Heartbreak in New Orleans

Tweet I really don’t know what to say about the game of “football” that the Saints played last Sunday. The Saints were coming into the game having defeating the Colts 62-7 in a nationally televised pummelling. They became the third team in NFL history to put up 60 points in a game and their offense looked unstoppable. The Rams came into the game having been absolutely wrecked 34-7 by the average-at-best Cowboys. It looked like the Saints were going to embarrass St. Louis, Brees was going to become the MVP favourite, and Head Coach Sean Payton was going to run for president in the next American election. Needless to say, things did not play out this way.

The Saints started off bad and things just kept getting worse. The Rams didn’t even play with Sam Bradford, their franchise QB and had to settle for their 2nd stringer. Feeley, the perennial NFL back-up, was given the start due to Bradford’s injury and looked like a veteran out there. The Ram’s best player, Steven Jackson, returned from injury and ran all over the Saints defence. Watching the Saints defenders try to tackle Jackson was actually upsetting, as SJ39 finished the game with 159 rushing yards.

I’ve been saying all year that the Saints defence is mediocre, so the Rams putting up 31 against New Orleans seemed fathomable, though unlikely. What was truly surprising was the way that the Saints offense performed (re: underperformed). Brees threw for 2 picks and had less than 200 yards for almost the entirety of the game. Defensive End Chris Long had 3 sacks alone, the Saints got a punt blocked, and the entire coaching staff seemed like they didn’t really care much. The Saints were down 24-0 at one point in the third quarter and it was clear that New Orleans had no chance. That was easily the worst showing I’ve seen from the Saints in recent memory.

However, as the Saints are my team, and Drew Brees is my quarterback, I am happy to point out one positive moment in last week’s game. With only minutes left in the game, it looked like Brees’ rare streak was going to finally be snapped. Brees has the 3rd longest streak of consecutive games with a TD pass, but it seemed as though that impressive feat would finally come to an end (and to the lowly Rams). However, in the final minutes of the game, Brees orchestrated a methodical 15 play, 80 yard drive that ended in a touchdown pass from Drew to Lance Moore. Ladies and Gentlemen, the streak is still alive and Brees will continue to throw his way into the history books.

It's my small silver lining in an otherwise embarrassing performance by New Orleans.



Thoughts on the NFL:

It’s always a great feeling when you predict something and it comes true. I may have been very wrong about the outcome of the Saints-Rams affair, but I was spot on with my Tim Tebow prediction. Tebow probably had the worst outing by a QB this year (and that includes Grossman’s dismal game against the Eagles earlier this season), and made Broncos fans beg for Kyle Orton to start next game. The Lions shit on the Broncos 45-10, which had the Detroit players openly insulting Tebow. The Lions used his own celebration against him, twice, and when asked about #15, they called him a joke of a quarterback. One columnist for a Denver newspaper said that Tebow is the worst starting QB in the league and that the Broncos are lucky Orton is still in Denver. Looks like Tim Tebow is Superman no more.

The Chargers actually make me mad. How do you have so much talent on one team and choke so often? San Diego’s 2 starting receivers, Malcolm Floyd and Vincent Jackson, are both 6’5”, Antonio Gates is arguably one of the top 3 tight ends in NFL history, and the running back Matthews is a versatile weapon that can be a factor in the passing game. It would seem that my little sister could come into the starting line-up and put up 300 passing yards a game, but apparently Phillip Rivers is finding a way to make things not work. The Chargers started off the season 4-1 but have managed to drop to 4-3 and with this week’s loss, have fallen to second place in their division (trailing KC, who started the season 0-3). Last year the Chargers finished the season 1st in overall offense, 1st in overall defence, and managed to miss the playoffs....how does that even happen!?!?! Head Coach Norv Turner better figure this out before Oakland passes them as well.

The AFC North is looking absolutely beastly this season. Last week I pointed out a stat to Daki that I didn’t think would ever be possible. The top 4 NFL teams in terms of total defence (total yards allowed) were the Ravens, Bengals, Steelers, and Browns. The amazing thing is that those 4 teams make up the AFC North division. That stat has since changed, but it goes to show why the AFC North is the best division in football: Defence baby! The Ravens and Steelers are 2 of the top 5 teams in the league at the moment and the surprising 5-2 Bengals aren’t far behind them. Some people might say that the Browns are bad, but they have lost a few very close contests and gave the 6-1 SF 49er’s a run for their money last weekend. I have always argued that the 2 best divisions in the NFL are the AFC North and the NFC South. The NFC South has started off a little bit slow, but is picking up momentum coming into the halfway point of the season, but the AFC North is without a doubt the toughest division in football at the moment. If the season ended today, the Ravens, Steelers, and Bengals would all be in the playoff. That’s a true testament to smashmouth football right there.

That’s all I got for this week folks. I’ll be back to talk FOOTBALLLLL soon!