Boy was it good to watch last Sundays performance. It was great to see the offense finally clicking into gear and getting the ball moving effectively.
Drew Brees was able to hit balls acurately down the sidelines for deep gains and control the field with short to middle distance passing.
The D played great again and boy is Sedrick Ellis blossoming into a top DT.
Two major points of praise
But beyond that I have two major points of praise to hand out.
The first is pretty obvious. It goes to Chris Ivory for a truly outstanding break out performance. It was fantastic to see the guy hitting holes at such speed and giving the Saints a compelling run attack on the day.
Yes the holes were ridiculously huge, which is all credit to the O line, but still his explosive speed made the most of it and he also showed great ability at shaking tackles. It's been a long time since we saw a Saints back make that kind of impact.
I'm looking forward to seeing more from the young back in weeks to come. It's going to make for a compelling back field once Pierre Thomas and Reggie Bush are back.
Randall Gay placed on IR
Now onto the second point. I applaud the Saints organization for the way they have handled Randall Gay.
In past years teams would have thrown him back into the lions den and hoped for the best. Now the league is getting rightfully cautious about these dangerous injuries and teams more compassionate about player safety.
A softie softie I am not
No I don't want to see the end of hard tackling and yes I accept and love the fact football is a physical game. The sudden rule change and fines introduced this week for dangerous tackles are stupid in my eyes.
Players will injure themselves trying to get out of a tackle and, as Malcolm Jankins said, if an O player suddenly ducks his head before contact there's not much the D player can do but continue with their momentum. As such head shots are likely to continue unintentionally. Afterall you can't uncoach the way a player has been taught to tackle since age 6.
But, all that said, I do applaud the Saints for being so cautious with Gay. He had a bad head injury last year and it's only right they look out for his overall welfare.
As a hard working team player he deserves that protection. He will have a life after the game and concussions are a serious serious business.
Players can be their own worst enemy
A competitive player can be his own worst enemy trying to be put back in the game. This decision takes that out of his and the coaches hands.
I hope other teams respect their players to this extent. It's that kind of loyalty which bonds a team and is sometimes missing from pro sports where money and winning get in the way of the being in human being.
I applaud you team HQ. A great decision and one that shows the roster that the front office have their backs.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Friday, October 15, 2010
Drew Brees My Lord Kumbaya
Drew Brees My Lord Kumbaya,
Drew Brees My Lord Kumbaya,
Drew Brees My Lord Kumbaya,
Oh Lord Drewy Brees
It is at times like this that one's faith in the Lord, Drew Brees and the Saints nation ensures I am yet to succumb to the mass hysteria, train ball wreck, hair pulling, fatalism that has gripped so many comment pages on Nola.com of recent.
You see I live by a simple truth... In Drew I trust.
The man is hurting more than any of us can appreciate. For he is a true competitor and you can bet your big old hairy butt/svelte shinny toosh (delete as befits your posterior) that the man is working tirelessly to turn this thing around.
Obviously one man does not maketh a team. But Brees does lead this club from the front and you can see clearly he's not playing to his best. So you just know he is working overtime to correct the small faults that make such a huge difference to his game.
Pass Protection
One of the major issues to date has been pass protection. It seems people are getting up in Drew's face more than Simon Cowell to a bad debutante. He needs proper protection so he can show his magic.
Teams are taking away the deep ball, not worrying about the non playing Reggie Bush factor, not worrying about the screen game or the run. So right now it's all on Brees and even he isn't Superman.
Get the pass protection sorted and a healthy PT back and you'll see it's not all doom and gloom.
Defence is better
On top of that the D is performing better than last year. Yes take aways are down but we just seem a more solidified unit despite the neverending casualty list in the secondary.
So once we can get back healthy and jumping out to leads we'll be ok. Trust me. These Saints are still the Saints of last year. They're hurting and they will get it sorted it out. The only difference this year is reality has replaced fantasy football. Just keep the faith and keep supporting.
Til next time
An over worked Father Falcanor
P.S. Thanks to Scott Fujita for posting up the article I wrote about him on his site. I never knew I had such a legend reading my blog!
Drew Brees My Lord Kumbaya,
Drew Brees My Lord Kumbaya,
Oh Lord Drewy Brees
It is at times like this that one's faith in the Lord, Drew Brees and the Saints nation ensures I am yet to succumb to the mass hysteria, train ball wreck, hair pulling, fatalism that has gripped so many comment pages on Nola.com of recent.
You see I live by a simple truth... In Drew I trust.
The man is hurting more than any of us can appreciate. For he is a true competitor and you can bet your big old hairy butt/svelte shinny toosh (delete as befits your posterior) that the man is working tirelessly to turn this thing around.
Obviously one man does not maketh a team. But Brees does lead this club from the front and you can see clearly he's not playing to his best. So you just know he is working overtime to correct the small faults that make such a huge difference to his game.
Pass Protection
One of the major issues to date has been pass protection. It seems people are getting up in Drew's face more than Simon Cowell to a bad debutante. He needs proper protection so he can show his magic.
Teams are taking away the deep ball, not worrying about the non playing Reggie Bush factor, not worrying about the screen game or the run. So right now it's all on Brees and even he isn't Superman.
Get the pass protection sorted and a healthy PT back and you'll see it's not all doom and gloom.
Defence is better
On top of that the D is performing better than last year. Yes take aways are down but we just seem a more solidified unit despite the neverending casualty list in the secondary.
So once we can get back healthy and jumping out to leads we'll be ok. Trust me. These Saints are still the Saints of last year. They're hurting and they will get it sorted it out. The only difference this year is reality has replaced fantasy football. Just keep the faith and keep supporting.
Til next time
An over worked Father Falcanor
P.S. Thanks to Scott Fujita for posting up the article I wrote about him on his site. I never knew I had such a legend reading my blog!
Monday, September 27, 2010
Garrett Hartley not to blame
It appears some people I know have very short memories. Yes Garrett Hartley missed a field goal in over time but why were we even in that position in the first place?
Could it be that we couldn't run the ball yet again?
Could it be that we couldn't stop ANY third downs?
Could it be that we couldn't stop the run AGAIN?
There are all sorts of reasons why we lost. Chief amongst them is that we faced a real up and coming Falcons team led by a quality QB. Matt Ryan was poised and accurate throughout. Obviously it didn't help that on every 3rd down conversion it appeared that no one wanted to be anywhere near Tony Gonzalez and there's a story in itself.
You'd think that having all feasted off the NFL films eulogy to the Saints Super Bowl victory that someone on the D staff would have noted Coach Paytons' imploring rants of his D not to let their best player, Dallas Clark, win the game single handedly.
Well that's exactly what the Saints were facing against the Falcons and yet nobody seemed capable of getting close to the guy. Yes he's a future Hall of Famer but come on. Just cover him once and that's one possession handed back to Bree's.
Now let's also not forget the Falcons running game that once again showed the fact we cannot stop the run. It's an old story but one that we just don't seem capable of sorting.
All that said, and that looks like a rant against the Saints but... I also thought we played some good football!
The fact is we played tough throughout and almost pulled out a win against the odds. I like the way we are hanging in there throughout and showing spirit.
The Falcons never once looked to be running away with it (well apart from on the ground but we'll come back to that). Neither team could get absolute momentum and as such it was a real gritty old fashioned football match. And I for loved it for that. Hard hard football play.
The Saints clearly need to sort some issues out this week.
1. Find a way to open running holes for the backs. For the best O line in football you'd expect some holes could be opened but so far this season it's been pretty sparse.
2. Stop the run. Anyway any how. Just stop it. Shut it down in the middle.
3. Stop 3rd down conversions. Pressure would be good and coverage of the oppositions best receiver would help.
4. Don't get down on Garrett Hartley. Yes he shanked his kick but he converted one in normal time, took us to the Super Bowl, is young and looks mentally strong. Give him the benefit of the doubt and show him some support. If the first 3 issues were resolved we wouldn't even be mentioning his name.
5. Find some backup for the running backs. Pierre Thomas has too much of a load to carry. Chris Ivory is inexperienced and should not have been in on 4th down when he fumbled.
6. Make Devery Henderson do a thousand push ups anytime he drops the ball in practise (hell it worked for Wesley Snipes in the film Major League).
And finally.
7. Keep the faith. After all the years of dissappointment some parts of the Who Dat nation are showing clear signs of having it too good for too long. Remember the lean years and realise it ain't all bad.
Yes we've got to fix the above things but the team know that. We lost a tight game against a good good team so keep the faith. Drew Brees and co. will be working over time this week to sort things out so keep cheering, keep that dome noise up and believe in Coach Payton for there is no one, NO ONE, I would rather have calling the plays.
In Sean we trust.
Could it be that we couldn't run the ball yet again?
Could it be that we couldn't stop ANY third downs?
Could it be that we couldn't stop the run AGAIN?
There are all sorts of reasons why we lost. Chief amongst them is that we faced a real up and coming Falcons team led by a quality QB. Matt Ryan was poised and accurate throughout. Obviously it didn't help that on every 3rd down conversion it appeared that no one wanted to be anywhere near Tony Gonzalez and there's a story in itself.
You'd think that having all feasted off the NFL films eulogy to the Saints Super Bowl victory that someone on the D staff would have noted Coach Paytons' imploring rants of his D not to let their best player, Dallas Clark, win the game single handedly.
Well that's exactly what the Saints were facing against the Falcons and yet nobody seemed capable of getting close to the guy. Yes he's a future Hall of Famer but come on. Just cover him once and that's one possession handed back to Bree's.
Now let's also not forget the Falcons running game that once again showed the fact we cannot stop the run. It's an old story but one that we just don't seem capable of sorting.
All that said, and that looks like a rant against the Saints but... I also thought we played some good football!
The fact is we played tough throughout and almost pulled out a win against the odds. I like the way we are hanging in there throughout and showing spirit.
The Falcons never once looked to be running away with it (well apart from on the ground but we'll come back to that). Neither team could get absolute momentum and as such it was a real gritty old fashioned football match. And I for loved it for that. Hard hard football play.
The Saints clearly need to sort some issues out this week.
1. Find a way to open running holes for the backs. For the best O line in football you'd expect some holes could be opened but so far this season it's been pretty sparse.
2. Stop the run. Anyway any how. Just stop it. Shut it down in the middle.
3. Stop 3rd down conversions. Pressure would be good and coverage of the oppositions best receiver would help.
4. Don't get down on Garrett Hartley. Yes he shanked his kick but he converted one in normal time, took us to the Super Bowl, is young and looks mentally strong. Give him the benefit of the doubt and show him some support. If the first 3 issues were resolved we wouldn't even be mentioning his name.
5. Find some backup for the running backs. Pierre Thomas has too much of a load to carry. Chris Ivory is inexperienced and should not have been in on 4th down when he fumbled.
6. Make Devery Henderson do a thousand push ups anytime he drops the ball in practise (hell it worked for Wesley Snipes in the film Major League).
And finally.
7. Keep the faith. After all the years of dissappointment some parts of the Who Dat nation are showing clear signs of having it too good for too long. Remember the lean years and realise it ain't all bad.
Yes we've got to fix the above things but the team know that. We lost a tight game against a good good team so keep the faith. Drew Brees and co. will be working over time this week to sort things out so keep cheering, keep that dome noise up and believe in Coach Payton for there is no one, NO ONE, I would rather have calling the plays.
In Sean we trust.
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