New Orleans Saints Review

It was just another thriller in the heated rivalry between the New Orleans Saints and the Atlanta Falcons.  Big plays, big hits, turnovers and twists thrilled the sellout crowd at the Superdome and no doubt the Monday Night Football television audience as well.

The Saints came out of this one 7-0, matching the best start in franchise history.  More importantly, they now have a 3 game lead over the second place Falcons (4-3) in the NFC South.

This one certainly wasn’t easy as Atlanta threw everything they had at the Saints.  The Falcons took the opening possession and ran the ball down the Saints’ throat. Running back Michael Turner showed his 2008 form, scoring on a 13 yard run to give Atlanta an early 7-0 lead.

The Saints answered quickly with a 22 yard run by Pierre Thomas to even the score.  But that was just the beginning of what would become a very wild night in New Orleans.

Late in the 1st quarter, Falcons safety Thomas DeCoud came on a delayed blitz and nailed quarterback Drew Brees, forcing a fumble.  The ball was picked up by defensive end Kroy Biermann and run in for a 4 yard score, putting the Falcons up 14-7.

Brees was hit several times early in the game as Atlanta was no doubt trying to rattle the Saints’ QB.  But New Orleans kept on grinding and eventually the time of possession ended up solidly in their favor (33:14 compared to 26:46 for the Falcons).

The 2009 edition of the Saints can run the ball and that took its toll on the Atlanta defense.  Pierre Thomas (91 yards, 1 rushing TD, 1 receiving TD) and Mike Bell (49 yards) helped to slow down the Falcons’ pass rush and allowed Drew Brees time to start picking apart the shaky Atlanta secondary.

And we can’t forget the Saints defense, who, despite giving up big runs to Turner (151 yards, 1 TD) and missing starters Sedrick Ellis and Scott Fujita, found a way to make big plays when the game was on the line.

After an 18 yard TD reception by Marques Colston and a 1 yard run by Reggie Bush put the Saints up 21-14, the defense made one of the defining plays of the night.  With just under a minute to go in the first half, cornerback Jabari Greer jumped on a telegraphed throw by Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan, intercepted the ball and ran it back 48 yards for a touchdown.  It was the 6th time this season the Saints defense has scored a touchdown (they now have one more than the entire Cleveland Browns offense).

In the second half, the Falcons came out a desperate team.  They knew that their best shot at winning the NFC South would be a big comeback, and they almost did it.

Roddy White’s 68 yard touchdown reception early in the 3rd quarter brought Atlanta to within a score, and Jason Elam shook off some earlier rust to add a field goal to make it 28-24.

After a Pierre Thomas fumble, the Falcons were looking for more, driving down the field and in position to potentially go ahead.  But linebacker Jonathan Vilma tipped a Matt Ryan pass headed for tight end Tony Gonzalez, who was standing at the goal line.  The ball was picked off by cornerback Tracy Porter and, just as we’ve seen so many times in 2009, the defense made a crucial play to put the Saints back in control.

Then, Drew Brees (25/33, 308 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT) and the Saints offense mustered an 81 drive late in the 4th quarter, capped off by a diving 1 yard TD reception from Pierre Thomas.  It put the Saints up 35-24, and it would be enough to seal the victory.

Not that the Falcons went quietly.  After Saints running back Mike Bell fumbled, setting up a Jason Elam field goal, Atlanta recovered an onside kick, down just 8 points.  The rally was short-lived as safety Darren Sharper intercepted Ryan (19/42, 289 yards, 1 TD, 3 INT) to put the game away.

For the second straight week, we saw the Saints get everything they could handle from an opponent.  They took the Falcons’ best shot and still came away with a victory.  Still, this one should give Sean Payton and his staff a lot of things to talk to the team about in the film room.

The Saints turned the ball over 4 times (1 interception, 3 fumbles), the offense was stagnant for much of the second half, the defense allowed 161 rushing yards and John Carney missed a short field goal that could have given New Orleans a bit more of a cushion.  Not to mention they committed 7 penalties for 65 yards.

Give Atlanta credit because they came in well prepared.  After a lack-luster game in Dallas, they had solid game plans on both sides of the ball.  But, after some early struggles, the Saints made adjustments and eventually were able to impose their will on the Falcons.  Remember, the Falcons had never lost back to back games under coach Mike Smith.

Forcing 3 Matt Ryan interceptions in an exceptionally loud Superdome clearly rattled the young star.  He began locking in on Tony Gonzalez and the Saints were able to play off of Ryan’s desperate mistakes.

As they say in baseball, the mark of a great pitcher is that he can find a way to win even when he doesn’t have his best stuff.  The Saints have done just that in the past two weeks.  They have found themselves in some tough situations, but fought through adversity and came out on top.  There is simply no quit in this team and it’s been quite an amazing run to start this season.

Next up, the Saints will host the 3-4 Carolina Panthers as they try go 8-0 for the first time in team history.

Who Dat Awards:

• Jeremy Shockey – 5 catches for 72 yards, including one of the most acrobatic catches that you’ll ever see from a tight end.  He even pulled Reggie Bush away from a potential fight late in the game (talk about an odd sight!)
• Marques Colston – 6 catches for 85 yards and a score, many of them coming in traffic.
• Pierre Thomas – Atoned for a key fumble with the game-winning touchdown in the 4th quarter.
• Drew Brees - Took some hits, but never wavered.
• Jabari Greer - It was his turn to take an interception to the house!
• Jonathan Vilma and Tracy Porter – They combined on a crucial interception that put the Saints in control of the game late in the second half.
• Will Smith - Had two sacks and is looking like the Pro Bowl player we remember.
• Anthony Hargrove - Filled in well for the injured Sedrick Ellis.

 

Rating:

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 8:54 am and is filed under Opinion, Super Bowl Season. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.