New Orleans Saints Review

Just like that, the momentum is gone.  It took 11 games for the Saints to finally get back to back wins.  But with Sunday’s crushing loss in Tampa, hopes of a return to the post season are now hanging by the thinnest of threads.

If the fact that the Saints lost a crucial division game wasn’t hard enough to swallow, the way they lost it makes matters that much worse.  No, it wasn’t the defense who cost us this game.  They came ready to play and overall did a great job of controlling Jeff Garcia.

True, the special teams coverage was terrible at times, especially in the first half.  Tampa routinely had great starting field position and I have to credit the defense with limiting the damage.

With the game on the line late in the fourth quarter, the Saints had two chances to win.  The first chance, with the game tied at 20, ended with Tampa’s Jermaine Phillips picking off a Drew Brees pass that was intended for Marques Colston.  The Bucs got the ball at the New Orleans 30 yard line.  The defense held, but Matt Bryant kicked a 37 yard field goal to give the Bucs a 23-20 lead.  Still, there’s time on the clock and we know the Saints offense can get down the field in a hurry.

The second chance ended abruptly, as Brees was again intercepted on the second play of what could have been the game-winning drive.  Phillip Buchanon grabbed a pass intended for Lance Moore and sealed the game for the Buccaneers.

Unfortunately, Drew Brees and the Saints offense picked a bad time to struggle.  The running game was non-existent in the first half and the receivers dropped several balls throughout the game.

Sadly, it wasn’t to be.  And with the Saints staring at a 6-6 record, along with a two game deficit to crawl up to third place, it looks like we’ll have to wait at least another year to have our Super Bowl parade on Bourbon Street.

Yikes, what a night!  There were several audio problems during the recording of tonight’s show, not the least of which was the fact that my recording software crashed on me.  Oh yeah, Skype crashed on me as well!  So at this point, I have no actual recording of the show to post.  Not too tragic, since I’m sick and can barely talk

My apologies for the technical stuff all failing at the same time.  I’m going to try to do a pre-recorded show and upload that later in the week, assuming my voice is back to normal.

A big WHO DAT goes out to Ted (TopCat) Castator and his friends at Bar None up in New York City for being featured in the 11/30 edition of the New York Times!  Legions of fans gather each week to watch the Saints, bringing a little bit of the French Quarter to NYC.

Loyal listeners of the show have heard me mention TopCat many times, as he’s often in our chatroom while the show is recorded.

Congratulations to the Krewe of Bar None for representing the Saints with such passion!