You can smell the "great finish"*.
Well, it might not have been a "great" finish over the Falcons, but, like the Miami game, the Saints found ways to overcome mistakes that would've proven tragically lethal for any other Saints team. And, given the history of this franchise, that's a "great" step in its own way. Quite simply, this year, on the crucial downs where the game seems to hang in the balance, the Saints make clutch plays. That's especially sweet when it happens during a rivalry game.
With all due respect to the other defensive and offensive units and the coaches, the primary difference this year is the Saints' opportunistic, take-away pass defense. Long ago I learned that the element that (often) separates the elite teams from the rest is great pass defense. The execution of the secondary (read: "pick 6" interceptions) takes this team from "very solid" to "great". Granted, we love the Saints' "intangibles" (leadership, confidence, attitude, luck, made luck, beneficial calls, opponents' unforced errors... etc) and the coaching (great offensive and defensive schemas). We love when Brees throws to Marques "Big Smooth" Colston (or anyone else, for that matter). We love the Frenchy/Bell running game, the pressure blitzes, (and we understand that this pressure helps to set up the interceptions that distinguish this team). We love Morestead's leg... but still, to use a gender-specific description: the Saints' secondary is one dangerous hombre, one macho muchacho, one alpha male dog.
The talking heads hosting the MNF ESPN telecast sung the praises of the Saints all night long. It was almost nauseating-- and I'm a fan. When Chucky started demonstrating the special mouthpieces the Saints have that align their chakras or something, I rolled my eyes so far that I got dizzy. Liprap informs us that these mouthpieces were a creation from Doktor Moreau's island laboratory, which is disturbing. This is write your own punchline territory, btw.
Concerned fan pipes up: "But Oyster, that's part of the problem. It sounds like an absurd concern, but with the easiest remaining schedule in the league, there's a real danger that the Saints might go undefeated in the regular season. If they do, all of this tertiary nonsense and media puff-n-fluff will inevitably take its toll and the Saints will lose focus in the playoffs. We don't want that."
Yeah, but whatcha gonna do? Tamp down every fan's ecstatic throes so it will help Saints players focus? Please. Just enjoy the ride.
*
Tuesday, November 03, 2009
The Saints are like nicely restored wood furniture
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Why oh why was St. Payton not taking a knee late in the game last night?
Was it because he didn't want to lose any yardage, ala the Brunell sack that brought him under the magical 600 yard mark against the-at that time-vaunted G-Men Defense?
Was it hubris?
That's the only real issue I can see with him at this point.
As for Drew Brees. 6 Turnovers in the last two games. He needs to bear down!
It was obvious why he was not taking a knee. The Falcons had time outs to use and he wanted to run the ball to try and get a first down. 32 out of 32 coaches would have done the same thing.
The problem is that when Bell's forward progress was stopped, the play was not blown over. This allowed for a strip and a Falcon recovery. This was one of many mistakes that the officiating crew made last night. (Like the clear helmet to helmet blow that caused Brees to fumble near the endzone OR the clear push off pass interference that was ignored).
Now, when the Saints can overcome bad play AND bad officiating, and come up with a "W"... we know that we have something special here.
I agree with your assessment of the officiating, but I'm here to tell you that Michael Turner got a huge gain late in the game off the same play. Had they whistled that play dead, it would've been quite unfair, all things being objectively considered.
I honestly did not see anything wrong with that call.
BTW-Former Detroit GM & Former Tampa HC both questioned the decision to run it there, as opposed to running it.
The point you're making doesn't hold much water, because if you force them to burn the timeout while the Saints are on offense, then they have zero ability to stop the clock without reaching and traveling past the boundary lines on the edge.
I don't like the call. I don't agree that all 32 coaches would have done it. At all.
Having said that, I'm splitting hairs, by and large.
"Tamp down every fan's ecstatic throes so it will help Saints players focus? Please. Just enjoy the ride."
You told Jeffrey this, right?
Oyster, I agree that the Saints couldn't take a knee. Too much time was left. I doubt Payton really cares about yards THAT much. He was trying to avoid giving the Falcons time to possess, which is what wound up happening anyway.
By 
Ian McGibboney, at
1:01 AM
Sorry, I mean Daniel Z, I agree with you.
By Ian McGibboney, at
1:02 AM