I’ve heard some of the whining… “You can’t win when you’re playing against the Refs, too.”
I hear ya. It is hard when you are playing 11 on 12. But, that 12th man wasn’t wearing black and white stripes… Frankly, I’m not sure exactly what Marie LaVeau is wearing these days, but she is clearly one imposing football player, when she’s got that #30 Burgundy and White voodoo doll in her hands…
She sure timed those needle jabs just right… That had to hurt. And, Madame LaVeau, what skillful manipulations were involved in working that pathetic punt over to tap poor Kevin Barnes in the shoulder as he was doing everything he could to make himself the smallest target possible? wow… excellent. more here My hat is off to you, Madame… Good game!
If you don’t know who Marie LaVeau was, well… let’s just say that she was probably the ultimate Saint’s fan…
So, Laron learned a painful lesson today. Hopefully, Coach Blache learned one, as well. The problem is, we are just so darned well endowed with Strong Safety’s… yet, clearly, LL can’t play Free Safety. It’s time to put him where he really belongs, and his primarily pass coverage would involve trailing and (hopefully) punishing tight ends, and the bulk of his work would be doing the things that he really is good at. Plugging gaps in the line, and using his considerable hitting skills on running backs and putting slobber knockers on quarterbacks.
Shawn Suisham had earlier demonstrated rock solid consistency in situations where there was no pressure. All that was really required of him today was an extra point length field goal, and the Saints are in a hopeless situation will less than 3 minutes to go. Well… that one wasn’t even close, Shawn.
Buh bye…
Gotta wonder about… icing the kicker. How stupid is that? All it does is waste time, and give the offense more time to consider their options. In the case today, the Saints put the offense back on the field, and turned a moderately difficult kick into a PAT. When dealing with a kicker who hasn’t played for how long???? Stupid, especially when you are dealing with a genuine head coach on the opposite side of the field. Don’t get it… never did… never will.
Bright spots:
Team spirit, and tenacity. This team deserved to win today. The score was not an accident, not the function of a “trap” game mentality by the Saints. They earned every point.
Jason Campbell deserved to win. Devin Thomas and Fred Davis were huge today. Take away 2 hideously embarrassing (and expensive) attempts at pass coverage, and Laron Landry has a huge game. Byron Westbrook deserves mention, both for his special teams efforts, and his timely pass defense. The Defensive line snuffed the Saints vaunted run game. Play-calling was excellent, and kept the Saints on their heels almost all game.
Offensive line play… quite good. Of course, they put in an awful lot of quick drop pass plays, which also helped (and which clearly need to be part of the regular repertoire), but this was positive, especially considering that Greg Williams was really dialing it up today. He desperately wanted to embarrass the Skin’s offense… and couldn’t. That was largely due to the play of the offensive line, and skilled backfield blocking. Very impressive. That leads to my kudos for big Mike Williams… the dude was bringing it. Excellent… if not a fluke ( and, I don’t think it is), the big guy is back, and will help to reduce the need to find multiple bodies for the OL next year.
So close… a heartbreaking loss, but it give some optimism… yet, I can’t help but wonder, where was this team… that defeated Denver, and SHOULD have beaten the undefeated Saints who appear destined for greatness… where was this team over the first half of the year?
I suspect that Campbell will be getting a qualifying offer to return next year. In order for him to have a shot at success, however, he will need a coach from the Holmgren tree running the offense. Does that mean that Zorn stays? Hmmm? Holmgren has pretty much ruled himself out, and who could blame him. This will make for some very curious off season moves. I continue to pray for the Danny to realize that he needs to turn the team over to a football professional… but fear that performances like today’s will give Vinnie more life.
Perhaps Marie LaVeau might be interested in helping us out… when you’re making that doll, Madame, he has brown hair, and kind of buggy looking eyes…
HTTR