Okay that last one is asking a bit much. But regardless of what happens over the next three games, the Saints are 2-0 vs Atlanta this year. And for most Saints fans of a certain generation, anything beyond that is just gravy.
These are the much-delayed observations from Monday night's Saints-Falcons game. (I still haven't cleared the bugs out of my computer. Teh football blogging suffers as a result. I can still steal pics from NOLA.com, though)
- Soupy is an annoying dude sometimes. After being burned all week in the media for calling an unnecessary and risky reverse in the final minutes of a game his team very nearly had in the bag (endangering the life of Phil Anslemo's sorta-look-alike's grandma), Soupy had his players open the very next game with a similar end-around on the first play from scrimmage. Soupy was clearly "sending a message" here. Payton continued to display an aggressive, balls-out approach to strategy by having his team unsuccessfully attempt to convert a 4th and 1 from their own 33 yard line. I'm sure we're all impressed. We would be more impressed, however, if the coach would purpose his game-plan toward defeating the other team on the field instead of communicating snarkily with the fans.
No grandmas were harmed during the running of this ineffective QB sneak. - Jason David was burned again. It ended up not mattering much though since the Falcons started an insurance salesman at quarterback and were in bad hands, so to speak, on offense throughout the evening.
No grandmas, animals, or opposing defenses were harmed by this Atlanta quarterback. - The Saints defense (currently 8th in the league against the run) held yet another team well below the 100 yard mark. This was one of the team's major weaknesses in 2006. It has been a strength throughout much of 2007 with almost no change in the defensive personnel.
One change on defense this year has been the addition of a healthy Roman Harper at safety. Harper has been an excellent tackler in run support and has been used effectively in blitz packages. Monday, he returned a rare interception for his first NFL touchdown and a well-deserved opportunity to celebrate.
He's no Sammy Knight yet, but Harper looks like a keeper. - In the first quarter, the Saints assumed possession of the football on their own 1 yard line. They then drove 99 yards in 6 plays finishing with a 25 yard touchdown pass to David Patten.
In the second quarter, the Saints assumed possession of the football on their own 6 yard line. They then drove 94 yards in 13 plays finishing with a 15 yard touchdown pass to Marques Colston.
This was a fun game to watch.
Brees starts the Saints on a drive that would go the length of the field. This sort of thing can only be accomplished while wearing the proper pants. - Marques Colston, by the way.... maybe not the next TO, but quite possibly the 21st C version of Eric Martin... which is certainly saying something.
Colston wrestles the ball away from a linebacker whom he dwarfs in stature. - Not Reggie (Thomas model): 6 carries for a respectable 31 yards
Not Reggie (Stecker Model): 20 carries 100 yards
Not Reggie is the first Saint to rush for 100 yards all season. This is a very telling statistic. In the still unlikely event that the Saints make the playoffs, can there be any doubt that Bush's injury is a major turning point for the better?
Yeah yeah, just keep that MP3 player loaded, dude. I wonder if he's listening to Ciara. - Uh oh it sucks to be the kicker. Olindo Mare's season of unfortunate events reached its inevitably sad conclusion Monday when he suffered a dislocated hip injury covering a kickoff late in the game.
Mare has been replaced on the roster by veteran Martin Gramatica and his amusing hair.
Should Gramatica somehow happen to miss his first field goal attempt as a Saint, I have pledged laugh to my ass off. - Hey, look, we killed a coach. Following his team's dreadful performance against the Saints Monday, Falcons coach Bobby Petrino literally skipped town. Petrino immediately got the heck outta Dodge and snapped up the vacant position at the University of Arkansas without so much as a word to his team. He actually left "Dear John" letters to the Falcons players taped to their lockers.
Wow. What a spectacular asshole. Here's a guy who actually deserves to lose to Les Miles's team next year.
The Petrino incident could also put a damper on the Saints win since it reveals the extent of the disarray the Falcons were in at this point in their season. The Arizona Cardinals will be in a much better frame of mind when they visit the Superdome to battle the Saints for whatever scrap of playoff aspirations the two teams still cling to. But even if the Saints find themselves knocked out of the picuture come Monday morning, they can still look back fondly on a season in which they swept Atlanta.
Now... back to de-bugging that computer of mine....
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