Saints Report Week 12

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Another week, another win! Like Daki, I’m going to keep this week’s article short and sweet.

The New York Giants visited the New Orleans Saints at the newly named Mercedes-Benz Superdome and came heavily unprepared. The Giants were on a 2 game losing streak and things weren’t looking good. Many fans and analysts will probably talk about this season and say that the Giants were all hype and that they weren’t ever a true playoff contender but the truth is that the Giants might be the most injury-plagued team in the entire NFL. Before this season, there wasn’t a chance you could name ¾ of the players that are currently starting, which is never a good sign for any team. The Giants will likely miss the playoffs this season, but Eli Manning has proven that he is an elite QB and that, if the Giants could stay healthy and play with some passion, they could be a serious threat.

That being said, Drew Brees did his thing throwing for 363 yards and 4TDs and also rushing for another TD. The Saints offense simply outmatched the banged up Giants defence and made it look like they were playing against a Division III college. Jimmy Graham and Lance Moore had huge games, each recording 2 TDs. New week, same story: Brees and the passing attack light shit up and look fantastic doing it. There’s no point in me writing about this aerial show anymore cause I’m starting to sound like a broken record. Instead, I’m going to talk about an interesting article I read on NFL.com today.

I tried to find the link to the article but NFL.com changes every 4 seconds so it’s pretty much long gone at this point. Basically, the point of the article was that the Saints have the power to defeat Green Bay and win their 2nd title in 3 years. The Saints offense is pretty much unstoppable and can throw 30 points on the board whenever. The question will be whether the defence can step it up. Some people (re: mainly Daki) believe that the 49ers are pretty much guaranteed a spot in the NFC championship and that GB is the only team that can stop them from reaching the superbowl. I feel silly even discussing these shenanigans, because the 49ers wouldn’t even be able to challenge the Saints. The Niners have an excellent defence, i’ll give them that, but matched up against the Saints offense, they won’t be able to hold them to less than 25+. That means Alex Smith, the perennial loser, would have to lead his team to outscore New Orleans AND keep the ball out of the hands of Brees and Peyton’s offense....yea right. So what then is the real question? At this point in time, I would not be able to honestly say that the Saints are a better football team than the Packers. It has been years since a team has existed in the NFL with this much talent in every aspect of the game. Their offense is methodical, their defence is ferocious, their special teams can strike at any given moment, and their coaching staff has done an amazing job with their ball club this season. However, the argument isn’t whether New Orleans is the better team; the argument is whether the Saints would beat the Packers, and the answer is yes. Opening game of the season saw the Saints lose to the Packers on a failed goal line rush from the 2 yard line. The ICU at Sick Kids Hospital could have fielded a better defence than the Saints did in the first half of the game and they were absolutely TORCHED by Rodgers and the Pack-attack. However, in the second half of the game, Rodgers didn’t even throw for 100 yards and the defence managed to slow down an offense that has looked unstoppable this year. Since then, the Saints defence has become extremely opportunistic and has shown glimpses of the swagger that they had in 2009 when they won the Superbowl. The Saints still have a long way to go, but if they keep improving and getting better when the playoffs come around, I can promise you that the Saints will redeem their season-opening loss to the Packers and go on to win Superbowl 46.

New Orleans faces a very inconsistent Detroit Lions team this week, but with the Lions needing this win to make a push for the playoffs, hopefully I’ll have a more exciting article to write about.

The Patriots Report: Week 11

Tweet Was this game a sign of things to come?  Have the Patriots finally figured out their defense and are starting to peak at the right time?  Is Gronkowski the best Tight End in the NFL?  I can safely answer 'yes' to only one of those three questions and if you are struggling to figure out which one, go watch a tape of the game against Kansas City.  The main thought for me following the game is one that will probably be echoed by many experts: was this result the work of the Patriots defense or Kansas's inept offence?  The answer is probably a little bit of both, as the Patriots defense got some key red-zone stops and rookie QB Palko threw some awful picks.  Regardless, this is what the Patriots have to continue doing, now they are in a 4-way tie for the first seed in the AFC and also hold a commanding 2 game lead in their division.  They have to keep improving on the defensive side of the ball while racking up the W's if they want to succeed in the post-season. I realize that I have beaten that point more than Chris Brown has beaten Rihanna (too soon?) but damn it its true!

It also is really refreshing to see Bill Belichick using a guy on special teams, offense and defense again (shades of Troy Brown in 04').  His guy? Julian Edelman, who had a spectacular punt return for a touchdown that broke the game open.  At this point anything that reminds you of the Patriots Super Bowl winning teams is a good thing, and Edelman's contributions can not be overlooked.  This is the first time in a long time that the Patriots 'mystique' reappeared.  There really is not much more to say so I will keep it short and sweet this week.  Next week the Patriots travel to Lincoln Financial Field to play the Eagles who basically are playing must-win games until the last day of the season (assuming they can keep the winning streak going).  Although a loss would not be the worst thing to happen to New England (they have the tie-breaker over the Jets and a much easier schedule then the Bills) it will be interesting to see if they can put a desperate team away.  Look for Luka and I to do a joint recap of that game next week, until then cheers.

The Patriots Report: Week 8

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After praising the Patriots defense and hailing the BYE week as a point where Bill Belichick would finally patch things up and turn the Patriots into a Juggernaut, the Pittsburgh Steelers came and shoved everything I said into the same vortex that Donovan Mcnabb's career went to.  Seriously, it was painful watching 'Ben' pick apart the Patriots secondary like he was Joe Montana in his prime.  You would think that after the fourth straight catch by Heath Miller someone on the Patriots sideline would suggest they stop blitzing and allowing a zillion passing lanes.  I cannot stress how abysmal the Patriots were on Sunday, even their offence was sluggish, managing a meager 17 points for the game.  Before I continue it should be acknowledged that the Steelers played a hell of a game and literally kicked the Patriots ass, they handled their business like a contender should (and after the smack-down they laid, I have them and the Ravens as the primary AFC contenders).

So what the hell is wrong with the Patriots defense?  They are missing three starters, but this is no excuse because they used to thrive in situations like this, remember the days Troy Brown would cover the opposing teams best receiver?  Back then it didn't matter who played defense they were great for some reason, not so much anymore.  Poor drafting? A very big factor, their only decent draft pick in recent years has been Patrick Chung, Belichick has to accept some of the blame here, there is no excuse for picking so poorly in four consecutive drafts.  Lastly, some of the blame has to go on the players.  If you are playing a professional sport that you love, you should hold yourself accountable and do whatever it takes to be better.  So far this season, the Patriots defenders have not improved and if they don't the L's will pile up faster than everyone thinks.  At this rate, the Patriots will qualify for the playoffs as a wild-card and get demolished by Pittsburgh or Baltimore whenever they got to them.  The really sad thing about this is that the Patriots are still probably the third best team in the AFC, they picked an absolutely terrible year to suck defensively, if they were even decent I would have them penciled in to the Super Bowl.

Since there really isn't much more to say about the Patriots, a few quick hits from other parts of the NFL:

49ers: Do you realize that they still play the NFC west five times?!  They could easily finish the season 13-3 and get a first round Bye and a guaranteed home game in the playoffs.  Whether or not they can do anything with Alex Smith at Quarterback remains to be seen.

Ravens:  This season they have played some inspiring defense, they were setting some incredible records until they allowed Arizona to score 27 points against them.  Just throwing it out there, I don't think they will allow that much for the rest of the year.

Eagles: Finally played like the team everyone expected them to be, and even sweeter for them is that they are one (you read that correctly) game out of the playoffs.  An 11-5 finish isn't out of the question if they play every game like they did against the Cowboys.  

Titans: Chris Johnson has disappeared off the face of the earth

Giants: Playing the Patriots next week for the first time sense the '18-1' game, if Belichick doesn't throw his best and most secret game plan at them to try and humiliate them then I think his pulse should be checked.