It's a lot easier and much more favorable to write this today as the Saints defeated Atlanta in overtime today on the road. The Saints held off a hard charging Atlanta Falcon team at the end of regulation to avoid defeat as the Falcons settled for an overtime forcing field goal. Truth be told, this was a game the Saints should have had well in hand long before the end of regulation.
Consider this: the Saints had the ball and good field position leading into the end of the first half and to start the second half and sputtered poorly. Once they got the lead a huge turnover put the Saints in position to take a comfortable lead but fell short settling for a field goal. The 10 point lead was quickly cut to 3 but the Saints drove and sputtered again, settling for another field goal that, although good, was wiped out by another Saints penalty and now points are taken off the board. Despite a punt that put the Falcons inside their own 5 yard line, they drove easily and could have won out. A stiffening defense forced that let's go to overtime field goal.
They won in overtime because of two factors: Falcon coach Smith decided to go for a fourth and less than 1 from their own 29 and the Saints defense absolutely positively manned up and stopped the run. A big wow moment; literally transforming NFL instant death overtime to advantage Saints. And the Saints indeed efficiently moved the ball inside the Atlanta 10 where John Kasay comes in and boots the Saints to victory. A hard fought and well deserved victory but one that could have been easier with great execution.
So at 7-3 with 6 games to go and a game and a half lead over the Falcons and now a 3 game lead over Tampa, will the Saints respond and drive this homestretch all the way to an elite playoff run? Who knows? With Drew Brees and this fantastic stable of wide receivers and tight ends we could. With a better than just good offensive line, we could. Now, if we needed to depend on our running game, we could not. Despite great efforts against the winless Colts and an overrated Tampa, the Saints can hardly run the ball. Pierre Thomas does not look like the Super Bowl year running back he was. What's the deal here? Rookie Ingram shows only flashes of brilliance, overall very inconsistent. Chris Ivory, I believe is there best back, but he can't stay on the field. And Sproles, we're gonna get him killed one day but he is darn fast. He had a tough game today.
What about the defense? Sometimes this defense can be offensive. Over the course of ten weeks now we have seen them get gashed for way too many big plays; runs and passes of 20, 30, 40 and more yards. We have seen them be unable to stop drives and prevent third down conversions. Just today they let the Falcons tie it up on what could have been a 90+ yard drive. The d-line needs many more sacks, the linebackers need more speed, although their play has been better lately and the defensive backs get beat way too much. Today though Greer had a great game, Roman Harper is playing tough against the run. But their biggest atrocity; overall, they produce a mediocre number of turnovers.
We go into the home stretch with a good punter and an old kicker. While John Kasay missed an important field goal today he did hit four, including some at the high end of his range. And that's another story, what is his range; 45-47 yards?
My point in this very amateur essay is to say the Saints are 7-3 and first place in the South. The loss on the road to Green Bay was not awful and the loss to Tampa on the road, when head coach Payton was severly hurt, still could have been a win. But the b.s. in St. Louis is the kind of things that can make the Saints go from great, Super Bowl eligible team, to a good team that can make the playoffs but; well, Seattle comes to mind.
As a fan; I strongly say Geaux Saints. I still remember with great glee, the Super Bowl season and that pinnacle victory that brought the Lombardi home to New Orleans. Last year was 11-5, with losses that were hard to comprehend(Cleveland and Arizona) and then the playoff debacle in the Pacific Northwest. And now, at 7-3, we have the St. Louis memory fresh in our minds. To return to the 2009 type of team the Saints must eliminate silly losses, force more turnovers, have a more consistently tough defense and learn how to run the ball again. It is my hope as a fan and hope as a football purist that these things occur and we can truly say: Who Dat; Two Dat. Geaux Saints!
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