MVN - Most Valuable Network

Saints Drop to 0-2 With Loss to Bucs

I have two questions to ask the team dressed in black-and-gold that played against the Tampa Bay Bucs today.  Who are you and what have you done with the Saints?

New Orleans shouldn’t even have shown up to Raymond James Stadium today.  It was clear from the opening kickoff that they weren’t there to play football.  They should have saved the bus driver some trouble and stayed back in the hotel. 

I’m wondering, in fact, when the Saints will start doing what they’re paid to do.

Through eight quarter of football the Saints have been completely lethargic in every facet of the game.  They aren’t playing defense, they aren’t playing offense, and they certainly aren’t kicking the ball. 

Olindo Mare has already missed two field goals this season–the same amount former Saints kicker John Carney missed all of last year.

Perhaps the most disheartening part of today’s loss was the complete ineffectiveness of the Saints offense.  Drew Brees was better today than he was last week, but still couldn’t get his team to sustain a drive.

Deuce McAllister and Reggie Bush carried the football as if it was covered with Vaseline.  The fumbling was a shame because the Saints’ running game was starting to pick up steem. 

Nothing kills a drive’s momentum more than a fumble.  If you lose it, the drive is over.  If you recover it, the offense stops to breathe a sigh of relief rather than keep focus on the rhythm of the drive. 

Bottom line: if you want to win, keep the ball off the turf.  It’s a simple as that.  You wouldn’t think it would be a problem for guys like Deuce and Reggie.  Apparently it is. 

And what about the receivers?  Can Devery Henderson make a catch to save his life?  If fumbles are worst drive killers, then dropped passes are the second worst.  Henderson should have made that catch in the end zone in the first quarter. 

The Bucs had just gone up 14-0 and the Saints needed to answer with a score.   Brees placed it perfectly for Henderson right past the goal line and he dropped it.  All of sudden it’s fourth down and the Saints have to kick.  Not the worst thing in the world—if you have a capable kicker.  Too bad the Saints are all out of those.

Now I’ve spent ample time ripping the offense, it’s time to lay into the defense.  Tampa Bay, by no stretch of anyone’s imagination, is a good offense. 

Jeff Garcia and Joey Galloway are a combined 72 yrs old.  Are you kidding me?  How did the Saints allow these guys to beat them?  The secondary, for the second consecutive week, was completely overmatched. 

For once, I would like to see a Saints defensive back make a play on a ball.  It doesn’t have to be an interception.  It doesn’t even have to be an incompletion.  I’ll be happy if a Saints defensive back just comes out of his break smoothly.  I’m tired of seeing the cornerbacks and safeties stumbling around out there.  They act like they’ve never seen a jab step or a head fake before. 

Stay light on your feet and you have a chance to make a play.  That seems pretty fundamental.  Do the Saints not know the fundamentals of football?  It seems like a stupid question, but after two embarrassing losses, you have to ask it.

Sean Payton has a lot of work to do with this team.  They way the Saints are playing right now, they won’t win a single game this year.  That’s an unrealistic statement, I know.  But think about it.  Who can you beat when you can’t move the ball on offense and can’t stop the other team on defense?  Nobody. 

Vince Young and the Titans come to the Super Dome next Monday night.  Fortunately for the Saints, Young is more of a runner than a passer. 

But don’t get your hopes up just yet.  The Saints secondary is just bad enough that 47-year-old Bobby Hebert could probably throw for 300 yards against them.

This entry was posted on Sunday, September 16th, 2007 at 6:58 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.