Back to Basics or The Thankless Job of Winning 9 in a Row

We're going to try something a little different this week. It has become our custom to introduce these game re-caps with an amusing item or two about breast cancer or alcoholism or theoretical physics or swine flu or, well, whatever. But, in recent weeks, we've come to feel like we've gotten a bit too carried away with ourselves for our own good. Last week's monstrosity, for example, had to be broken into installments the first of which was hardly even about football at all. And that was a good week. Twice this season, we've had football posts languishing in draft too long to make it out before the next week's kickoff. Something needs to be done about this.

In a way we're beginning to understand the ninnies around town who complain about too much Saints coverage in what's left of the local paper. There's a bunch of other stuff going on right now that we'd love to chime in on but our beloved Saints are holding up the goddamn lunch line. In order for the Yellow Blog to function properly as a regular publication we need to get the football out of the way by Wednesday at the latest. And so this week we're stripping down the bullshit and working on the fundamentals, as we imagine the bewildered Saints might want to try as well.

• Department of Self Reference Item #1: Well at least we made quota At the beginning of the season, we guesstimated the Saints' win total at 9. As we are not too proud to point out repeatedly, we nailed the pre-season prediction in 2007 AND 2008 exactly. In order to keep our streak going, the Saints would have to lose their next 7. We're not saying it can't happen but it doesn't seem too likely at this point. Apologies to all who may have lost money based on our advice.



• Department of Self Reference Item #2: A cloud in every silver lining In last week's post we shared an observation about one of our least favorite Saints.

  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.

  On Sunday, Bush broke free for 98 combined yards (including a career best 55 yard run) and two touchdowns. We suppose this should be the point where we can write, Aha! We are some brilliant motherfuckers up in here! But why do that when we can scour our T-P sports page for some way to read something negative into it? Here's what Bush had to say about his performance.

  "I think we were catching them in their nickel personnel, and I think that's why we were so successful in the running game when I was in there."

  What we're wondering here is, did the Saints "catch" the Rams in this personnel grouping or did the Rams plan it that way? What we mean is, if you had to game plan against the Saints' offense and you figured out a way to make them attack you with their least reliable and most turnover-prone enigma of a back, wouldn't you try and do that? It's possible that the Rams managed to dictate the game to the Saints offense a bit this week. What happens if a team with the personnel to handle that assignment figures out how to do that too?
  
  
  Hello I'm that patsy you ordered. Sorry about whipping your ass and everything. It's not what usually happens.



• The trend everyone is talking about In their last four games, the Saints' defense has given up 128 yards to Ronnie Brown/Ricky Williams, 151 yards to Michael Turner, 149 yards to DeAngelo Williams, and 131 yards to Steven Jackson. DeAngelo Williams ran 66 yards on the Panthers' second play from scrimmage. Jackson went for 30 on the Rams' second play. You know the line about something being a feature, not a bug? The Saints' weakness against a physical running attack is definitely a feature. And the thing about a feature is that it's something you can't fix until the next version comes out. If Sedrick Ellis comes back at near 100% (not likely) it will help a little but it won't make this problem go away. The only thing the Saints can do about it this season is keep scoring enough points that it doesn't matter. In all likelihood this will mean the Saints will have to score at the very least between 24 and 27 points per game if they expect to keep winning. Against the Rams, they got close to the acceptable minimum there.
  
  
  Usama Young mildly annoys Steven Jackson just prior to remaining on the ground.
  



• Of course, Jackson wasn't doing it alone out there. Marc Bulger chewed through the Saints pretty darn well himself. Saints fans will try to tell you that the defense was hurt by the absence of Darren Sharper, but that's a difficult thing to get a read on when you're busy watching Randall Gay fall down all day long. Here are two times giving up a 20 yard or longer touchdown pass is unforgivably stupid. 1) on 3rd and 15, like the Saints did in the 2nd Quarter and 2) with 2:44 left to play, like the Saints did... with 2:44 left to play.



• The trends nobody has mentioned So that's four games in a row now where the Saints have had to come from behind. The Miami game was a bit different but each of the last three has definitely seen a less inspiring Saints team than the game before it. The talk around town pins this mostly on injuries but here are two factors we can't help but notice. 1) The week following the Miami game brought with it the infamously unlucky Sports Illustrated cover. It's hard to say the Saints were "jinxed" since they've gone 3-0 since then. But still it's the worst stretch of football all year and it follows immediately upon the SI cover.
  
  
  
  2) The Monday Night game vs Atlanta brought with it the 2009 debut of the infamously unlucky and certainly unfashionable black pants. We were hoping we wouldn't have to deal with the pants problem yet again this season but there it is. The worst stretch of football all year and it's all improperly panted.
  
  
  Black pants also not so great on knee support



• Is anyone else wondering if Morstead can kick field goals? Because the answer is heck yes he can!

  "I try to think of myself as a utility guy," said Morstead, who also served as Southern Methodist's field-goal kicker for three seasons and made 70 percent of his attempts. He hasn't been asked to prepare himself for any field-goal attempts in New Orleans.
  
  "I practice it enough, a small enough amount to where I don't get yelled at for working on it too much," Morstead said of field-goal kicking. "But I want them to know in a pinch, if we needed a 58-yarder and it's a tie game, and there's nothing to lose, they'd feel comfortable with putting me out there."

  
  
  It turns out Morstead's career longest successful attempt in college was 52 yards which is just about exactly where he would have been kicking from if the Saints had decided to give him a shot on their final possession of the game. I'm not saying it would have been a brilliant move but I am saying it would have been fun.
  
  Fun Fact: In 2008, Thomas Morstead ran for a 34 yard gain on a fake punt vs Tulane; another as yet untapped skill to keep in mind.



• This would usually be where I get to say, "Calm the fuck down, people" But here's the way a better writer puts it... if I may take the liberty of selective quotation,

  Cha… ching? Pop quiz, hotshot: What happens when an unprecedented level of success, an impossible-to-maintain early season hot streak and a far-crappier-than-expected midseason performance collide with the acute neurosis of a fatalistic fanbase who just can’t shake the notion that it’s only a matter of time before all their hopes and dreams slip from their grasp for the 42nd consecutive time?
  
  Answer: Panic.

  
  
  ---long digression with some sort of late 70s era TV theme---
  
  

  Oh sure, the cosmos is mocking us right now, to a degree. For old times’ sake, I’m sure. But if 9-0 and the prospect of Porter being healthy and hell bent for leather come playoff time aren’t proof positive that these ain’t the old times, then what’s it gonna take?
  
  The Saints have still yet to relinquish a lead all season. They still lead the league in takeaways. They still have the best quarterback in the league when his head isn’t up his ass. They still lead the league in total offense. They’re still 4th place all-time in scoring through 9 games. They rushed for 200+ yards Sunday, led by Reggie Bush, no less. All indications are that Ellis, Sharper, Greer, Porter and Lance Moore have dodged bullets that would have each on its own severed an artery in any other year. And dammit, they’re 9-0 for crying out loud!

  
  
  Here's the thing. I've lived long enough now to see snow in New Orleans three times and two 9 game Saints winning streaks. Can any of you honestly say that isn't worth the price of your 2009 admission already? What are we so apprehensive about?
  
  The next line in Wang's post reads "So I implore you, for the love of fuck, BELIEVE ALREADY! The only vicious cycle left to be broken is our own." My point is that one doesn't even have to "BELIEVE ALREADY" to know that we're all going to remember this season for a long long time after it's over no matter what happens. It's entirely possible that the Saints could come back down to Earth a bit in the next few weeks. Hell, given the obvious weaknesses observant fans have suddenly begun to fixate on, they could even implode altogether. But: 1) They probably won't. 2) They definitely won't go 0 for 7 (Yellow Blog prediction be dammned) And 3) Wow if they did, that's not a half-bad story to tell the grandkids either, is it? So quit whining. Either you're looking at the greatest football season ever or you're looking at the greatest trainwreck ever. Any of you who pray to St. Buddy should understand there's entertainment in this any way you look at it.
  
  
  St. Buddy: Patron of "Laughing off hard truths in New Orleans" (BTW I snapped this photo through a French Quarter gallery window in 2007. I still don't know who the artist is. Anyone? Update: The artist there is Robert Guthrie Check it out.)
  
  Next Week: How many 1-7 teams do the Saints have to almost get burned by before they get some respeck up in here? That and maybe something about how wrong Bob Roesler once was... unless something shiny distracts us.