When the team is on the verge of successfully digging itself out of an 0-4 chasm, the pressure to play hurt in this kind of big game is ramped up markedly. In such a situation, players with painfully damaged joints or muscles will ply their bodies with all manner of braces, tape jobs, and narcotics to make the lineup. Likewise, fans will do whatever it takes to overcome that still smarting Hooverball knee or those unnecessary shots of Bärenjäger from the previous evening to climb those Superdome steps, suck down those bloody marys, plant their asses in those seats and demand some damn value for their entertainment dollars. Sunday was such a moment.
Saints vs Jags (All photos, as always, are shameless hotlinks to files in the NOLA.com online gallery. Oh, except for the ones I also stole from the Jacksonville Times-Union)
- This week's Dome Complaint: While it is our general custom to arrive at the Superdome via bicycle, that part of the game plan had to be scrapped this week since, as I've already noted, we were "playing hurt". Menckles was still suffering limited mobility and endurance in her knee and I was still suffering the effects of the above mentioned Bärenjäger. And so this week we took a cab and hobbled the few blocks up Girod Street from Loyola Ave to the Superdome where we figured we we still had ample time to spare before kickoff.
But oh how wrong that figuring turned out to be. For some unknown reason, the Superdome was operating fewer entry gates than usual this week resulting in a massive line backup. I watched the kickoff and much of the opening series on the television just outside of Gate D. My first look at this game was disappointing not only because it came from outside the building, but also because it revealed to my absolute horror that the dreaded black pants were back. What the hell could the Saints have been thinking? Not only are those black unitards dreadful unsightly fashion mishaps, but they've also been a proven bringer of bad things footballwise this season. Here are the Saints with a chance to nullify one of the worst starts in franchise history and they dare to come out dressed like this? I was beside myself with outrage until I took a moment and squinted once more at the tiny TV above the heads of the overwhelmed Superdome security staff and realized... THE JAGUARS WERE WEARING THE SAME STUPID BLACK PANTS. The curse would not affect the Saints today. This game was a pants push. Energized by this thought, I resolved to continue shuffling forward with the rest of the stupified crowd being uncomfortably.. and lately... funneled into the building.
Don't you just hate it when the other girls wear the same outfit as you? Makes you want to hit someone in the face, doesn't it?
Of course, section 617 is at the very top of the Dome and getting there from the gate takes some doing in and of itself. The difficulty of the ascent is exacerbated when one is hobbled in the knee... or addled in the brain... and even worse when one is making the desperate climb along with a crush of other fans who have been similarly delayed by Superdome management issues. But that's not the worst part.
Having finally reached the concession area near our section, I knew by the wooziness in my stomach and the tightness in my head that I could not progress all the way to my seat without my Sunday morning life-saving hair of the dog. Of course, since the bloody mary line was almost as bad as the line at the gate, I was made to stand and sway dizzily with only the public address announcer and the crowd reactions to clue me in as to what was transpiring on the field. By the time I reached my seat I was understandably upset since I had heard but not seen the Saints follow a field goal with an onside kick, Reggie Bush score a touchdown, and the Jaguars complete an 80 yard touchdown pass burning the Saints marquee free agent acquisition Jason David in the process.
Okay so it's not like that was too hard to imagine.
Goddammit! I thought, Here I am just falling into my chair and I've already missed all the fireworks in this game. Oh how wrong that turned out to be. - Nobody could have predicted that these teams were just getting warmed up. Heading into this weekend, all the national attention focused on the Patriots and Colts matchup, which turned out to be an entertaining game as well, but it's hard to argue against Saints-Jags as the most exciting game of the weekend as it featured,
- An onside kick
- An 80 yard touchdown pass
- A kickoff returned for a touchdown
- An interception returned for a touchdown
- A 57 yard pass to a tight end
Plus, the following remarkable sequence:
With less than two minutes to play in the half, the Saints have a seven point lead and are about to receive a Jacksonville punt. Coach Soupy gets a bit desperate for a big play before halftime and chooses this moment to humor Reggie Bush's ego by letting him return his obligatory one punt of the game. Naturally, Bush DROPS THE BALL at his own 33 yard line. Luckily, the Saints cover the ball and avert what could have been a disastrous moment.
The Saints then quickly move the ball into Jacksonville territory as Brees hits Patten for 36 yards, and then Bush for 5 yards... oh wait... no that's Bush for zero yards after he's finished running sideways and backwards as is his custom. On the next play, Brees fumbles (OH NOES!!) but wait... the replay shows Brees's arm was clearly going forward. Certainly this will be reviewed... but wait... the refs are ignoring the replay and spotting the ball. The crowd is booing lustily. The Jaguars are about to snap the ball... but wait... now the play is reviewed and, after a long five minutes, the Saints retain possession.
Olindo Mare trots out onto the field. (Uh oh! He sucks!) Mare's kick is wide right. The crowd boos lustily once again.
Uh oh, the kicking suckery is almost beyond belief!
Jacksonville takes over with fifty seconds remaining and they immediately go after Jason David again. But this time it doesn't work. This time David runs the ball down and makes a spectacular over-the-shoulder interception giving the Saints the ball at their own 24.
Jason David: The Saints' marquee free agent acquisition of 2007
Brees then takes the Saints right back down the field in only three plays, the third being a pass to Bush who runs out of bounds (we know he can do that) at the Jacksonville 34 with eight seconds on the clock.
Again, Mare runs out onto the field. Again, the crowd boos lustily. Again, the kick floats wide right. The fans don't know whether laugh at the absurdity or cry at the futility of two missed field goals in less than two minutes.
And that, my friends, is what you call getting your money's worth on the price of admission. - Also worth paying to see these days is that overachieving Saints defense. The Saints held a seventh consecutive opponent under 100 yards rushing. No Saints defense has accomplished this since 1991. The feat is even more remarkable this week as it comes against one of the league's most aggressive running teams in Jacksonville and while the Saints were playing without starters Brian Young and Scott Shanle and with a limited Charles Grant.
Saints D. Confounding, yes. But who can complain? - Meanwhile, the Saints' offense truly clicked for the first time this season. There's something sneaky about the Saints' passing attack when it's on. The short rhythm passes chew up a surprising amount of yardage that you don't really notice while it's happening. At the end of the game, when Brees's stats were announced (445 yards passing) the general reaction was, "What? When?" Because Brees still can't throw the deep ball well (He badly missed an open Devery Henderson on one of his few attempts Sunday) most of his passing yards are compiled by receivers running with the ball after the catch. They are able to do this effectively when Brees is throwing the short routes accurately and hitting people in stride. In 2006, Drew Brees did this better than most NFL quarterbacks. Yesterday, he did it exceptionally well for the first time in 2007.
Even Billy Miller gets to rip off a 57 yard catch and run when Brees is on the mark. - The most encouraging item coming out of this game is the way the Saints dominated the Jaguars on both sides of the ball at the line of scrimmage. In addition to the defense holding a highly rated rushing Jacksonville offense under 100 yards rushing, the Saints offensive line kept an aggressive Jags pass rush at bay giving Brees ample time to find his receivers. I have criticized the Saints all season long for their ducking finesse style. This week they faced perhaps their biggest and most physical opponent yet and handled them convincingly.
Still there is one thing missing. When Brees's precision passing is off, even by a little bit as it has been at times this year, the drop-off in efficiency is palpable. It would be nice to know that the Saints could lean on a tough running game behind their improving line to take the pressure off of the quarterback at times. It's the fact that the team's top runner is still a slim-hipped wispy acrobat with a somewhat unorthodox style that makes this a difficult thing to develop.
Look out! He's doing that Fre Flo Do again! - After the game, Bush (apparently in collaboration with Soupy) described the Saints' mental approach to their recent success in virtual Naginesque off-the-wall terms.
"Parmesan cheese, gouda cheese, Kraft single cheese, whatever it is, any kind of cheese people want to feed us. It's just staying focused and not allowing your head to get too big, because if you eat too much cheese you may get sick ... especially if you're lactose intolerant."
Bush knows of what he speaks when it comes to cheesiness. Remember, this is the guy who dated Kim Kardashian.
"Playing hurt" drains you. Especially when you're playing Bärenjäger hurt. At the end of this one, all I wanted to do was lie down. But first, we had to catch a cab home... and a day at the Superdome can drain you financially as well as physically... so, well, we wound up wandering the stadium corridors for quite some time after the game in search of an ATM. It turns out that the concession stands on the lower levels offer a much wider variety of menu items than those behind section 617 where all we get is nachos and hot dogs. (Okay so there's this one table up there with red beans and gumbo but it's kind of an afterthought.) I might have been miffed if I were in any condition to be. But I'd had all I could take. I found the ATM, paid the ridiculous four dollar fee for access to my own money, and wobbled out onto the street in search of a ride and then, perhaps, some comfort food to calm my out-of-control hangover... preferably something with cheese.
Update: Post has been edited several times post-publication in order to correct my glaring typos, grammatical errors, sloppy word choice and such. I may have to keep doing this, if I happen to read over the post again. I'm kind of a crappy writer sometimes.
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