Saints Sideline Blog

A SAN FRANCISCO TREAT

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010      Email Print

DATELINE: Candlestick Park/ September 21st, 2010  (Coach Singletary...care to add anything else?)
 
It was simply a game of two's----a two point safety early forced a costly two point conversion late,but in the end a vintage two minute drill gave the Saints yes, a  "2"-0 start. Ok, that was the cliff notes version but in between all the 2's were plenty of miscues that nearly gave the Saints its first loss since last December,but instead they found yet another way to win. It was a win which was about as attractive as sandals paired with a three piece suit. Not the best looking W, but good enough for these Saints to escape unscathed where this team is proviing that so far anyway they are not the same team as they were a year ago, but they are getting similar results.
 
For the second straight week the offense wasn't sharp. Drew Brees' longest completion in the first half was 18 yards, a far cry from his deep ball distribution from early last season when he put up 93 points in the first two games. Brees denied the notion afterwards that team's are playing the Saints harder because they have that Super Bowl bullseye on its chest but also insists things must turn around if these Saints want to replicate last year's Saints. Doing that won't be easy with Reggie Bush on the sidelines. Bush couldn't leave the locker room without his crutches. What a terrible week for Reggie who said goodbye to his Heisman and now for the fourth year in a row says so long to a portion of his season. Its a shame because despite all the distractions, Bush had his best training camp as a Saint and was as healthy as he's been since his rookie year.
 
The defense is picking up the slack and is the reason these Saints are undefeated. You can look at the four forced turnovers and acknowlege that Gregg Williams guys haven't lost their takeaway mojo. The Saints "D" set the offense up for many mulligans, but Brees and company simply couldn't covert those birdie putts. Drew acknowledged afterwards that they left a lot of points on ole scoreboard.. Sure, Frank Gore ran wild and the Niners drove down the field for an impressive TD and two point conversion to tie the game, but the black and gold defenders are doing more than enough to carry the load. History tells us the offense will eventally catch up--- when that happens these Saints will be tough to beat.
 
In the end, the Saints didn't leave its "heart in San Francisco." Instead, they delivered plenty of heartache for a Niner Nation ready to sign off on a signature win over the Super Bowl Champs. Ironically it was Garrett "Hart"ley who proved to be the protagonist with a game winning field goal, this one week after missing two three pointers against  the Vikings in the season opener. All the while, this effort made every Saints' heart race a bit on the sideline, its promising when you don't play your best football on the road in the NFL and you still win. That should make every heart happy in the Who Dat Nation...for now anyway.
 
WHO DAT HITS
 
TALKING TRASH: Several Saints from Jeremy Shockey to Roman Harper told me afterwards on our CST postgame show that the NIners were especially chatty on Monday Night. Its clear this team mirrors its mouthy head coach Mike Singletary who promised to stop Drew Brees during the week. Harper told us afterwards all the talk fired up the Saints and it served as motivation.
 
A "LOTT" OF MOTIVATION: Ronnie Lott may have been center stage with Jerry Rice at halftime when his number was retired but before the game he was in the Saints camp as Sean Payton's choice as this week's motivating speaker. Lott also made a cameo in the playoffs for the Saints a year ago....we know how that turned out.
 
GARRETT WAS GIDDY: Hartley told me in our postgame show that the misses versus the Vikings just fired him up to get back on the field, but the 10 day layoff between games made it tough to stay patient. He also told me Sean Payton's positive energy on the sideline before he kicked the game winner was simliar to his coach's now infamous approach before Hartley nailed the game winner in the NFC Championship game.
 
VILMA VS GORE: I'm always amazed when high school teammates play each against each other in the NFL, you talk about beating the odds! Jonathan Vilma and Frank Gore were teammates at Coral Gables High School in Miami. The two always battled in practice as High School and as college teammates at the "U"and it was obvious they were motivated to get the best of each other on Monday night.Both had their moments.
 
NOBODY ASKED ME BUT: I know Reggie Bush has been criticized for all his mistakes at USC and there was no doubt he was wrong to break the rules but I feel its time for all the negativity to stop. That's not to say he didn't deserve bad publicity but I feel its been excessive. Bush has paid the price and to the surprise of many has even returned his Heisman. Let's get real and understand that he's not the only athlete to make this mistake and in my opinion the only Heisman Trophy winner to do so. Enough is enough, the critics have spoken, now its time to turn the volume down.
 
UNTIL NEXT BLOG,
Mike Nabors
CST

By: Mike Nabors

An Emmy award winning sports reporter who covers a wide variety of events for CST. Primarily, Mike serves as the network's reporter for Saints coverage.

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