stuff.
Or unless.
They do something brilliant like have someone on the brink of signing an estimated 60-70 million dollar contract sue the NFL to complain about anti-trust laws. Yeah, like the NFL being a monopoly has been so financially destructive to the players. Other poor, exploited plaintiffs in the suit are 100 million dollar Peyton Mannnig and 100 million dollar Tom Brady. "Well we also represent the players who make minimun salries as well", they will say. Right, cause the minimum salary for an NFL player rising to $340k in 2011 then $355k in 2012 is such a cross to bare. Poor guys. The average professional worker in America only has to work about 5 years to make the league minimum. So the average player career of 3.2 years equals 15 of the average professional's years. And that's the minimum. You know, the 53rd man on the roster, usually the guy wearing a backward Saints cap on the sidelines. Not bad work if you can find it. Besides, the Brees's, Mannings and Bradys of the world can donate portions of their salaries to those poor players down there at the bottom of the depth chart.
Let me say up front that I am an unapolgetic Ronald Reagan conservative. I believe the biggger the company, the bigger the tax break. I've never been a fan of labor unions. I always seem to side with the people who provide the jobs as opposed to the people who take the job then complain about the way they are treated, instead of just quittng and working for someone else who would hire their sorry ass.
I've been in three unions and the only thing I could count on was dues being deducted from my paycheck, everytime, without fail. I wacthed my union president give away benefit after benefit with each passing contract then spend my dues backing a political candidate I disagree with. Cause he's a "friend of labor" From auto workers allowed to smoke pot during lunch breaks to "make work" days at a grain elevator, I think unions have collectively bargained our country to the brink of financial ruin. But I do think unions have a noble cause. Protect the "little man" from the exploiting evil corporation. However,a good labor lawyer can be just as effective as any union. Just ask Curt Flood.
What the players don't seem to realize is they don't need to collectively bargain. What can they collectively bargian for that's not already covered in their mammoth individual contracts drawn up by their uber-agents. More time off? Better hours? Dental? Please.
The owners talk about opposing the negotiated percentage of revenue sharing with the players. But if you caught one of them in a weak moment, he'd tell you they actually love it. They know exactly how much their salary expenses are for years to come. Every owner spends the same, only spreads it out differently. It's like that holy grail of union accomplishments. The minimum wage. Corporations publicly rail against it while privately loving it. They know what every other McD's, Popeye's or Burger King is paying. "You mean I only have to start you off at this low rate?"
Which brings me back to the slavery comparison. The thing that is astronomically light years from the truth is that NFL players are like slaves.
They are incredibly well compensated pawns on that 100 yard chess board.
Though I can't say I'm surprised. It was only a matter if time.
"It's modern day slavery", Vikings RB Adrian Peterson claimed in an interview with Yahoo Sports.
It has come to this. Comparing being paid millions of dollars to play a kids game with the plight of a people caught, shackled, shipped like cargo, humiliated and displayed on that original market showroom, then sold to the highest bidder to perpetual servitude.
Now THATS perspective.
It's also why professional athletes will never win the batle of public opinion when it comes to work stoppages. Be it a strike or a lockout.
Owners are already seen as old, white, stiff ,egomaniacal billionaires with little or no public sympathy to begin with. From the ever-meddling ultra gaudy, everything BIG in Texas Jerry "bling bling"Jones to the ultra frugal LA Clippers' owner Donald Sperling. The one that charges the players for athletic tape. Nobody's going Johnnie Cochran for these ole boys.
Unless.
Unless a bunch of rich, pampered, overgrown, over partied, mega adored, 'roided up frat boys who's lone skill in life is to run fast or catch good do something which they should never be allowed to do.
Talk.
Cause when they talk, they say things like "we're thoudands of miles away from our families" or "we sacrifice our bodies". Or my personal fave, "if it weren't for the players, there wouldn't be a game". Opening up themselves to the average fourth grader's retort, "if it weren't for the game there would be no players".
They use terms such as "solidarity". Conjuring up memories of Poland's Leck Welesa standing on the walls of the Gdansk Shipyard leading an anti-soviet social movement. Then take part in public signs of "solidarity" by saluting themselves with the #1 sign before kick off. You know, frat boy stuff.
Or unless.
They do something brilliant like have someone on the brink of signing an estimated 60-70 million dollar contract sue the NFL to complain about anti-trust laws. Yeah, like the NFL being a monopoly has been so financially destructive to the players. Other poor, exploited plaintiffs in the suit are 100 million dollar Peyton Mannnig and 100 million dollar Tom Brady. "Well we also represent the players who make minimun salries as well", they will say. Right, cause the minimum salary for an NFL player rising to $340k in 2011 then $355k in 2012 is such a cross to bare. Poor guys. The average professional worker in America only has to work about 5 years to make the league minimum. So the average player career of 3.2 years equals 15 of the average professional's years. And that's the minimum. You know, the 53rd man on the roster, usually the guy wearing a backward Saints cap on the sidelines. Not bad work if you can find it. Besides, the Brees's, Mannings and Bradys of the world can donate portions of their salaries to those poor players down there at the bottom of the depth chart.
Let me say up front that I am an unapolgetic Ronald Reagan conservative. I believe the biggger the company, the bigger the tax break. I've never been a fan of labor unions. I always seem to side with the people who provide the jobs as opposed to the people who take the job then complain about the way they are treated, instead of just quittng and working for someone else who would hire their sorry ass.
I've been in three unions and the only thing I could count on was dues being deducted from my paycheck, everytime, without fail. I wacthed my union president give away benefit after benefit with each passing contract then spend my dues backing a political candidate I disagree with. Cause he's a "friend of labor" From auto workers allowed to smoke pot during lunch breaks to "make work" days at a grain elevator, I think unions have collectively bargained our country to the brink of financial ruin. But I do think unions have a noble cause. Protect the "little man" from the exploiting evil corporation. However,a good labor lawyer can be just as effective as any union. Just ask Curt Flood.
What the players don't seem to realize is they don't need to collectively bargain. What can they collectively bargian for that's not already covered in their mammoth individual contracts drawn up by their uber-agents. More time off? Better hours? Dental? Please.
The owners talk about opposing the negotiated percentage of revenue sharing with the players. But if you caught one of them in a weak moment, he'd tell you they actually love it. They know exactly how much their salary expenses are for years to come. Every owner spends the same, only spreads it out differently. It's like that holy grail of union accomplishments. The minimum wage. Corporations publicly rail against it while privately loving it. They know what every other McD's, Popeye's or Burger King is paying. "You mean I only have to start you off at this low rate?"
Which brings me back to the slavery comparison. The thing that is astronomically light years from the truth is that NFL players are like slaves.
They are incredibly well compensated pawns on that 100 yard chess board.
Monday, February 7, 2011
Payton Can't Coach here and Live There
So Saints coach Sean Payton has decided that two cities are better than one. Louisiana is not big enough for the Paytons so he's packing up his bags and he's moving to Big D, part time that is. Payton plans to have his bbq in Dallas and his bloody mary in New Orleans. In other words, he wants a long distance relationship. Well I'm here to tell ya coach. They never work.
They start out with good intentions. The promises to talk every night, to be together every weekend, "I'll got to your house this weekend then you'll come to mine, then me, then you,blah blah blah!" We all know how these turn out. That nightly talk turns from steamy in week one to cold and dry by week three. Those weekly jaunts to the love nests shorten from Thursday morning thru Monday night, to Saturday night thru Sunday morning.
Then over.
Listen, if the Paytons are unhappy in Louisiana then they should move. This is America afterall and we have the right to live anywhere we choose. But if he wants to move to Dallas he should resign as Saints head coach. That's all. Just resign.
I find it hard to believe that any Saints fans would be able to stomach a part time citizen coach. Hell, even Bum Phillips lived in the area while he coached the Saints.
Imagine they're playing the Cowboys...in the playoffs... for the NFC championship... he calls one of those double reverse pitch it to Reggie plays on third and one with the lead and it ends bad...well you know where I'm gong with this...
Now let me state for the record that I think Payton is one of the best coaches in football. I don't want him to resign, I want him as the coach for my team. If it were up to me I would have Payton go the Drew Brees route and embrace this city for all its quirks and faults. Become ingrained in the rich culture it has to offer.
Isn't it ironic that the guy from Texas has chosen to plant roots in New Orleans, while the guy who brought him to New Orleans wants to bolt... to TEXAS!
Come to think of it, Brees must be wondering what the hell is going on. "This is the guy that convinced me to take what I'm seeing in the ninth ward and strive to rebuild it and the city together? Now he's bailing because the malls in Dallas are nicer?!"
"Well Payton just wants whats best for his famiy", some will say. Fine then, resign.
"Texas has better schools, less crime, it's cleaner and...and...and...the malls are prettier". Ok...resign.
"No, Payton says he'll commute, that he really wants to be here, he'll have two homes". Yeah, I believe that like I believe his injury reports.
The bottom line is, for a man the means of Payton, good education, safety and shopping can be found anywhere. Including Louisiana. What can't be found anywhere is a fanbase whose love for the team is as unabashed and unbridled as Saints fans. But they want their coach to at least appear to want to be here and to love them back.
Dallas?! Man football ranks somewhere behind rodeos, fashion shows and umm, shopping. Dallas fans?! I heard 90,000 people gathered for a funeral and a Cowboys game broke out.
The question is, Does he want to be the head coach of the New Orleans Saints. If yes, awesome! He and his family lives in Louisiana. Within 50 miles of New Orleans.
If no..sit down...grab a pen...prepare a statement...move to Dallas.
They start out with good intentions. The promises to talk every night, to be together every weekend, "I'll got to your house this weekend then you'll come to mine, then me, then you,blah blah blah!" We all know how these turn out. That nightly talk turns from steamy in week one to cold and dry by week three. Those weekly jaunts to the love nests shorten from Thursday morning thru Monday night, to Saturday night thru Sunday morning.
Then over.
Listen, if the Paytons are unhappy in Louisiana then they should move. This is America afterall and we have the right to live anywhere we choose. But if he wants to move to Dallas he should resign as Saints head coach. That's all. Just resign.
I find it hard to believe that any Saints fans would be able to stomach a part time citizen coach. Hell, even Bum Phillips lived in the area while he coached the Saints.
Imagine they're playing the Cowboys...in the playoffs... for the NFC championship... he calls one of those double reverse pitch it to Reggie plays on third and one with the lead and it ends bad...well you know where I'm gong with this...
Now let me state for the record that I think Payton is one of the best coaches in football. I don't want him to resign, I want him as the coach for my team. If it were up to me I would have Payton go the Drew Brees route and embrace this city for all its quirks and faults. Become ingrained in the rich culture it has to offer.
Isn't it ironic that the guy from Texas has chosen to plant roots in New Orleans, while the guy who brought him to New Orleans wants to bolt... to TEXAS!
Come to think of it, Brees must be wondering what the hell is going on. "This is the guy that convinced me to take what I'm seeing in the ninth ward and strive to rebuild it and the city together? Now he's bailing because the malls in Dallas are nicer?!"
"Well Payton just wants whats best for his famiy", some will say. Fine then, resign.
"Texas has better schools, less crime, it's cleaner and...and...and...the malls are prettier". Ok...resign.
"No, Payton says he'll commute, that he really wants to be here, he'll have two homes". Yeah, I believe that like I believe his injury reports.
The bottom line is, for a man the means of Payton, good education, safety and shopping can be found anywhere. Including Louisiana. What can't be found anywhere is a fanbase whose love for the team is as unabashed and unbridled as Saints fans. But they want their coach to at least appear to want to be here and to love them back.
Dallas?! Man football ranks somewhere behind rodeos, fashion shows and umm, shopping. Dallas fans?! I heard 90,000 people gathered for a funeral and a Cowboys game broke out.
The question is, Does he want to be the head coach of the New Orleans Saints. If yes, awesome! He and his family lives in Louisiana. Within 50 miles of New Orleans.
If no..sit down...grab a pen...prepare a statement...move to Dallas.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Saints Out...Hornets In
The last time I blogged the Saints season had come crashing down like the Metrodome Roof on a frigid December morn. The debacle in Seattle still prevents me from enjoying the playoffs and the Super Bowl. I'm sorry, while most NFL fans are celebrating a super bowl stand off featuring two of the most storied franchises in history, I could carre less. Let me restate that, I could give a ____!
As I watched the rest of the playoffs, all I could think was "that Seattle loss was worse than I thought, Chicago has no O, Atlanta was a fraud and Green Bay in the Superdome for all the NFC marbles would have been epic".
In the AFC, after Payton Manning was eliminated(I can't help pulling for him), my only other team of interest was the Jets. Love him or hate him, you can't ignore their big talkin foot smoochin compuslive cussin head football coach. Rex Ryan has stormed onto NFL scene like a nor'easter sized breathe of fresh air, smelling of pork fat no less, but fresh indeed. He has coached the Jets from cellar dwelling squatters to two AFC championship games in his first two seasons. Name a coach who can say the same.
Well, they lost to the Steelers, a team I could not loathe more. From the Immaculate reception against Snake's Raiders to beating my childhood beloved Cowboys in two Super Bowls to their date rapin QB. Not to mention THE most overrated and overcreditted head coach in sports. I just can't stomach 'em.
So now I'm stuck in no football land. I'll watch the bowl, half heartedly pull for the Pack since they are NFC and their fans remind me of Saints fans. And, of course, Lombardi will be home again.
My attention now turns to the streaking Hornets. Ten straight wins as of this blog. Monty Williams seems to have found his voice and is now ahead of the curve in his growth as a head coach. CP3 is back to the MVP type point gaurd we're used to seeing. David Wext and Omeka Okafor are playing like all-stars and Trevor Ariza has stepped up his game. What's also encouraging is the emergence of former LSU gaurd Marcus Thorthon and the play of the bench. Watching the Hornets play is fun again. Their poise when down, their grit in close games and now blowing out three of their last four opponents, including San Antonio, makes them a force in the West. Never in my wildest dreams did I see this coming after the off season, pre-season then crash after the fast start. As a fan, I don't want the all-star break to come as I fear it will break the momentum the Bees have built over the last few weeks. One fan wrote it best, BeeDat!
As I watched the rest of the playoffs, all I could think was "that Seattle loss was worse than I thought, Chicago has no O, Atlanta was a fraud and Green Bay in the Superdome for all the NFC marbles would have been epic".
In the AFC, after Payton Manning was eliminated(I can't help pulling for him), my only other team of interest was the Jets. Love him or hate him, you can't ignore their big talkin foot smoochin compuslive cussin head football coach. Rex Ryan has stormed onto NFL scene like a nor'easter sized breathe of fresh air, smelling of pork fat no less, but fresh indeed. He has coached the Jets from cellar dwelling squatters to two AFC championship games in his first two seasons. Name a coach who can say the same.
Well, they lost to the Steelers, a team I could not loathe more. From the Immaculate reception against Snake's Raiders to beating my childhood beloved Cowboys in two Super Bowls to their date rapin QB. Not to mention THE most overrated and overcreditted head coach in sports. I just can't stomach 'em.
So now I'm stuck in no football land. I'll watch the bowl, half heartedly pull for the Pack since they are NFC and their fans remind me of Saints fans. And, of course, Lombardi will be home again.
My attention now turns to the streaking Hornets. Ten straight wins as of this blog. Monty Williams seems to have found his voice and is now ahead of the curve in his growth as a head coach. CP3 is back to the MVP type point gaurd we're used to seeing. David Wext and Omeka Okafor are playing like all-stars and Trevor Ariza has stepped up his game. What's also encouraging is the emergence of former LSU gaurd Marcus Thorthon and the play of the bench. Watching the Hornets play is fun again. Their poise when down, their grit in close games and now blowing out three of their last four opponents, including San Antonio, makes them a force in the West. Never in my wildest dreams did I see this coming after the off season, pre-season then crash after the fast start. As a fan, I don't want the all-star break to come as I fear it will break the momentum the Bees have built over the last few weeks. One fan wrote it best, BeeDat!
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Defenseless in Seattle
After Saturdays's embarrassingly humiliating loss to the worst team ever to host a playoff game, all Drew Brees could say to the world was"it's hard to win a playoff game". Really? Really, Drew? Gee why didn't I think of that. Afterall it was just a year ago that it looked pretty easy winning a playoff game. You did it against the Arizona Cardinals, a team one year removed from losing Super Bowl XLIII in aganizing fashion to the Pittsburg Steelers. You must remember the 45-14 skulling that day. That wasn't so difficult. So what was the difference between those Saints and the Saints of January 8, 2011?
Two words.
"DEEE Fense!" boom boom "DEEE Fense!" boom boom
In January, 2010 the Saints defense beat down and suffocated a 10-6 NFC West winning Arizonna offense featuring a hall of fame QB, pro bowl WR's and a solid staple of RBs averaging well over 4 yards per carry. In other words, the offense that gave the Steelers fits in the Super Bowl and came within seconds of winning it. Remember , it was an TD interception return of 95+ yards just before haltime that flipped that scoreboard in the Steelers' favor. Otherwise, it would have been the "defending champs" getting that beatdown last January. In that game the Saints defense was intense, opportunistic and brutal. So brutal that Kurt Warner called it a career after being knocked out by a variety of "remember me" body shots culminated by the kill shot by Saints DE Rodney McCrae on an interception return.
The very next week, the Saints defense pounded Viking's QB Brett Favre so bad that instead of running for positive yards and getting his team into field goal position in the wanning minutes of a tied NFC championship game, he threw the interception heard around the world. Earlier, Favre had been so badly beaten up, his family couldn't bare to watch as he lay on the field in agony. That interception, which ended Favre's season and for all practical purposes his carrer, was a result of the relentless assault from Greg Williams' defense.
Where was that defense last Saturday? Certainly not in Seattle. No intensity! No guys flying to the ball. No remember me shots to the QB. No turnovers created. No big stops. NO. NO.NO.NO!
But yes, there was Roman Harper being fooled not once, not twice but three times by an offense boasting the 28th ranked QB in the NFL with a 73.2 rating. Yes, there was Darren Sharper, who's been seen more in the TV studio than in the film room this season, taking a bad angle on a seam route to get burned by a WR cast to the NFL scrap heep two seasons ago. Then, yes, there was Scott Shanle filling the hole, hitting then losing Seattle RB Marshawn Lynch, the 35 ranked RB with a 3.5 average to make a key stop on second and 10, forcing Seattle to either throw and risk stopping the clock or a turnover or run then punt to Drew Brees with time and time outs. Instead, Lynch broke seven more tackles in route to a 65 yard back breaking TD run. A play that will be shown over and over and over and over again on every sports highlights reel across the universe. A play that will win an ESPY for best run of the season. A play that will win an ESPY for worst effort and takling of the century. A play that will haunt Saints fans forever!
Silly me, I thought it would have been the offense that suffered due to their rash of injuries. I figured the 4th ranked defense in the NFL would shut down Seatte's 28th ranked offense and the Saints 3rd ranked passing offense would score enough to pull off a workman like two score victory. I was thinking 21-10, 24-14.
Well Brees and comany more than did their part. Scoring 36 points which could have easily been 50 by a one legged offense with zero running threat would have sent a message throughout the NFL that the Super bowl champs are here and pissed and ready to repeat. They displayed the heart of a champion.
Little did we know the defense was making plans for the offseason.
Two words.
"DEEE Fense!" boom boom "DEEE Fense!" boom boom
In January, 2010 the Saints defense beat down and suffocated a 10-6 NFC West winning Arizonna offense featuring a hall of fame QB, pro bowl WR's and a solid staple of RBs averaging well over 4 yards per carry. In other words, the offense that gave the Steelers fits in the Super Bowl and came within seconds of winning it. Remember , it was an TD interception return of 95+ yards just before haltime that flipped that scoreboard in the Steelers' favor. Otherwise, it would have been the "defending champs" getting that beatdown last January. In that game the Saints defense was intense, opportunistic and brutal. So brutal that Kurt Warner called it a career after being knocked out by a variety of "remember me" body shots culminated by the kill shot by Saints DE Rodney McCrae on an interception return.
The very next week, the Saints defense pounded Viking's QB Brett Favre so bad that instead of running for positive yards and getting his team into field goal position in the wanning minutes of a tied NFC championship game, he threw the interception heard around the world. Earlier, Favre had been so badly beaten up, his family couldn't bare to watch as he lay on the field in agony. That interception, which ended Favre's season and for all practical purposes his carrer, was a result of the relentless assault from Greg Williams' defense.
Where was that defense last Saturday? Certainly not in Seattle. No intensity! No guys flying to the ball. No remember me shots to the QB. No turnovers created. No big stops. NO. NO.NO.NO!
But yes, there was Roman Harper being fooled not once, not twice but three times by an offense boasting the 28th ranked QB in the NFL with a 73.2 rating. Yes, there was Darren Sharper, who's been seen more in the TV studio than in the film room this season, taking a bad angle on a seam route to get burned by a WR cast to the NFL scrap heep two seasons ago. Then, yes, there was Scott Shanle filling the hole, hitting then losing Seattle RB Marshawn Lynch, the 35 ranked RB with a 3.5 average to make a key stop on second and 10, forcing Seattle to either throw and risk stopping the clock or a turnover or run then punt to Drew Brees with time and time outs. Instead, Lynch broke seven more tackles in route to a 65 yard back breaking TD run. A play that will be shown over and over and over and over again on every sports highlights reel across the universe. A play that will win an ESPY for best run of the season. A play that will win an ESPY for worst effort and takling of the century. A play that will haunt Saints fans forever!
Silly me, I thought it would have been the offense that suffered due to their rash of injuries. I figured the 4th ranked defense in the NFL would shut down Seatte's 28th ranked offense and the Saints 3rd ranked passing offense would score enough to pull off a workman like two score victory. I was thinking 21-10, 24-14.
Well Brees and comany more than did their part. Scoring 36 points which could have easily been 50 by a one legged offense with zero running threat would have sent a message throughout the NFL that the Super bowl champs are here and pissed and ready to repeat. They displayed the heart of a champion.
Little did we know the defense was making plans for the offseason.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Saints Battled Super Bowl Hangover Well in 2010
As most know, the hardest thing to do in sports is to defend a Super Bowl championship. Especially your first. Your team is asked to do that which is completely foreign to them. After receiving enormous adjulation from fans, media and contemporaries, they must battle complaceny, apathy, injuries and if that's not enough, every team's best shot. Every week.
In short, the Super Bowl hangover.
Now in New Orleans we know all about hangovers. They can range from mild (1 Advil) to severe (5 Advils) on the K&B Hangover Rx Scale.
Ask the Baltimore Ravens(4) and Tampa Bay Bucs(5), teams that failed to qualify for the playoffs after winning their Super Bowls then bounced around never to return and the Bucs sinking to a 3-13 season. Ask New England and Pittsburg (3) who after winning their Super Bowls, failed to qualify for the playoffs but rebounded to win the big game again. Then there's Peyton Manning's Colts (1), who won their division but lost the their playoff opener the year after their Super Bowl win. It's just tough.
So the New Orleans Saints finished their first post Super Bowl regular season a respectful 11-5 and qualified for a wildcard berth. 11 wins and playoffs automatically eliminates five Advil status. However a look at the losses revealed a lingering hangover looming early in the season which might have doomed a lesser team.
Let's take a look.
In week 3, crucial turnovers by Drew Brees and a hungover Garrett Hartley missed a gimme 29 yard field goal attempt in overtime ending Sean Payton's mastery of Atlanta. A miss that would prove monumental as the season played out. 3 Advils
Week 5 was perhaps the worst in the Payton era. Losing to a very bad Phoenix Cardinals team featurng a first time wristband reading starting quarterback named Max Hall. A team who would go on to lose 11 games and become cellar dwellers of the woefull NFC West. 5 Advils and an Alka Seltzer
Week 7 came after a 31-7 beat down of division rival Tampa Bay. The floundering 1-5 Cleveland Browns came to town wanting a piece of the Super Bowl champs. They got more than a piece as they befuddled SB MVP Drew Brees into his worst performance as a Saint. Brees threw two pic6's to a DL bearing a name earily close to that of his newborn son. They were preceeded by a costly drive killing INT to cast off LB and former NO fan fave Scott Fajita. All to a team that would close 2010 with 11 losses. Hangover?! This looked more like an overdose! 5 Advils and 4 drops of Visine.
The metal of the champions were indeed being tested.
Displayng the heart of champions, though, they responded. Ripping off six straight wins including a Sunday night home win against Pittsburg and a Monday Night Footbal win on the road in Atlanta which positioned them for a shot at the #1 seed in the playoffs.
Losing to the Ravens in Baltimore in December ended that dream of repeating as #1 seed in the NFC playoffs. 4 Advils and a heating pad.
Losing a meaningless regular season finally to Tampa normally wouldn't mean much, but with three starters going down to injuries, this could spell doom in the playoffs. 4 1/2 Advils and 2 Vicadin.
Struggling with a once reliable receiving corps that dropped more passes than Wil I Am drops beats, an offensive line that averaged mutilple holding penaties per game and provided Brees with little time, injuries to runninng backs Lionel Hamilton, Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, and Chris Ivory, Drew Brees threw a career high 22 interceptions but also a miraculous NFC high 34 td passes. The offense finished 2010 ranked 6th total and 3rd passing. 2 1/2 Advils
Defensively, the Saints ranked a Sean Payton alltime high 5th in the league going into the season finally, however failed to muster up the game changing turnovers created during their run to the Super Bowl. Nowhere was this more dramatic than interceptions. The Saints were 3rd in the NFL in 2009 with 26 int's, returning 5 for touchdowns compared to 9 pics and 2 for td's in 2010. OUCH! That's a 4 Advil by itself! The defense did however see the emergence of second year DB Malcom Jenkins into a legit NFL safety but perhaps the fading of all time great Darren Sharper. 2 Advils
As the playoffs loom, the Saints face a new challenge, no home playoff games. However, the Saints played better on the road this season at 6-2, including a huge victory in the Georgia Dome.
As hangovers go, I'd rate the regular season a 2 out of 5, with 5 being a losing season as the Saints did finish with 11 wins but failed to win their division and lock up home field advantage.
Now it's on to the playoffs and a new beginning. We'll see what the champs are made of.
And if the hangover worsens or fades away...
In short, the Super Bowl hangover.
Now in New Orleans we know all about hangovers. They can range from mild (1 Advil) to severe (5 Advils) on the K&B Hangover Rx Scale.
Ask the Baltimore Ravens(4) and Tampa Bay Bucs(5), teams that failed to qualify for the playoffs after winning their Super Bowls then bounced around never to return and the Bucs sinking to a 3-13 season. Ask New England and Pittsburg (3) who after winning their Super Bowls, failed to qualify for the playoffs but rebounded to win the big game again. Then there's Peyton Manning's Colts (1), who won their division but lost the their playoff opener the year after their Super Bowl win. It's just tough.
So the New Orleans Saints finished their first post Super Bowl regular season a respectful 11-5 and qualified for a wildcard berth. 11 wins and playoffs automatically eliminates five Advil status. However a look at the losses revealed a lingering hangover looming early in the season which might have doomed a lesser team.
Let's take a look.
In week 3, crucial turnovers by Drew Brees and a hungover Garrett Hartley missed a gimme 29 yard field goal attempt in overtime ending Sean Payton's mastery of Atlanta. A miss that would prove monumental as the season played out. 3 Advils
Week 5 was perhaps the worst in the Payton era. Losing to a very bad Phoenix Cardinals team featurng a first time wristband reading starting quarterback named Max Hall. A team who would go on to lose 11 games and become cellar dwellers of the woefull NFC West. 5 Advils and an Alka Seltzer
Week 7 came after a 31-7 beat down of division rival Tampa Bay. The floundering 1-5 Cleveland Browns came to town wanting a piece of the Super Bowl champs. They got more than a piece as they befuddled SB MVP Drew Brees into his worst performance as a Saint. Brees threw two pic6's to a DL bearing a name earily close to that of his newborn son. They were preceeded by a costly drive killing INT to cast off LB and former NO fan fave Scott Fajita. All to a team that would close 2010 with 11 losses. Hangover?! This looked more like an overdose! 5 Advils and 4 drops of Visine.
The metal of the champions were indeed being tested.
Displayng the heart of champions, though, they responded. Ripping off six straight wins including a Sunday night home win against Pittsburg and a Monday Night Footbal win on the road in Atlanta which positioned them for a shot at the #1 seed in the playoffs.
Losing to the Ravens in Baltimore in December ended that dream of repeating as #1 seed in the NFC playoffs. 4 Advils and a heating pad.
Losing a meaningless regular season finally to Tampa normally wouldn't mean much, but with three starters going down to injuries, this could spell doom in the playoffs. 4 1/2 Advils and 2 Vicadin.
Struggling with a once reliable receiving corps that dropped more passes than Wil I Am drops beats, an offensive line that averaged mutilple holding penaties per game and provided Brees with little time, injuries to runninng backs Lionel Hamilton, Pierre Thomas, Reggie Bush, and Chris Ivory, Drew Brees threw a career high 22 interceptions but also a miraculous NFC high 34 td passes. The offense finished 2010 ranked 6th total and 3rd passing. 2 1/2 Advils
Defensively, the Saints ranked a Sean Payton alltime high 5th in the league going into the season finally, however failed to muster up the game changing turnovers created during their run to the Super Bowl. Nowhere was this more dramatic than interceptions. The Saints were 3rd in the NFL in 2009 with 26 int's, returning 5 for touchdowns compared to 9 pics and 2 for td's in 2010. OUCH! That's a 4 Advil by itself! The defense did however see the emergence of second year DB Malcom Jenkins into a legit NFL safety but perhaps the fading of all time great Darren Sharper. 2 Advils
As the playoffs loom, the Saints face a new challenge, no home playoff games. However, the Saints played better on the road this season at 6-2, including a huge victory in the Georgia Dome.
As hangovers go, I'd rate the regular season a 2 out of 5, with 5 being a losing season as the Saints did finish with 11 wins but failed to win their division and lock up home field advantage.
Now it's on to the playoffs and a new beginning. We'll see what the champs are made of.
And if the hangover worsens or fades away...
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