Ball or Nuthin' » Saints

Packers Outlast Saints, 42-34

T Lamont — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 04:43:09 +0000

What better way to open a season that was threatened to be nonexistent by channeling the Super Bowl champs from the past two years.

In 2009, the Saints captured the hearts of the nation by lifting a New Orleans area that had been ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, and having a magical season. Drew Brees became the poster child for everything that was right in the world, and had his Disneyland moment after winning the 2010 Super Bowl as camera flashed when he hoisted his son over his shoulders amidst the streams of confetti. There couldn’t have been a better time for New Orleans to be rewarded with their first NFL championship.

Last year, it was the Green Bay Packers that played the role of Cinderella. The team, which was expected to achieve big things from the onset of the campaign, was decimated by injuries, but somehow managed to earn a wild card berth into the NFC playoff scene. Aaron Rodgers cemented his name atop the hot quarterbacks list with three dazzling performances that earned the Pack its first title in 14 years.

Two great quarterbacks, two magical teams. We all knew that tonight would be special. And it was.

Green Bay lit up the scoreboard early and often, putting up 21 in the first quarter alone. Three TD tosses from Rodgers indicated that his little star was still blinking, just as it was at the close of last season.

New Orleans worked hard to overcome that 14 point deficit, and closed to 35-27 late in the third quarter. But behold – Sean Payton made ‘the decision.’

After moving the ball effectively, and deeply into Green Bay territory, the Saints faced a 4th and 1. Given an eight-point deficit, the air-it-out mentality of both teams and the frantic pace of the game, the choice was clear to Payton: he chose to go for it.

With over 18 minutes of game clock left in regulation, each team would take possession of the rock multiple times. While placing the automatic three points on the board would have made the most sense, New Orleans attempted to ride its current streak of momentum to produce an unanticipated strike.

Payton's peculiar decision may have costed the Saints a season-opening victory.

But they didn’t. And the Pack gained enough juice from their miscue to take that turnover, march down the gridiron and turn it into seven points.

To their testament, the Saints never waived the white flag. Trailing by 15 with less than five minutes to go in the final quarter, Brees led his team to a quick score. A defensive stand allowed them to get one final possession. The Saints marched all the way down the field, and time ended with New Orleans’ rookie running back Mark Ingram being tackled on the Green Bay one yard line.

What can we take from tonight’s track meet?

Well, New Orleans and Green Bay will be able to put up points without question. And let’s not put to much emphasis on the fact that they combined to yield 876 yards of offense. These squads are the cream of the offensive crop in the NFL, so each team’s defense will look measurably better against human foes.

The more appropriate question may be this one…

Will either of these two teams make it to Disneyland again in 2012?

Saints Dominate Browns…And Lose

T Lamont — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:20:34 +0000

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It’s official. The 2010 Saints are nothing like last year’s version.

The defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints dominated the visiting Cleveland Browns today’s in the Louisiana Superdome. The Saints netted 394 yards while the Browns only netted 210. New Orleans totaled 25 first downs to just 12 for Cleveland. Accordingly, the Saints controlled the ball, as they had possession of the football for over 35 minutes.

But their offensive domination proved to be futile. N.O. quarterback Drew Brees threw 4 interceptions – two of which were returned for touchdowns by Browns linebacker David Bowens - almost giving the visitors as many points (14) as the home team would manage to score in a 30-17 triumph by Cleveland.

So far in 2010, Drew Brees has thrown 10 interceptions - after tossing a total of 11 in last season's Super Bowl campaign.

The Saints have looked like a shell of the team that rolled to a 13-3 mark and set an offensive standard in the process. Although they came into today’s game with a 4-2 record this season, New Orleans has played with fire. Their first three wins – versus Minnesota, at San Francisco and versus Carolina – were by 5 points, 3 points and 2 points, respectively. The defending champs have successfully skated on thin ice, and it finally cracked against Cleveland.

There’s no doubt that the four turnovers allowed the Browns to take a game that it didn’t expect to be competitive in. Prior to today, Cleveland’s offense ranked 31st in the NFL, with the Browns averaging 310 yards and 14.7 points per game. With their meager offensive production in today’s contest, which included a 9-16, 74-yard performance by rookie Colt McCoy and a 16 carry-69-yard tally by Peyton Hillis, their ranking won’t likely improve.

With three losses, all is not lost for the Saints. They still remain in the thick of the hunt for the NFC South division, but they must make a complete turnaround if they want to be relevant this season.

T Lamont’s Top 10 NFL Teams – Week 2

T Lamont — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 03:12:09 +0000

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With two full weeks of NFL action in the books, deciphering the league’s best can be a bit tricky. If there’s one thing that can be expected, it’s that this top 10 will endure its share of changes as the season progresses.

But without further adieu, let’s take a first look at the teams that rank as the cream of the crop early in the new campaign:

10. San Diego Chargers

In their opening game, the Chargers got flat out shocked by the Kansas City Chiefs – and quite frankly, so did the rest of the world. But looking in detail, the outing wasn’t as bad as it seemed. San Diego nearly put up 400 yards of offense (double that of K.C.), and Rivers threw for 298 yards. Three turnovers thwarted their ability to put points on the board. So, when the Bolts put 38 on the board this week, it was business as usual for one of the league’s high powered offenses.

9. Baltimore Ravens

Baltimore was the trendy pick for a Super Bowl appearance prior to the start of the season. On the defensive side of the ball, there’s no question that this team has what it takes to get there. Offensively, there’s still too much inconsistency. Or to be honest, their offensive inconsistency is something that has been consistent about them for the past decade. It comes down to QB Joe Flacco. If he limits his mistakes (as he did in Week 1 against the Jets), the Ravens win. If he tries to do too much (4 interceptions against the Bengals), things will remain tough for them.

8. Cincinnati Bengals

Jordan Shipley has 10 receptions in his first two regular season games.

Yes, their air attack has the ability to be quite explosive. Ochocinco, Owens and rookies Jordan Shipley and Jermaine Gresham provide Carson Palmer with a set of talented options. But their defense – which seemed to be in disarray versus the Patriots – stepped up and resembled the successful unit from last year. The Bengals defense should gain even more confidence given their next couple of opponents are the Carolina Panthers and the Cleveland Browns.

7. New York Jets

Did they burn the playbook from their Week 1 Monday night debacle against the Ravens? It sure looked like it as Mark Sanchez looked like someone worthy of a high draft pick. L.T. is doing his thing, averaging 6.3 yards per carry through two games. The defense has struggled in certain matchups, but has not totally broken – they are only allowing 12 points per game. A physical Sunday night matchup against the Dolphins awaits.

6. Miami Dolphins

Miami has started the season off with road wins (Vikings – very impressive, Bills – not so much). Their defense was shredded by the most complete running back in the game, Adrian Peterson, but were ultimately the beneficiaries of some poor decision-making by Brett Favre. And give Miami credit for stuffing A.P. when it counted – fourth and goal from the 1-yard line leading 14-10. In their upcoming contest versus New York – with Darrelle Revis out of action – the Dolphins should be looking forward to having Brandon Marshall working one-on-one against Antonio Cromartie. If Marshall saw any footage of the Ravens-Jets showdown, he should be licking his chops.

5. Indianapolis Colts

Sitting at 1-1, the Colts have the look and feel of a team that is unfazed by their loss to the Texans. Indy has averaged 31 points per game, and the offense is still in stellar shape. Peyton Manning is in full control of his unit, and put on a clinic against his brother and the Giants. Defense is always the big question mark with this squad. The defensive ends will bring the heat – Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis – but the secondary is very weak at this point.

4. Houston Texans

The Texans came through with two signature wins to start this season. The win over Indianapolis allowed the Texans to overcome an obstacle that they have seemingly always stumbled upon. Couple that with an improbable come-from-behind victory at Fedex Field and you have the makings of a team that has good things in store for the future. Matt Schaub, Andre Johnson and Arian Foster are all playing like Pro-Bowlers. They’ll have extreme confidence in their next game versus the Dallas Cowboys.

The Texans have gotten productive running from Arian Foster.

3. Pittsburgh Steelers

Defense has been the name of their game. The Steelers have held Michael Turner (Falcons) to 42 yards rushing on 19 carries. They’ve held last year’s Offensive Player of the Year Chris Johnson to 34 yards on 16 carries. Their quarterback situation is one that will be fixed in a couple of weeks, but they are maintaining in a better than expected fashion without a discernible leader for their offense.

2. New Orleans Saints

The Super Bowl champs? At number two? Yes, because they have not looked like last year’s Super Bowl champs on the offensive end of the ball. Brees and company have only put up 39 points in two games – - a stark contrast to their beginning of 2009 – which saw the Saints run up 93 points in their first couple of games. But New Orleans got it done against the Vikings and Niners, teams with tough defenses. With their mix of talent and experience, it’s safe to anticipate that the Saints will be near the top once again when all is said and done.

1. Green Bay Packers

If the Packers and Saints squared off today, it would be an extremely tight game. But one thing’s for certain: Green Bay has looked sharper than New Orleans thus far. The Pack has the best point differential in the league, which means that they have been playing offense and defense. They have the appearance of a group that believe in themselves, and they have effective leaders on both sides of the ball in Aaron Rodgers and Clay Matthews. Things are looking up in Green Bay, and the best part about it is that Brett Favre is nowhere to be found.

Saints Edge 49ers, 25-22

T Lamont — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 04:24:53 +0000

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Tonight, the San Francisco 49ers hosted the New Orleans in a crucial early-season statement battle for both teams. Let’s breakdown the action:

First Quarter:

As the game started, things couldn’t have appeared any worse. The Niners looked like a lamb being led to the slaughter in the game’s first few minutes. After having a nice kickoff return voided by a holding penalty, the Saints stopped them cold on their first two downs. On third down, Niners center David Baas commenced to audition for the long snapper position. The former Michigan guard sailed the ball over quarterback Alex Smith’s head into the end zone. Smith smartly slapped the football out of the end zone to avoid a touchdown recovery by the visitors, but the Niners already found themselves behind by a safety – and had to prepare to free kick to the Saints (which gave them the ball on a shortened field).

And as New Orleans does so well, it converted its first drive into seven points. On a steady drive that featured running and passing balance, Drew Brees saw a mismatch as the Saints approached pay dirt. On a second and goal at the San Francisco 6, Brees located Reggie Bush coming out of the backfield on a choice route – being covered by linebacker Patrick Willis. Now Willis is a fine player, but there probably isn’t anyone who could cover Bush on a choice route. Bush shook Willis and was on the receiving end of a 6-yard TD pass from Brees.

Meanwhile, for the vast majority of the first 15 minutes, the home team’s offense was on life support. Alex Smith wasn’t even looking downfield, and because of that, power back Frank Gore couldn’t find any running lanes. But the one bright spot for the Niners is that they prevented the Saints from putting any more points on the board.

Score: 9-0, New Orleans

Second Quarter:

As the game progressed, Alex Smith's confidence grew.

As the first quarter ended, Smith started to inch the ball down the field. He completed a few passes to former Virgina Tech player Josh Morgan. The 49ers had no confidence in looking downfield, so they adopted another philosophy – dump the ball off close to the line of scrimmage and let the receiver do the rest. Thus, a momentum change came about, resulting in a 12-play, 82-yard drive that climaxed with a 12-yard TD reception for Gore.

The Niners defense continued to stifle Brees and the Saints. San Fran came with some pressure to actually penetrate the New Orleans wall of protection around Brees and drop him for a sack.

With the momentum clearly on their side, the Niners began to embark on another drive midway through the quarter. They continued to employ the mix of power runs by Gore with short passes to move the ball into New Orleans territory. With the Niners threatening to take the lead – either by touchdown or field goal – the Saints opportunistic defense came up with a huge play. On a pass caught by back Delanie Walker, linebacker Jonathan Vilma stripped the ball loose and it was recovered by N.O.’s Malcolm Jenkins.

Score: 9-7, New Orleans

Third Quarter:

Although they experienced heartbreak to close the first half, the Niners kept the pressure on New Orleans. In New Orleans’ opening series after the break, the 49ers held them in check. The Saints converted a couple of third downs on the drive, but couldn’t overcome a second down sack by Willis, as he came unblocked through the offensive line.

Then, San Francisco took over – and instantly put the ball in the air. Alex Smith’s newfound confidence was evident, as he connected with Michael Crabtree – and Crabtree gained several extra yards on the play after making a couple of members of the Saints secondary look foolish. Smith then hit tight end Vernon Davis for a 41-yarder, carrying the Niners inside the New Orleans 10-yard line. Three plays later the home team punched it over the goal line to surge ahead.

But in the ensuing possession, the Saints demonstrated the resiliency of a Super Bowl champion. Brees carefully moved the ball down the field, mixing runs, passes and penalties in an attempt to regain control of the game. The Saints did so successfully, as Brees ended the touchdown drive with a 4-yard pass to David Thomas. And just like that, New Orleans was back on top.

The momentum shift continued as the quarter closed. San Francisco was unable to convert on a third and eight, and punted. But they made the mistake of not properly covering the punt, giving Bush time to survey his running lanes. The dangerous special-teamer returned the kick 43 yards to set his team up with a short field to begin the game’s final 15 minutes.

Score: 16-14, New Orleans

Fourth Quarter:

In what was perhaps the most significant defensive series of the game for the Niners, they quickly defused any threat of a New Orleans touchdown. But due to the good field position obtained by the punt return. Garrett Hartley nailed a 46-yard field goal to push the Saints advantage up to five with 13 minutes left in the contest.

A 30-yard reception by Marques Colston set up Hartley's game-winning kick.

From here on out, it’s more missed opportunities for the Niners. They moved the ball down the filed admirably, only to see a tipped pass get intercepted by Tracy Porter.

San Francisco held the Saints offense at bay on a couple of different occasions in the quarter. With five and a half minutes to go, they were on the receiving end of a punt by New Orleans. The 49ers Phillip Adams muffed the punt, and it was promptly recovered by New Orleans Courtney Roby deep in San Francisco territory. But once again, the Niners defense does what it can to keep them in the game. They stuff the Saints at the goal line on third down, forcing N.O. to settle for three points - keeping the deficit at one possession with a little over two minutes remaining in regulation.

Alex Smith marches the Niners down the gridiron so cool and calm that - at least for that moment – he could have been mistaken for Joe Montana. Finding the open man time after time. And he also did his best impersonation of Michael Vick, escaping the Saints’ pass rush and using his feet to gain a couple of first downs. The crowd went into a frenzy as Frank Gore ran a draw play into the end zone to bring the Niners within two. Smith has experienced the moment of his NFL career.

But wait – San Francisco still had to convert the two-point conversion. Out of the shotgun, Smith caught Davis on a hitch. Davis had one foot over the goal line as he gained possession of the catch, but his momentum carried him out of the end zone. The call on the field was that the conversion was not converted. But on call that will be the subject of much debate, the officials reversed the call after reviewing the play – and the game was tied with one minute to play in regulation.

We all know that one minute is plenty of time for New Orleans’ usually high-powered offense to strike. And after some small catches by Pierre Thomas and one big reception by Marques Colston, Hartley lined up for a game-winning 37-yard field goal. With the odds stacked against them, the Niners continued to battle, as defensive tackle Ray McDonald actually tipped the football on its path through the goal posts.

Final Score: 25-22, New Orleans

An epic Monday night showdown couldn’t have come any closer than a tipped field goal, but what did it tell us about these teams?

San Francisco has lots of heart. We could expect that from a team with Mike Singletary as its head coach. Frank Gore is the sole of the team, but the offense revolves around Alex Smith’s level of confidence. When he stands strong in the pocket, the 49ers can put points on the board. Their defense is going to fight and keep them in ball games, just like it did tonight…so any consistent offensive output will go a long way.

New Orleans is still New Orleans, but they have faced two of the better defenses from last year. They gutted out two tough wins to start the season, and although every team will be giving them their best shot, things figure to get a little easier. The Saints simply need to remain injury-free, and not let complacency set in as the campaign progresses.

NFC Powerhouses Struggle in Season-Opener

T Lamont — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 04:38:34 +0000

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Prior to kickoff, the New Orleans Saints figured that their home debut would be a tough one – after all, they were battling the team that they faced in the NFC Championship, the Minnesota Vikings.

After their first possession, things appeared that they would be much easier than they anticipated. The home team gave their fans what they were looking for, driving down the field in 2009 Saints’ fashion. The drive totaled plays for yards, and ended with a shocked Viking defense yielding a touchdown on a 29-yard connection between Drew Brees and Devery Henderson.

But the Minnesota defense stiffened, stopping the Saints on their next possession. And the Vikings began to use their All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson to take the air out of the ball. Peterson pounded New Orleans on a long, 66-yard drive that culminated in a Ryan Longwell 41-yard field goal for the visitors.

The Minnesota ground game slowed the pace of the battle, and actually shifted the momentum of the contest into the Vikings favor. There weren’t any points scored, but the lack of offensive dominance gave Minnesota a chance to get back into the game – which they did. Minnesota quarterback Brett Favre got into a bit of a rhythm with tight end Visanthe Shiancoe. Shiancoe made two catches with his hands (the latter being a 20-yard touchdown) that sparked the Minnesota offense, temporary potting them into the lead going into the half, 9-7.

The third quarter saw New Orleans regain the advantage after an 11-play, 74-yard march down the gridiron. The drive saw the Saints run the ball seven times, ending with Pierre Thomas crossing the goal line on a 1-yard scamper to put the Saints ahead 14-9.

Adrian Peterson was looking for some help from the Minnesota passing game.

In the fourth quarter, Drew Brees was poised to put the game on ice for the Saints. After a 40-plus yard drive, the Saints were presented with a key third down situation. Leading 14-9, a touchdown would have given the Vikings a tough deficit to overcome. Brees uncorked a pass into the end zone – over a couple of Viking defenders – and into the hands wide receiver Robert Meachem. Meachem jumped and extended for the pass (which hit him in the hands), but could not hold on to the ball as his body came into contact with the turf. The missed opportunity turned even more dreadful when New Orleans kicker Garrett Hartley shanked a 32-yard field goal attempt, keeping the game within 5 points for the Vikings.

However, Favre and company were unable to capitalize and punted the ball back away to the Saints. The Saints constructed a drive that took minutes off of the game clock. New Orleans effectively mixed up its offensive playcalling, inserting some key running plays that caught the Vikings off guard. The home team keep churning out the first downs to keep the game clock moving, and the Vikings were unable to get another chance to score the football.

Tonight’s game was competitive, however, in a way that most did not expect. Two of last season’s most prolific quarterbacks – Brees and Favre – were far from spectacular. Brees completed 26 of 37 passes for 237 yards including one touchdown. Favre never really established the Minnesota passing game (he was 15-27, 171 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT), and in the end, Peterson’s first half surge could not be supported by an air attack.

Favre’s rustiness will most certainly be attributed to his abrupt decision to join Minnesota in the middle of the preseason. The Super Bowl champion Saints were also not efficient as usual. But the bottom line is that Favre wasn’t sharp, and the Vikings lost this game because of it.