Saints win to move to 5-0, but it was a strange game. We dominated TOP (36:00 to 24:00), despite another uninspired performance in the running game. Couple that with the fact that Drew threw for under 300 yards for the first time in 10 games, and it's hard to see how we were able to control the ball for so long. Obviously, that was the game plan coming in; to slow the tempo, control the clock, and limit their possessions. Defense played great despite giving up nearly 40o yards passing and being unable to stop Alshon Jeffery. They only gave up 10pts through most of the game until a desperation drive at the end. At any rate, it was a road win against a playoff caliber team with a great defense, so I'll take it.
A couple of other things I noticed from the box score - Drew only had 6 incompletions out of 35 attempts and the team only had 2 penalties for 10 yards and no turnovers. Saints are very tough to when they don't turn the ball over or beating themselves with stupid penalties. I believe they've only lost 1 or 2 times in the Sean Payton era when they have 0 turnovers in a game.
Nice to win one on the road vs a quality team. The D is looking good and Brees is Brees. I just hope the Saints can develop some semblance of a running game.
Yep, the D is for real. I keep thinking last year's D is going to eventually show up and every week I'm proven wrong and am glad of it. The Bears came into the game averaging 34 ppg and had scored at least 30 in every game this year. And although they gave up alot of yards passing, they held them to 16 pts below their scoring avg in Chicago, so that's pretty strong. As you mentioned, the running game is still in shambles. We only averaged a measly 2.7 ypc. It wouldn't be so bad if it improved from week to week, but it hasn't. If we don't find some resemblance of one next week, it may be a struggle because NE has a strong secondary led by Aquim Talib (I know I butchered the spelling of his name); who's a top 3 CB behind Peterson and Sherman.
I must admit, going into the game I predicted that the Saints would lose this one. On the road, outside, to a playoff team with a nasty defense. I figured that our lack of a running game would come back to haunt us. It didn't......but it will. 5-0 Who Dat!!!!!
I didn't necessarily pencil the Chicago game in as a loss, but I figured the Saints would split the Bears and the Patriots, at best, and beat the Bills and the Jets for 3-1 in that 4 game stretch. Now? Brady and the offense looked almost human against the Bengals and I think the Saints-Pats is closer to a toss-up than I originally expected.
It's not out of the realm of possibility to be 8-0 by the time the Cowboy game rolls around on Nov. 10th. The Pats game will be tough, regardless, because their defense is good and their nearly unbeatable at home. But, they're banged up and their offense is not what it used to be. Win that, then we have the Bills after the bye, then the Jets, which are both winnable. Here's the rest of the schedule. 6 Oct 13 3:25PMCDT ) AT Patriots 7 BYE 8 Oct 27 12:00PMCDT * Bills 9 Nov 3 12:00PMCST ) AT Jets 10 Nov 10 7:30PMCST ' Cowboys 11 Nov 17 3:25PMCST ) 49ers 12 Nov 21 7:25PMCST , AT Falcons 13 Dec 2 7:40PMCST + AT Seahawks 14 Dec 8 12:00PMCST ) Panthers 15 Dec 15 12:00PMCST ) AT Rams 16 Dec 22 12:00PMCST ) AT Panthers 17 Dec 29 12:00PMCST ) Buccaneers
That run from November 10th to December 13th is going to be a fucking gauntlet. The good news is that Dallas and SF is at the Dome. At Atlanta will be tough (but certainly winnable) and at Seattle will be about as tough as it gets this year in the NFL. We could lose 3 of those 4....as long as we don't lose to ATL, we'll be just fine. Don't get me wrong, even if we lose to ATL, we could still be fine, depending on whether or not they continue to shit the bed.
