Saints Sideline Blog

CHIPPY IN CAROLINA

Monday, October 10th, 2011      Email Print

DATELINE:Charlotte, NC (Yakety Yak--Panthers talk lots of smack)

Malcolm Jenkins says he hasn't heard that much talking on the football field since his days as a Buckeye and he was going toe toe with hated Michigan. Ok----the Saints and the Panthers aren't the caliber of that rivalry but after Sunday---the two teams took a few baby steps. It wasn't played inside the Big House or the Horseshoe but this game had plenty of big rivalry moments from its several late hits to unsportsmanlike penalties to a chatty former teammate who wouldn't shut up the whole game but was deadly silent at its conclusion.

Yes Jeremy Shockey was a big catalyst fueling a lot of the emotion in this game. If he wasn't in the huddle, he was up and down the sidelines yelling at several Saints including his former protege Jimmy Graham who caught the Shockey wrath after a catch near the Carolina sideline?Strange but not "shocking" especially to the Saints who expected his wrath. After the game and all the talk, the former Saint marched off the field not shaking a hand or hugging a former teammate. It appeared the final score can silence even the biggest of men.

In the end Drew Brees would silence the Carolina faithful with a vintage drive which won the game and killed 6:16 off the clock. After hooking up with Sproles and hitting Jimmy Graham all afternoon, Brees decided to use Saint Pierre down the stretch. After hauling in a super one handed catch for 18 yards, the stage was set for a play the Saints call "slippery naked." Its a play usually designed for the speedy Darren Sproles but this time Brees let Thomas fill the void and it paid off with a nifty 6 yard TD score.

The comeback was complete in a game the Saints won despite all of its transgressions.This would include a pair of costly and sometimes confusing late hit penalties on 3rd down, coupled with some troubling unsportsmanlike celebrations (Mark Ingram) and personal fouls (see Roman Harper on Steve Smith. You even had Jimmy Graham channel his basketball past a take a flop in the face of Panthers cornerback Kevin Gamble.

These Saints have played in some physical games but everybody I talked to agreed this was on of the "chippiest." Sean Payton didn't weigh in with the media but he did with his players at the half telling them to not take the Panther bait and play smarter football in the second half. His team listened and came back in a game where they had to bite their collective tongues.

In the end New Orleans talked the talk and thanks to some timely stops and another clutch drive walked the walk. They shut up the Panthers and even old Jeremy Shockey in a Chippy Charlotte setting which should set the stage for more chatty sequels to come. These two teams don't like each other and Sunday's outing provided another example of what's to come in the future---the Saints can only hope the outcome will continue to be the same.

WHO DAT HITS

RED BULL---Red headed Jimmy Graham continues  to shine becoming the first Saints TE in team history to put together three straight games with over 100 yards receiving. He hauls in 8 catches for 129 yards. The day included some huge third down grabs where he averaged over 16 yards per catch.

KASAY'S HOMECOMING: I asked John Kasay was it an emotional returning to kick against a team he played for 15 seasons with and he said "it was interesting from the standpoint you were a visitor but the fans were so kind and gracious." Kasay wasn't gracious in his return delivering a perfect three for three peformance with field goals from 23,46 & 37 yards out. The best news for the veteran--he got to see his daughter leave for her homecoming dance on Saturday night.

PARTY LIKE ITS "09":  Many Saints I talked to equated this Panthers win to the emotional 2009 comeback on the road versus the Redskins. As nice a comeback as this game was---I gotta say the 33-30 overtime win over Washington was much more dramatic with Meachem's miracle play and the final OT drive that set up Hartley's game winning field goal.

BREES STREAK CONTINUES: Drew Brees' TD streak continues as he extends it to 32 games in a row with a touchdown pass to Jed Collins on the first drive of the game. He now trails Favre who had 36 and the record holder Johnny Unitas at an amazing 47 straight.

EIGHT ISN'T ENOUGH?--Thanks to Pierre Thomas' first TD of the year, the Saints have had eight different players who have found the endzone this year. The others--Sproles, Graham, Ingram,Meachem, Moore ,Devery Henderson and how about fullback Jed Collins who has found it twice--both on the ground and through the air.

NOBODY ASKED ME BUT: Charlotte is one of the best stops of the year---great stadium with a terrific press box which has one of the best views in the league. The weather is always nice this time of year and the traffic isn't too bad. The only drawback this place may have the worst parking in the NFL putting many of us in a parking garage which is located seemingly closer to Raleigh Durham?!

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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