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JOEinPHX · 11-01-2010, 07:21 PM

I was ready for New Orleans to fall to 4-4 last night. I went so far as to Photoshop a picture of Haley Joel Osment looking at the Saints 2010 team photo and saying ‘I see dead people’. It turned out great, but now it has to stay on the shelf, probably until December 27 and maybe longer. Even with the home field advantage, I figured that to hang with the Steelers, the Saints would need a superhuman effort. And what do you know, they put one together.

Aside from losing your quarterback, there’s really just one sure way to kiss your season goodbye. You suffer multiple injuries at one position and you suddenly have a hole that other teams will exploit all day. You only have to do it on one side of the ball and you’re in deep trouble – even very strong teams become instantly vulnerable.

The Saints have managed to do it on both sides of the ball. They fielded only one cornerback last night, and he wasn’t even a regular starter. And they’ve lost their top two running backs. I saw no way they could overcome their issues, yet they have. Other players have stepped up in remarkable ways. You can make an argument that last year’s Saints benefitted mightily from luck and bias, but you can’t make that argument this year. If anything, they’ve had terrible luck, including a bad year so far by Brees. And I haven’t seen them benefit from anyone wearing stripes. They’re doing it on their own.

The Saints defense last night was remarkably good. They showed an intensity and coherence that was nowhere in sight in previous games. The offense was just average but they were facing the Pittsburgh defense. The Steelers D isn’t as strong right now as it was in Week 1, but the Saints found the end zone twice, which was something the Falcons couldn’t do.

Tampa Bay is a sham and Carolina is a ghost. But the Saints are real. I don’t get worked up over the NFL Network saying New Orleans is the best team in the South because no game has ever been played in a television studio. But make no mistake – like the Falcons, they’re serious and worthy competitors for the NFCS title.

falken · 11-01-2010, 07:26 PM

The Saints were at home last night and that makes a HUGE difference in the NFL.

Ben or no Ben........Steelers come to our house....we beat 'em.

The Falcons control their own destiny. That's all we can ask for 8 weeks into the season.

cnasty · 11-01-2010, 07:37 PM

They're lucky. Luck runs out. Skill does not. They have SOME skill, but they seem to get every single bounce in their favor (sans a 20- something yard field goal). That will run out eventually.

Chuck Norris · 11-01-2010, 08:02 PM

They're obviously a good team but we can beat them. (We have Big Grin

)

nativefalcon · 11-01-2010, 08:22 PM

(11-01-2010 07:26 PM)falken Wrote: The Saints were at home last night and that makes a HUGE difference in the NFL.

Ben or no Ben........Steelers come to our house....we beat 'em.

The Falcons control their own destiny. That's all we can ask for 8 weeks into the season.

Considering we beat them in THEIR home, and they get to come to ours on a 800 game. Can we say its going to be a LOUD game, give everybody a chance to get liquored up, then they can say the Dome is as loud as the superdome. Which it has been.

The falcons are getting all their people back at a good time, the saints on the other hand, have a lot more problems then people consider, and other teams like the browns are going to take advantage of them, the steelers were too stupid about it. Wink

Stankfoot · 11-01-2010, 08:27 PM

Steelers looked like they have never seen a blitz before. Just a horrible offensive game plan against a team that lives by the blitz. And as usual the Saints caused a fumble late in the game to give them the victory. Why teams don't learn to wrap up the football when you have 11 players trying to strip it out of your arms instead of tackling you is beyond me.
They beat the Colts straight up in the Super Bowl, but Minnesota gave the NFC championship game to them on a silver platter.

JOEinPHX · 11-01-2010, 09:15 PM

So, not even grudging respect for New Orleans - I think they earned at least that much last night. I'm a bit late to the party as a Falcons fan and Saints hater, but I know a statement game when I see one. The Saints played one against Pittsburgh.

The question now is, can they stay on that horse. As they get injured players back, and face a schedule that includes Carolina, Seattle, Dallas, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Tampa Bay, I'd say the answer is a very big yes. Realistically speaking, only Atlanta and Baltimore stand in their way of winning out. If they win the ones they should, it's not unreasonable to see them finishing 11-5.

TeamPlayer1 · 11-01-2010, 09:24 PM

I hate the Saints! I'd rather have Osama Bin Laden at my house for dinner before I'd have Sean Payton or Drew Brees!

Of course I'd shoot Bin Laden when he walked in the door!

FalconFanSince84 · 11-01-2010, 09:24 PM

The Steelers got away from their normal game plan. For most of the night they were relying on a 3 man rush, giving Brees a lot of time, but even then the Saints couldn't move the ball very effectively.

Their defense looked fairly good last night, but even the commentators agreed that Ben wasn't on his game, that he has yet to get into sync with his team. The Steelers like to run a lot of no huddle but last week Ben looked lost in the no huddle, so last night they didn't even use it.

I'm not sure what happened or why but the Steelers did not bring their A game last night, sort of like the Falcons against the Eagles.

nativefalcon · (This post was last modified: 11-01-2010 09:31 PM by nativefalcon.)

(11-01-2010 09:15 PM)JOEinPHX Wrote: So, not even grudging respect for New Orleans - I think they earned at least that much last night. I'm a bit late to the party as a Falcons fan and Saints hater, but I know a statement game when I see one. The Saints played one against Pittsburgh.

The question now is, can they stay on that horse. As they get injured players back, and face a schedule that includes Carolina, Seattle, Dallas, Cincinnati, St. Louis and Tampa Bay, I'd say the answer is a very big yes. Realistically speaking, only Atlanta and Baltimore stand in their way of winning out. If they win the ones they should, it's not unreasonable to see them finishing 11-5.

I think were going to have the better record if the OFFENSE keeps playing the way they did against the Bengals. And the defense keeps getting the turnovers. Wink

The saints are still missing their whole CB corps, thats why it was so stupid of Ben not to go after them more and throw longer. Matt wont make that mistake. Played WAY too safe, you got to go after the saints, period.