One example of the capricious hazards of sport with which Saints fans are familiar unfolds this way. A competitor tracks the path of a ball in play. It is sailing a bit high but not necessarily out of range. It may be just as well to let this one go and prepare for the next play but the athlete, being lost in the moment of competition, makes a move on it anyway. But this act of laying one's body out awkwardly for the sake of the play, leaves the athlete out of position to recover proper balance before the ground grabs at a cleat and a knee buckles under too much force applied in the wrong direction. And, in an instant, a minor moment in the game becomes the beginning of an extended period of recovery for a wounded warrior.
While Saints fans will recognize the above sequence as descriptive of the event that deprived their team of running back Deuce McAllister for the remainder of 2007, it is in fact an account of an injury sustained by Menckles during a highly spirited Hooverball match this past Sunday in Maryland. (Hooverwhat, you ask?) While Menckles managed to walk off of the court under (mostly) her own power, the knee is still swollen and she is generally moving around on crutches. The doctor suspects she may have torn some cartilage but can't be certain without an MRI which... of course... insurance doesn't cover. (Meanwhile, leading Republican Presidential candidates argue that Americans currently receive too much health care) For the time being, she is listed as day-to-day but could be questionable for this Sunday's trek to the top of the Superdome when the Falcons come to visit.
The evening following the injury, I managed to catch most of the properly-panted Saints' first win of 2007 against the Seattle Seahawks. Here quickly is the late-week recap:
(All photos, once again, yanked right off the T-P Gallery)
- Although the 2006 Saints were already 2-0 coming into their home-opener against Atlanta, most fans will trace the beginnings of the real "magic" of that season to a touchdown scored off a mishap by the opposing team's punt unit. If there is to be a miraculous resurgence from the left-for-dead 2007 Saints, is it not fitting that such a run should begin with a similar play?
Nice pants - Some players the Saints expected to play a larger role this season, are finally making a significant contribution. David Patten, who should have been playing more from the outset, caught 8 passes for 113 yards. Lance Moore, Pierre Thomas, and Eric Johnson each scored touchdowns.
Nice pants - Good Devery Henderson: Devery did not participate in the offense this week and so did not confound and frustrate Saints coaches and fans with his unpredictable inconsistent play.
Good Jason David: David, the Saints marquee free agent acquisition this season, did not participate in the defense this week and so did not confound and frustrate Saints fans and coaches by being badly burned for big plays and touchdowns by opposing receivers.
A round of applause, please, for Jason David and Devery Henderson both who, we are certain, looked sharp in their street clothes and/or gold pants. - Much is being said this week about the improved pass rush of a "more aggressive" Saints defense. I think this has less to do with the play calling than it does with the fact that tackles Brian Young and Hollis Thomas are finally healthy and in shape. The Saints run defense also has improved markedly since Thomas has become more involved in the DT rotation over the past few weeks. The Saints had five sacks Sunday night two of them coming from a blitzing Roman Harper who is starting to show some of the physical play the Saints have been expecting from him.
Nice Pants - Ever since they started stringing these camera contraptions on cables above the field, I've been waiting (maybe even hoping a little) for the day when one of them comes crashing down onto the field. Sunday night it finally happened. Are these cameras really even necessary? How many thousands of angles does a football game really need to be shot from?
Hey look, it's Skylab! Isn't football dangerous enough already? - Uh oh, the other team's kicker sucks! In addition to botching a snap on a punt that led to an early Saints touchdown, the Seahawks kicking unit also allowed Josh "Never Mind The" Bullocks to break through the line and block a field goal in the second quarter. Meanwhile, Olindo Mare was 4/4 on extra points and did not have to attempt any field goals... thank God.
It's the pants. They're pretty nice. - On a more discouraging note, the Saints, despite a near-dominating performance for most of the game, could easily have blown this one. The reason? The Saints had seven second-half possessions resulting in five punts and one Reggie Bush fumble (the Saints' final possession ended when Drew Brees kneeled to kill the clock). A slightly more efficient Seahawks team could easily have taken advantage of these multiple opportunities to retake the game. For all of Bush's first quarter flash, he simply wasn't there when the Saints needed him to help grind out the clock. Now that Pierre Thomas has gotten his feet wet a bit, perhaps it's time to give him a few more carries so that we don't have to hand the ball to an out-of-position slot receiver at clutch time.
Nice pants, douchebag.
In three days, Joe Horn and the Atlanta Falcons arrive in the Superdome to face the Saints for the first time this season. Will the Saints keep the momentum going? Can Menkles make it up the Terrace steps? Will the dreaded (and now discredited) awful black pants make an unwelcome return? Can somebody squeeze into a runoff against Bobby Jindal? Answers coming after the weekend.
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