MVN - Most Valuable Network

Super Saints Weekly 261

Super Saints Weekly 261

Wagon on Fire! Stay Back!
Last season the Saints went into the year with no expectations to accomplish anything beyond the locker room or perhaps with some die hard Saints fans who believed in their team. They used this approach to band together and by adding a few key pieces to the team found a winning formula. With their success came a slew full of bandwagon fans that quickly jumped on board.
You know the ones, the fans who at the start of last season would discuss over the water cooler at work how horrible the Saints will be. These same fans watched as their so called “favorite team” were destroyed week after week by the Saints and would suddenly pop up after those games with Saints jerseys on and you began to hear strange talk coming out of their mouths. They began using words like “we” and “us” when talking about the Saints while showing up with Reggie Bush and Drew Brees jerseys on. Seeing this transformation in people as they jumped on the bandwagon, you could only shake your head and be thankful that you stocked up on your Saints apparel before the bandwagon fans began raiding the stores.
This season seemed destined for more of the same with almost everyone favoring the Saints either to make it to the NFC title game or the Super Bowl. We watched as these bandwagon fans showed up in droves for the Saints first and second games, both of which they lost, only to start disappearing with each passing week. With each loss on the way to the Saints 0-4 start, fewer and fewer Saints bandwagon fans were showing up. Suddenly almost all of the bandwagon fans began putting on the jerseys of the teams that they swore allegiance to before jumping on the Saints wagon. Instantly these fans were denying that they ever were Saints fans and that they had been the die hard fans of whatever team they now claimed as long as they had watched football.
However, that is all changing again with the Saints now having won four straight and put themselves right back into the playoff picture in the NFC South. With a 4-4 record and the offense now clicking, those nasty words like “we” “our” and “us” are now beginning to be used again by the fans that abandoned the team during its rough start. However, Saints fans all over would like to share with you a bit of advice before you pull those Saints jerseys out of your closet. That advice is to keep those Saints jerseys in your closet and keep off our wagon. For years true Saints fans have suffered through the ups and downs of this team and while everybody else jumped ship already, the true Saints fans have remained by their side. Last year this team helped to inspire a city and a region. This year those same people they inspired stood behind this team and let it be known that no matter what type of start they had, we believe. That support has paid off and the Saints now have rallied to 4-4 and it’s a new season.
So to those bandwagon fans who are ready to jump back on board the Saints wagon, stay off it, you’re not wanted. The Patriots and Cowboys are both considered to be hot teams, so go take a look for some room on their wagons. Here in New Orleans, the wagon is all full and we have no room for any excess baggage. Only those who remained loyal through the good times and bad are welcome; to all others, you missed your opportunity for a great ride, one that still just might turn out to be something very special come season’s end.
Player of the Game
This week’s Player of the Game is Saints quarterback Drew Brees. I easily could have picked one or two other players, such as Colston or the Saints defense as a whole, but Brees settled any arguments in just half a game of football. Brees was 35 of 49 for 445 yards and three touchdowns in the Saints victory this week. He obviously doesn’t look to be pressing any longer when throwing the ball. Once again he seems confident and secure back in the pocket and appears to be comfortable leading the team. Overall Drew Brees had an amazing performance today and in what was suppose to be the week where Tom Brady and Peyton Manning played the game that most fans considered to be the big match up of the week, Brees seemed to overshadow them both.

Q & A
Q & A is the question and answer section. If you have a question you would like answered, email it to SuperSaintsWeekly@yahoo.com with the subject heading of Q&A and we will try to answer the question to the best of our ability.
Q – JB, thanks for the site and all the work that you and others put in week after week. My question is along the lines of the running back situation. I have always felt that Deuce has been the heart and soul of the team the last few years, but is tragically a non factor this year. Do you think Reggie Bush has read too much of the “never will be an every down back” press, when he should he should just relax and play to his strengths of outside and passing game? Also, I saw something in Pierre Thomas that seemed to be “lightning in a bottle” in preseason and a few plays this season. Maybe he would make the team look bad for investing so much in Reggie, if they play him much more than they have? Thanks – Terry
A – Terry, I agree that Deuce at times seemed to be the heart of the team; however, I think you just have to watch the Saints through the course of their winning to streak to see the type of effort that Thomas and Bush have had on the running game. Overall Bush has never been a between the tackles type of running back, but I believe the more he does it the more effective he will become. However, he is truly most dangerous when he is used in various ways. Thomas I believe could develop into a between the tackles back to help compliment Bush and take a few of the carries away. He has proven in the brief opportunities that he has gotten that he has great field vision and I believe you will continue to see him play more of a role with the offense. Perhaps if anything positive can be said about Deuce getting injured is that it makes the running game a bit more unpredictable. Before you usually could guess that Bush would run outside and Deuce would run inside; however, now you can never be sure which direction the Saints running backs are going to go. Thanks for the question and the positive words, and I look forward to hearing from you more in the future.

Saints vs. Rams Game Preview
This week the Saints will square up against a former rival, the St. Louis Rams. While a lot of fans are excited about this game, figuring that it will be a sure fire victory, the Saints need to avoid thinking this at all cost. The Rams are much better than their record would indicate and injuries have played a significant role in their early struggles. The Saints need to go into this game as serious as they would for an undefeated team. For the Saints to win they will need to avoid giving up the big play on defense and limit the effectiveness of the Rams rushing attack. If they are able to do this and make the Rams offense one dimension, then they should be able to let loose their pass rush. Offensively the Saints will need to continue as they have the past two weeks in turning the dogs loose early. Score early and score often to put the pressure on the Rams and try to knock their defense back on it’s heels. If the Saints are able to do this while limiting turnovers and establishing the run, then they should be able to pull out a victory this week.

Psycho’s View
The Saints are continuing to surprise and shock us all as they appear to have completely put the horrible start to the season behind them and are now focused on the task at hand. However, the one area of concern I personally still have is the kicking game for the Saints. Orlando Mare is kicking 50% on his field goals and in my opinion this is unacceptable. I know the team supports him, but it is my belief that he has had his opportunity to work out his problems and with half the season now done eventually his misses are going to cost the Saints. Overall there are a few kickers out there with some potential or some history that could come in and help the Saints. Even if the team only got 75% accuracy from their kicker, then it would still be an upgrade over the current situation. My suggestion is for the Saints once again to audition some kickers and prepare to make a change because eventually this problem could turn into their Achilles heel.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 6th, 2007 at 12:21 am 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.