Da Saints are going all of da way baby!!!
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Da Saints are going all of da way baby!!!
it's GREAT to be a Saints Fan!!! Brees and Company are for Real!!!
The Saints look f-ing unstoppable right now. I still want to see their defense go up against another big time offense but I don't see anyone really slowing that offense down too much. Brees is on point right now. I think the Saints, Giants and Vikings are the 3 best right now in the NFC. It's hard to tell what is going on in the AFC right now. This could be the Saints year if they avoid the injuries.
I started this thread after reading the Cubs thread because I knew there would be some "we are going all the way" takers. It's too soon to call but we look awefully good. Devery Henderson can be tough if he can catch the ball and it looks like he has gotten better at that. He made an awesome catch Sunday. Colston looks like Colston of year before last. I like what we are doing at running back and when Thomas gets healthy we will have more depth. What can you say about Brees? He's the best in the league in my opinion and to me looks like Joe Montana. If our D gets better we will be in the tournament and then who knows. No bold predictions from me though. I've been a Saints/Cubs/Bulldog fan too long.
Originally Posted by Bigdog13
The Saints need to do it now. Brees is a once in a franchise type QB. We will be lucky if he is good another 4 or 5 years. The D is better this year, but not worldbeaters. However, "the greatest show on turf" did it once with a bad defense. The Saints will need to keep winning and get home field in the playoffs if they want to win in the playoffs. The only thing that could stop this O is the weather, IMO. Everyone remember the Bears playoff game a few years ago? Totally different game in the Dome, but the Saints did not handle biz in the regular season. Too early to start talking about all of tihs anyway, but the Saints defintely have the potential to be a playoff team, but if they really want to win it all, they need the best record and homefield, IMO.
Don't let the 391 yards from Kolb fool you too much. I'm no apologist for a bad defense, I assure you, but some context is appropriate.
Going into the 4th quarter Kolb had 232 yards passing and we were ahead 34-20. We punted to start the 4th, then they went 3 and out. We then had the drive where Bush scored on the 19 yard run, putting us up 41-20 with only 9 minutes left in the game. At that point we kicked off and basically said, "fine, you wanna dink and dunk down the field and chew up 5-6 minutes off the clock, go ahead". We let them kill over 4 minutes getting down to our 5 then made then turn it over on downs. We took the safety, then gave them the ball back, rinse and repeat. They waste another 3 minutes trying to get a drive going while we tackle them in bounds and keep the clock running. Interception Darren Sharper - game over.
On those last 2 drives Kolb had completions of 3, 5, 26, 16, 12, 4, 0, 8, 19, 25, and 9 yards. Then on the very last "nobody gives a shit" drive he had anothe couple of 21 and 11 yard completions before the pointless hail mary pick. Kolb did okay, and I'm not saying we were a shut down defense, but it wasn't near as bad as "omg391yards" might look. He did throw the ball 51 times. That's almost Texas Tech territory. We also only allowed 80 yards rushing total.
My concerns on defense would continue to come from blown assignments, like the first long touchdown pass. Harper has a history of not being good in coverage deep down the field and biting pretty hard on play fakes. He is a strong safety, afterall. I also was displeased with that last possession before halftime where we allowed them 65 yards on 7 plays in 43 seconds. That was frustrating, namely because it was the complete opposite of what we did at the end of the 4th quarter, meaning we gave them the sideline out on 3 straight plays and allowed them to get out of bounds with no timeouts. You know Gregg Williams was pissed about that.
I am just impressed that we stopped their wildcat. This year's run D has been good so far. Telling ya, old Saints D would have let the wildcat go all day long at 7 yards a pop.
For all the punishment they take from fans (a lot of it deserved, by the way), Will Smith and Charles Grant really help us in situations like that as they both play the run very well. Our linebackers aren't the most athletic bunch outside of Vilma, but they are disciplined and gap control is huge when trying to defend the wildcat. So long as Smith didn't blow containment (which he is prone to doing), we can have success against that kind of offense.
I do agree with you about the adjustments, though. That, and the fact that it wasn't even an option once the 3rd quarter rolled around and they fell behind. Running the ball and controlling the clock isn't in the cards anymore when you're down 31-14. Especially when your team is coached by Andy Reid.
I agree that a ton of those yards were given up because we were in game management mode. We were giving up yardage but preventing any quick scores that would have brought the outcome of the game into jeopardy. We did stop them from scoring as I remember after letting them drive the length of the field.
From Saints rep[ort.com
Surprising Saints Statistics Through 2 Games
Offense:
#1 in Points Per Game (46.5 - *** 2nd All-Time Through 2 Games), Scrimmage Yards Per Game (468.0), Passing TDs (*** 1st All-Time Through 2 Games), Passer Rating (132.9), Value Over Average (51.7%, see below)
#2 in Yards Per Play (7.0), 1st Downs Per Game (25.5), 3rd Down Conversion Percentage (59%), Passing Yards Per Attempt (9.8), Completion Percentage (75%)
#7 in Yards Per Reception (13.1)
#8 in Rushing Yards Per Game (145.0)
Defense:
#1 in Passer Rating (53.4), Interceptions (6), 20+ and 40+ yard Rushing Plays (0, 0)
#3 in Completion Percentage (52.8%), Value Over Average (-25.2%, see below)
#5 in Yards Per Rush (2.9), Rushing Yards Per Game (59.0)
Special Teams:
#32 in Value Over Average (-12.9%, see below)
Combined:
#1 in Passer Rating Differential (+79.5 - For more on Passer Rating Differential, see: Cold Hard Football Facts, Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average (64.0% - For more on DVOA, see: Football Outsiders
#3 in Total Penalty Yards (49)
#6 in Turnover Ratio (+3)
Rushing offense - #8
Rushing defense - #5
Scoring defense - #22
So, the Saints aren't just the top offense in the league currently, they are one of the most efficient defenses
The defensive coordinator can afford to blitz and take risks being very aggressive because hee know his offense is going to put a lot of points on the board which is nice.
I think the offense isn't trying to get Bush a certain amount of touches anymore. It seems like they are spreading it around to all the weapons. (Bell, Bush, Shockey, Colston, even Henderson.) On top of that they have IMO the 3rd best QB in the NFL.
I think they are probably the 2nd best team in the NFC right now. On a neutral field I think they are better than the Giants. Don't they get the Giants at home this year?
I am seriously throttling back my hopes because I have been torched by the Saints before and we are only 2 weeks into the season, but they have looked good. D has looked decent (which is a huge step up) and the O has looked unstoppable. We have a favorable schedule by getting all fo the tougher games at home (Jets, Giants, Patriots, Cowboys), while playing at Dolphins, Bills, Rams, Skins, all very beatable on the road and already got lucky with McNabb injury and beat Philly on road, which was our toughest Non-conference game considering on the road and Eagles are many people's NFC fav. If they play the way they are supposed to, I could see 11-5 (4-2 in division, 2-2 at home OOC, and 3-1 away OOC). That is being conservative, IMO, because we could easily be 5-1 in division, 3-1 at home, and 4-0 away OOC. However, only 2 losses is a tall order.
Smart man.
Saints need Mike Bell back soon.
nevermind, Pierre Thomas showed up big time in the 2nd half
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