Saints Sideline Blog

“NINE” LIVES

Monday, November 16th, 2009      Email Print

"NINE" LIVES
 
DATELINE: St Louis, MO / November 15th,2009 (The Saints have more wins than ALL of last year)
 
They say a cat has nine lives, let's hope the Saints have much more. New Orleans is 9-0 but lately their play has left its fans gasping for air. You wonder how much longer this team can keep this careless trend going?? The Saints were alive and kicking in the first five games of the season winning by an average of nearly 20 pts per game. The last four victories have been by an average margin of just over 8 points. Don't get me wrong, that's still very good but its proof of how high these Saints have set the bar. They won so easily early on that you question why this team's play has dropped off of late even though they still haven't lost a game. Nobody knows this more than the black and gold who are happy to be undefeated with 7 games left, but understand they're play equates to playing with fire. 10 turnovers in the last three games had them surviving in Miami, escaping against Carolina and then sidestepping what would have been the NFL's upset of the year here in St Louis. The game came down to the last drive but clearly the Saints know this could have been put to bed much much earlier. Thanks to costly turnovers, life has been more interesting for the Saints than they know it should be.
 
While the team is seeing inconsistencies in its play, there are some positive constants. The wins are a true team effort where every week its a different star making a difference making play.They also continue to suffer costly injuries but each time they have players step up especially on defense. Against the Rams, Darren Sharper didn't dress but Usama Young makes his first start at Free Safety and comes up with an interception and plays a solid game. In the third quarter, Tracy Porter goes down but rookie Malcolm Jenkins fills in admirably for a guy who is used to seeing work only in the nickel packages. No Jabari Greer, no Sharper, no Porter and no Sedrick Ellis, still these Saints find a way to apply more bandaids to a unit which continues to get scratched. Does that mean they can continue to lose players? No, but it once again shows off how deep and talented this defense is.
 
On offense, Drew Brees will admit this group has to play better or this team will get beat sooner than later. They may get away with these turnovers against the Dolphins, Panthers and Rams but could this kind of play spell wins against more talented teams down the road like the Patriots, Falcons and Cowboys? This could turn out to be a blessing as sometimes teams who start 9-0 may get complacent, but with so many areas in Sean Payton's words that they need to "clean up," this group understands it can play better. There is no better record than the Saints in the NFL but its a testament to this team that they can play the way they have the past month and still be perfect.
 
A cat doesn't get more than 9 lives. The Saints know the same may apply in the NFL. They have earned every victory but also have sidestepped some traps on the way to perfection. The players and coaches will laugh at the notion that the schedule seems much easier on the back 9 of the docket. Drew Brees did acknowledge with me afterwards that the Saints bullseye is growing larger and larger with every win. The expectations are now higher every week, demanding that the play be the same.
 
WHO DAT HITS:
 
POTTY BREAK: Interesting sidenote from Robert Meachem after the game. Apparently Devery Henderson had to take a bathroom break during practice this week. As a result, Sean Payton inserted Marques Colston in Devery's place on an "end around" play they were working on for the Rams. It seems according to Meachem, Colston ran the play in Henderson's absence so well, they let Colston run it in the game. In addition, Meachem tells me that his 27 yard TD from Brees was also a play designed for Devery. A costly trip to the men's room indeed!
 
BUSH'S BIG DAY: The star de jour of the offense this week was Reggie Bush. He had two touchdowns and reeled off the longest run (55 yds) of his career against the Rams. I asked him afterwards "If this was his best game of the year?" He told me " yeah you could say that."
 
ROBY'S RETURN: What a big boost Courtney Roby provided to begin the second half. His 97 yard kickoff return gave the Saints the lead for good. Roby tells me after the game his teammates opened up a gigantic hole and the rest was well...history.
 
BUCKEYE REUNION: The postgame saw a Buckeye Rookie Reunion on the field between former college teammates Malcolm Jenkins and Rams linebacker James Laurinaitis. The two haven't seen each other in months but Jenkins tells me they talk at least once a week.
 
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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