About two months ago I reacted to the reality of the Saints dismal start. Once things reached 0-4, coupled with the horrendous defensive effort we were witnessing everyday, things looked bleak. I do not think I predicted a final record, but I was thinking 5 or 6 wins tops. Without a doubt, that 0-4 start was and still is a huge hole from which they will forever be digging out from. Yet with all this being said, today's victory over the Oakland Raiders has moved this once 0-4 team to 5-5. In fact, the Saints have won 5 of their last 6 games. Even the normally skeptical abitadeacon is very impressed with their comeback efforts.
I will keep it real however and remind you my readers and myself that this winning streak is the now reality and no future promise of a big winning season and a guaranteed trip to the playoffs. Rather, this should be celebrated for what it is; a great comeback that has moved the Saints to .500. In the next six weeks the Saints must face San Francisco, Atlanta on the road, Dallas, the NY Giants, as well as Tampa Bay and Carolina. I would suspect the Saints will be pre-game underdogs 3 times against this schedule. But the games are yet to be played and well, anything is possible. With the Saints playing good ball again, and the defense a little better, we still have a chance.
When the Saints beat Atlanta last week you had to sit up and take notice. Playing Oakland on the road, you had to hope for a win. Little did many of us expect such a one-sided victory as we got today. Drew Brees is really back at the top of his game. The receivers and TE Jimmy Graham remain the best in the business. But now, the running game has found it's legs. Mark Ingram has awoken and seems to be excited to run for daylight as a Saint. That is good news. It took way too long but finally the coaches inserted Chris Ivory into the lineup and he has been all good news. Despite injuries, the deep Saints offensive line is doing great.
What about the defense? It has been a hot mess all year and is continuing to give up yardage in droves. But now, we seem to have a bend, not break attitude. The defense is stopping drives. The opponents are settling for FG's. And the defense is also forcing turnovers with today's results among the seasons best. The return of Jonathan Vilam has been huge!
So we need to celebrate tonight the Saints recent good fortune and realize that being 5-5, after being 0-4, is huge. We also need to keep the faith and support the Saints, one game at a time! After all, things seem a little brighter now!
No comments:
Post a Comment