49 degrees at kickoff, 50 for the high. Saints don't do well in cool/cold conditions...Maybe that changes today.
My only fear coming into this game was Ivory going off on his former team and he did. The one weakness of the Saints defense has been giving up huge gains in the run game. Usually good on stopping the run but we had the propensity to give up some big gains 2 or 3 times per game. Happened again today, with Ivory getting runs of 27, 30 and 52 yards. 109 yards in just 3 runs. Big play of the game, although there were many, was the 50 yard run he ripped off pinned deep in their own territory. If the Saints can make them go 3 and out there, you might have been looking at a 14-3 score early and the Jets being forced to possibly give up on the run. Colston's injury was huge as Toon single-handedly fucked Drew Brees today. Cost him both a TD and an interception all in one game. That's hard to do.
Yeah this has never been the case with Sean Payton, but this year it's been really ridiculous. We used all 3 timeouts in the 1st quarter today and on top of that a delay of game as well.
Amazing the difference Louisiana football fans accord Sean Payton and Les Miles. They have nearly identical records and accomplishments over the same span, but if you dare talk about replacing Sean Payton you need your head examined whereas if you talk about replacing Les Miles you get "yeah you right's" all day long. Payton has lost 2 games this year to opponents he should have beaten using a one dimensional offense, an overrated defense, and a QB that throws ints in spurts...sound familiar?
3 key stats: 41 yards rushing (to nearly 200), 2 turnovers (to 0 for Jets), and 3-11 on 3rd down. Dare I say that the Saints offense has become predictable? Even though they ran it down our throats today (with a back we should have kept), I saw some very creative plays from the Jets that kept us off balance all day. Not having Sproles and Colston hurt too, as one of Drew's picks should have been caught by Nick Toon (and would have been caught by Colston). The Jets scored a TD on the drive after the pick, which ended up being the difference in the game.
That's at least a 10 point turnover most likely with Toon as I think we go down and get 3, maybe even 7. Brees was tearing them apart for 230 first half yards. The Jets had no answer for him at that point in the game. Who knows what happens if the holding call doesn't happen on that last drive. That would have been first and 10 from the 35. I like my chances with Brees. Definitely a wakeup call game for Sean Payton with this god awful O-line. We were nearly as bad last week, but Brees played out of his mind and covered up our flaws. We are going to have to be more creative as you alluded to on offense if the line can't protect any better than that the rest of the season. Now comes the 49ers, Seahawks, and the Panthers twice in the last half of the season. Not looking forward to those games. Even the Rams pass rush could be an issue on the road, so make that 5 games.
