Among the more amazing things I've read lately regarding Unnecessary Evac 2008 and its insulting aftermath, was this article in Friday's Times-Picayune regarding SMG's preparations for the Saints-Bucs game.
Superdome officials set up a telephone line and a Web site before Hurricane Gustav that allowed them to keep in contact with their various employees after the storm, and they already were coordinating with all of the necessary service providers on the day the storm hit.
So far, Superdome officials have received a very good response from the displaced employees, most of whom will be back in New Orleans by Sunday. An additional 150 employees will be bussed in from Houston's Reliant Park, which also is run by SMG. And another 65 employees likely will be called in from SMG-operated facilities in Bossier City and Mobile, Ala.
It takes about 2,500 employees to staff a Saints game in the Superdome, including 125 to 130 New Orleans police officers. Thornton anticipates a full staff, and possibly a few extras.
Those employees who have not been in contact with Superdome officials are encouraged to call 1.800.756.7074 or to visit the Web site at www.superdome.com.
The groups that have been hardest to reach have been the nonprofit groups who work some of the concession stands through Centerplate, a food service sub-contractor. Members of those nonprofit groups are encouraged to contact either the Superdome or Centerplate at 504.558.6260, ext. 6622.
Centerplate also has been bringing in replacements from outside the city, so the concession stands should be fully staffed with workers and food and drink.
In other words, a day and a half after the stubborn Mayor was made to take down the roadblocks turning away weary evacuees returning to Orleans Parish, AND while the State, City, and surrounding Parishes were in the midst of poorly coordinating the return of "City Assisted" evacuees (a process that would not end for a few more days) SMG already had a plan in place to ensure that sufficient labor units would be present to serve overpriced beer and hot dogs on Sunday... regardless of whether or not their actual employees were back home... or still alive for that matter. Such is life in the big (but ever-shrinking) city. The folks running things only bother with us at all so long as we are needed to enable their entertainments to go on without too much trouble. One wonders why anyone pays them any heed at all. Well I don't listen. Not anymore. Count me among the citizens who James O'Byrne hypothesizes will refuse to jump the next time the local political clowns say jump. I'm already one step ahead in ignoring the orders of Superdome management. Recall that our experience with Superdome concessions at the Saints-Texans pre-season game left us vowing to resort to guerrilla tactics once the regular season was upon us. Sunday's game gave us an opportunity to put the new system into action.
Okay so I couldn't find my flask on Sunday morning. That was a bit of a setback. Luckily there were still plenty of Tropicana orange juice bottles left over from Unnecessary Evac 2008.
Once emptied, they make fine portable storage for Old New Orleans Amber Rum and fit quite conveniently into a cargo pants pocket. And since the road weary Superdome security staff tend not to pat down the
I say almost because while the bottles do fit in the pockets, they carry a bit awkwardly. This was more of a problem than it otherwise would have been since we walked the 2.1 miles to the Superdome this week. We did this for two reasons. 1) RTA had not yet re-instated service while evacuees were still being bused into New Orleans. 2) We're currently down to one bicycle in the household. So one of us walked to the Superdome. I actually sort of Frankenstein limped there. Still the walk did yield some good things.
Firstly, it afforded us the opportunity to stop in at Lucky's for a proper Bloody Mary.
Longtime readers of the Yellow Blog sports section already know that a decent Bloody Mary is an essential part of any Saints gameday experience. Up until this year, the best (yet priciest) in town were available at the Superdome. It's a shame that Dome officials have ruined one of their finest products this season. The Lucky's Bloody Marys were excellent and, of course, far larger and more affordable than the current Superdome offering. But I still felt like I was being deprived of something.
Next, it allowed us to encounter... uh... this thing.
Its sash reads, "Mr. Big Easy 2008". It is also wearing a Derbigny for Judge sticker for no apparent reason. Any idea what's going on here? Anyone?
Finally, if I had been on the bicycle that day, I'm not sure I would have noticed that the Superdome is conveniently located right next to the "Yatt" Hotel.
This is, of course, only appropriate.
And then there was football. Above exceptions notwithstanding, this week's game photos... as always... are shamelessly stolen directly from the NOLA.com Saints galleries.
- The Saints unveiled a new sideline mascot for this season. "Sir Saint" is the team's latest attempt to cash in on the retro fad that has driven the recent resurgence of merchandise bearing this 60s era Saints logo. The mascot is a walking version of that logo (which I always thought was called "Joe Saint") but dressed in all-black (bad omen, as always) and a cape. Prior to team introductions, Sir Saint warmed up the crowd by lumbering around the field and attempting to launch air-propelled T-Shirts into the stands. Three of the four T-shirt guns failed to fire properly. This could be a very long season.
- The morning radio blather had already told us not to expect Deuce McAllister to play in this one so we were concerned, but resigned to this fact when we got to Dome. The pleasant surprise came when the Saints took the field with Frenchy Thomas starting at running back. Saints fans spent the better part of the 2007 season waiting for Thomas (or somebody) to take the rushing load away from Reggie Bush (who clearly couldn't handle it alone). Frenchy got the call Sunday and did not disappoint. Bush got his carries... and was a factor in this game (more on that later) but was nowhere near as effective as Thomas was rushing the football. Thomas isn't as flashy as Bush, but runs tough and with a deceptive shiftiness that already has Saints fans comparing him to old favorite Dalton Hilliard. The Saints' offense wasn't perfect Sunday, but with someone besides Bush getting more carries, they're clearly on the right track.
PIERRE THOMAS NOT PICTURED. NOLA.COM, WTF?!
Reggie Bush 3.6 yards per carry Not Reggie 5.2 yards per carry. More Not Reggie, please. - I'll admit it. I have trouble figuring out Drew Brees sometimes. Something about his game is obviously greater than the sum of its parts. Or at least he always looks like he's playing far crappier than he actually is. Observe. Here is a list of comments on Brees I texted to the Tweeter Tube at various points during Sunday's game:
1) (1st Quarter) Brees misses a wide open Devery
2) (2nd Quarter) Brees is off
3) (Still 2nd Quarter) Brees bad throw hangs Colston out to dry (This may have actually been the play where Colston was injured. He was hit hard going after an overthrown slant pass.)
4) (3rd Quarter) Brees bobbles snap So far this is his worst game as a Saint
But was it, though? Here are the numbers. 23 completions in 32 attempts for 343 yards, 3 touchdowns and one interception. The one interception, by the way, was thrown while Brees was being leveled by a blitzing Buc defender. And even though it was returned for a touchdown, it's really difficult to fault Brees for a mistake there. All told, if that's Brees's "worst game as a Saint" shouldn't we just send him to the Hall of Fame right now? And yet there I was in the Superdome repeatedly expressing my frustration while Brees was racking up arguably the best day (second highest yardage total) of any quarterback in the NFL that week. What explains this?
As we said above, the Saints offense, despite the numbers, wasn't exactly in high gear this week. Brees's touchdowns all came on big plays of 39, 84, and 42 yards each. The Saints' only sustained drive of the game resulted in a 34 yard field goal late in the third quarter. The rest of the game, they were shaky and, indeed, frustrating to watch. The Saints can't expect to rely on fluke plays all year and expect to win consistently.
At the same time, Brees wasn't exactly inefficient completing over 70 percent of his passes. Brees made the 84 yard touchdown pass to Devery Henderson hapen by having the presence of mind to look deep on a free play. And the touchdown to Patten was perfectly dropped over the defense. So even if Brees may have looked like crap at times Sunday, the results are impossible to argue with. Someday I'll figure this out well enough not to worry about it as it happens.
Even more puzzling... he's still working with just the one good arm. - By the way, Devery's touchdown might be the best play we've seen him make as a pro. Even the fastest NFL receivers don't usually outrun the coverage. Making a play like that requires much more subtle body control and positioning executed while still running at top speed. Henderson hip checked the defender on that play at exactly the right time to separate himself and still maintained the concentration necessary to catch the ball. It was a big moment for a guy many people thought might not even make the team this year.
There's still hope for Devery yet - Nicely done, Saints D: The Saints' pass defense performed far better against the Bucs on Sunday than at any point all of last season. The pass rush only sacked Jeff Garcia twice but generated consistent pressure all day long. The play in the secondary was nothing short of remarkable. Habitual Saint-killer Joey Galloway was limited to a very human 56 yards receiving with no big back-breaking touchdowns. Rookie corner Tracy Porter turned in several nice plays in single coverage situations knocking away passes which could have gone for big gains... including one in the end zone. Randall Gay was as solid. We also noticed that Jason Craft and Aaron Glenn got on the field while Jason David spent the afternoon just eating up a roster spot for some unknown reason.
The Saints pass defense turned the expectations of the fans on their head... so to speak (okay that was bad... sorry) - Jesus Christ, Saints D: Meanwhile, the Saints' run defense was utter dogshit. Earnest Graham and the fifty-thousand year old Warrick Dunn ripped the Saints for 146 yards (7.3 per carry!) on the ground. An argument could be made here that the Buccaneers blew this game by not simply keeping the ball on the ground more than they did. The Saints just never stopped anything until the quarterback got involved. Sedrick Ellis and Jonathan Vilma were brought in during the offseason to keep this sort of thing from happening. Vilma made 7 solo tackles on Sunday. We only noticed him on passing downs, however. Today Ellis said this ,
"I'm still learning (the three-technique)," Ellis said. "A lot of people think there isn't a big difference between the two positions but there is a big difference, especially in the techniques you have to use against the run. But I'm getting more comfortable."
That makes one of us. This could be a very long season.
If this were the only play in the Bucs' plan, the score might have been 50-0 - Look, people. Reggie Bush just plain sucks. There really is no argument about this. Yes, he had his usual moments as a safety-valve receiver. Yes, he (sort of) scored the game-winning "touchdown". But you can't look at his overall performance and give him a passing grade... hell you can't even convince me he belongs on the team any more.
Bush lobbied this offseason for a more regular role as a punt returner. Watching him perform these duties Sunday was like watching CNN coverage of Hurricane Gustav. In each case the performers clearly have no clue what they're dealing with, often proceed in the wrong direction, and the audience feels like it's just there to gawk in case something awful happens. Plus, we've all seen it so many times, we're numb to and bored by it... perhaps dangerously so. Bush leaps backward... Bush runs sideways... Bush twists pointlessly... all for no gain or worse. Bush badly misjudged one punt which sailed 20 yards over his head before being downed inside the Saints' 10. With Reggie Bush handling the punt return duties, the Saint started 4 of their first 7 possessions inside their own 20..... 3 of those inside the 10. What the hell is the guy doing out there?
Meanwhile, we won't mention the 3.6 yards per carry. It just bores me. Oh what the hell let's at least mention the fact that it is actually skewed a bit on the high side since 26 yards of Bush's total came on one play... which he then managed to countermand by 15 yards anyway by committing a face mask penalty at the end of his run.
And then, of course, there's that game-winning touchdown. What can we say but... uh no. Not even close. Not even by two yards was that even near something we would consider a touchdown. The fact that Gruden didn't challenge that call combined with the Buccaneers' self-defeating unwillingness to stick to their running game is grounds for firing the coach right now if I'm a Tampa fan. But that's not the scariest thing about that botched call. The scariest thing about it is that it may be an indicator that Reggie Bush is beginning to receive the dreaded star treatment from the referees. The only thing worse than Reggie Bush is Reggie Bush benefiting from the corrupt favoritism of NFL officials. Please, God, do not let this be the beginning of a trend.
All this AND we have to share the Dome with Kardashians? This may be the worst football season ever before it's overwith - Pants factor: In this game, the Saints wore their traditional gold pants (with white jerseys) instead of their alternate black leotard get-up. In the past, we have noted not only that the black pants are a gaudy fashion offense but also that the Saints seem to perform much more poorly while wearing them. The 2007 Saints were 5-3 in gold pants and 1-6 in the black. (The win against Jacksonville was disqualified since the Jaguars wore nearly identical pants that day) This year, we will keep a running count of the pants-to-performance relationship. The properly panted Saints are now 1-0.
The key to beating the Saints this year may be catching them without their gold pants. Cato June seems to have that in mind here. - All-douche play of the game: During the second quarter, Reggie Bush badly whiffed on a block in pass protection forcing Brees to dump the ball early on a screen pass to Jeremy Shockey. The play went for -1 yards. Seeing Bush and Shockey combine for negative yardage in this fashion was another indicator of just how long this season could be.
The Saints are hoping Shockey picks up some of the slack with Marques Colston out of the mix. Seems a bit over-hopeful. - What happened to Roman Harper? Somewhere during the fourth quarter, I noticed Josh "Never Mind The" Bullocks in there missing a bunch of tackles. Harper didn't show up on the injury report. Was he benched? Why?
Update: Harper has a hamstring injury. This could be a very long season. - Hollis Thomas is now officially out for the year. This could be a very long season.
Update: Hollis Thomas is not necessarily gone for the year.... just probably gone from the Saints.Apparently, defensive tackle Hollis Thomas was released with an injury settlement rather than placed on injured reserve on Wednesday, making him eligible to re-sign with the Saints or any other NFL team this season.
Saints Coach Sean Payton explained that the Saints decided to keep that window open, even if it meant possibly losing Thomas to another team. If Thomas had been placed on injured reserve, he would not have been eligible to return this season.
Payton said the Saints will stay in touch with Thomas as he continues to rehab from his torn triceps, with the possibility of bringing him back down the road.
Good luck, Hollis. It's a long season. - Just after halftime, an uncomfortably large representation of Bob Breck (wearing Saints jersey number 30) appeared on the jumbotron with an update on the bearings of Hurricane Ike. The crowd booed for two minutes. We assume they were booing Ike and not Breck... but who knows?
Some fans were actually prepared for the Ike-jeering interlude
After evacuating the Superdome, we reconvened at a local... reasonably priced... drinking establishment mainly to poll random people on whether or not they planned to evacuate for the next hurricane. The standard answer was one or another version of, "Not if they won't let me back in." Next year could be a very long Hurricane Season.
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