Saints vs Panthers (Second half observations)
- How the game was won: I hate hate hate to do this but I have to say that this year Sean Payton has done probably the most passably acceptable coaching job I've seen in many years. ("Passably acceptable" being just about the highest praise I can think to bestow on a football coach) Here are three things I never imagined I'd be able to say about a coach. Sean Payton 1) more often than not admits his mistakes 2) Usually learns from them and 3) Usually doesn't panic or clam up in bad situations.
The Saints came back in the second half, no doubt buoyed by our presence, but also because Payton stuck with his commitment to a balanced offense. The Saints began the second half down by more than ten points. Previous Saints coaches in this situation would have thrown the game plan out the window and just started chucking the ball on every down. On Sunday the Saints held the ball for 26 plays in the second half. 13 of those were runs, 12 were passes (1 was a QB kneel at the end of the game) People like to talk and write about the Saints' defensive improvement this season. But I think the biggest difference has been Payton's realization that you can't win if you can't run. It's allowed the Saints better control of the clock and of their opponents. It's no coincidence that they've gotten stronger in the second half of every game this season. This is what complete teams do.
Frenchy Thomas and his super-high tech mouthpiece (see how it scientifically keeps him balanced): 81 yards rushing and receiving - Who won the game Here's the situation. The Saints have the ball holding a 3 point with less than three minutes to play. Much to the chagrin of r, but more to my liking, Coach Soupy decides to keep the ball on the ground and force the Panthers to use their final timeouts.
NO 1st&10 NO48 Pierre Thomas Off Left End to NO47 for -1 yards
NO 2nd&11 NO47 Carolina Panthers timeout.
NO 2nd&11 NO47 Mike Bell Off Right Guard to Car50 for 3 yards
NO 3rd&8 Car50 Carolina Panthers timeout.
NO 3rd&8 Car50 Drew Brees Pass Incomplete to Jeremy Shockey
The Saints don't pick up a first down but it's okay because here comes the 2009 MVP to set up the kill shot.NO 4th&8 Car50 Thomas Morstead punts 48 yards to Car2, Center-Jason Kyle. Downed
Let's just say 98 yard two minute drill with no timeouts isn't exactly Jake Delhomme's forte. This game has ended thanks be to Morstead.
Saints 2009 MVP Thomas Morstead - What happened after the game was won just to make us all extra-cheery The defense scored another touchdown. This time it was Anthony Hargrove who scooped up a fumble and put the game out of reach with two minutes left to play. This pleases us a great deal since Hargrove has been one of our favorite Saints since the moment he joined the team. We like football players who have a bit of a sense of humor about themselves.
If anyone knows about making the most out of second chances, it's Hargrove, who had admittedly hit rock-bottom in his life and football career last year.
He was suspended for a full year by the NFL after a series of substance-abuse violations and arrests, and by his account, he was down to his last second chance when the Saints signed him in May.
But so far, the 26-year-old has made the most of it, rewarding the Saints with a valuable role player with a knack for making big plays.
"Usually by this time of year I'm in jail or been arrested or failed a drug test or something. If you look back, that's how it is. I get about a month in and go AWOL," Hargrove said. "It's November, I haven't been arrested, I haven't failed a drug test. Seriously, I have to call a spade a spade. That's my reality. I'm in a very new place right now."
Here's something else we wrote in our pre-season outlook:Anthony Hargrove will have the greatest impact of any newcomer this season. Quick, versatile, and motivated, Hargrove looks like a guy who knows he's getting a second chance and wants to make the most of it. The Saints' coaches think he may be another LaRoi Glover and I'm inclined to agree with them.
Of course, everyone knows the Saints newcomer who has had the greatest impact so far has been Thomas Morstead. (Darren Sharper hasn't been too bad either) But Hargrove is starting to come on and it's making a pretty sweet football season all the better.
One of the guys we're pulling for - Gratuitous shout-out to Devery Henderson We love that nobody dares pick on Devery anymore. Sure, Marques Colston has been pretty ok (although he admitted to having his worst game this week) and Poochie has been a bigger part of the offense this year, but has any receiver been more of a consistent threat than Devery Henderson this season? Devery's 63 yard catch and run helped to spark the Saints' comeback. (That and our arrival at the stadium) Two years ago, if I had told you Devery Henderson was going to develop into "the glue" of the Saints' receiving corps, you would have laughed. Now, not so much.
Devery: Another one of the guys we're pulling for - Quick note on somebody we don't typically pull for This is hard to explain but watching Reggie Bush run last week, we sort of got the feeling that maybe he's starting to feel his oats a bit. He's not our favorite player but it just... looks like he might be ready to break one soon. Keep an eye on this.
I mentioned this to r who says, "It's not like we don't want him to do it, but hello could you do it already?" - We gotta get on some sort of a better schedule here It's been a little weird around Yellow Blogging world HQ lately but we really are resolved to start cranking these gameday posts out earlier in the week from now on. Meanwhile since we're finishing this one within 24 hours of the next kickoff, we might as well finish up with an appropriate segway from the Youtubes.
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